Exploring Anseriformes And Finding A Lost Paradise

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday we started our Bird Unit Study and the kids choose to start with the Anseriformes (Waterfowl) order since they saw a large group Canadian Geese on the side of the road on our way to speech therapy. We started our unit study by reading a bunch of books just like we always do. I find reading about what we are studying is the best way to start our days. The kids learn so much just from me reading to them.

We learned some great Bird terminology which we started adding to our Bird Lapbook:

-Dabbling

-Mallard

-Drake

-Migration
-Upending
-Wingspan
-Molting
-Preen
-Wetlands
-Ducklings

Here is a FREE Duck Lapbook we used from Homeschool Share.

We also started listing the different Waterfowl Kinds:
-Swans
-Ducks (there are over 120 different types of Ducks)
-Loons
-Geese

After we read I decided to check out a pond I had heard about in a nearby business park. I didn't expect to find much but decided it was worth looking into and hoped we would at least see some Ducks. WOW was I surprised. It was a beautiful pond filled with all sort of fabulous nature waiting to be explored, including some Ducks. 

Here are some of the wonderful things we explored:

We saw a little Snake, lots of Dragonfly's, hundreds of Mosquitoes, beautiful flowers and fuzzy plants. We also found 3 very cool Dragonfly molts (which will be added to our bug specimen board) and some Duck feathers (which will be added to our Bird Unit study exploration box). We also found some Fennel which we just had rub in between our fingers to smell. And of course we got to watch, feed and observe the Mallard Ducks. We discovered after reading our handy dandy Audubon Bird App (also available for iPhone) that some of them were most likely males but had begun molting. We got to watch them preening, dabbling and upending. And got to listen to them quacking.

We also found a Geocache we are up to 19 now! Want to learn more about Geocaching check out this article I wrote for another website.

Do you see the Cache? Gwyn found it right away when I told her we were close.
Hint: It is made to look like its part of the light fixture.

But our field trip was not over. The kids spotted a wooden staircase leading to a paved trail adjacent to the parking lot. They begged to check it out. And we discovered a Lost Paradise. The paved trial which follows a small creek (which we will be going back to explore) is surrounded by very large hardwoods. The trail connects two of the office park buildings. This place is truly a hidden treasure. I am sure only a few Roswell Residents know this place exists.

I was super excited to find this place because it is within walking distance of our home expecially since we are down to one car YET again.

Here are the kids nature journal entry's for our trip. Rowyn's is the one on the left and is a Dragon Fly. Gwyns is a Duck. Gwyn did hers on a FREE notebooking worksheet that can be found over at the Crafty Classroom (there is one for bugs and animals too).

Have you ever discovered an awesome place close to home that you NEVER knew existed?



Linking up with this week:
Educating Laytons, Ben and Me, Slowly Natural, Upside Down Homeschooling, MOB Society- Lets Hear it 4 the Boys, I Can Teach My Child, Adventures in Mommydom, A Little R & R, All Boy Homeschool, Creative Family Fun, JDaniels4Mom, The Momma Knows