OHC - Insect Grid Study

Today we had our nature study partner family join us for our OHC. As I was leading it today, I thought we would use the this months insect grid as a springboard. I printed off the grid for each of our naturalists. This they later cut out and stuck into their nature journals along with the bookmark. 

Over the years we have used notebooking pages as well as nature journals. This year I asked each of my girls which they preferred. My youngest has decided that she prefers the notebooking pages to keeping a journal, so she used her grid as a notebooking page, adding some finds to the back of the page. I think this really helps her in being motivated in her journal keeping as she really battles with drawing what she sees and making her own notes, the notebooking pages guide her observations. My eldest prefers a journal as she loves the creating beautiful nature pages using paint, adding poetry etc. Her journal is an artwork for her.

Our goal was to head out on our walk and accomplish at least 3 of the grid suggestions. It is great to have a focus, but it is always important to remain flexible and open to other things that nature has to offer.

Take today for example - our focus was the grid, but along the way we discovered an absolute wealth of skeletonized leaves. We had never seen so many in one area and the children collected a stack of leaves each for the nature table and to stick into their journals.

Back on track, we turned over a few logs - even opened up a rotting fallen tree trunk - and found beetles, an earwig, lots of slugs - ewww - and some earthworms.

We decided to go bug hunting in the long grass, a perfect spot to find our six-legged friends.

We found lots of bees...

and three insects of different colours...

On our way home, I got the children to do a little activity which highlighted the change that is beginning to happen in the leaves...

I'm keen to do this again later on in the season and compare our leaf clocks.

Throughout the coming week, we will complete the rest of the grid activities. What a great way to keep in touch with our focus area. Marking one grid observation a day will certainly keep insects in the front of our minds all week ;o)