Pond Study: Pond Assessment {Week 1}

I love nature. Our family loves nature. It’s really, really healthy to be out in nature. And, I am a homeschool mum. This means there is a certain expectation to make everything education. So I am. We have a lovely village pond, not ten minutes from our home. It is here we shall be embarking on a one year pond study. Today will be week 1, where we will be assessing the pond so we can plan the next 52 weeks:

Assessing the Pond and Planning the Year

Monday’s foray to the pond was more about discussing what we were going to do. For example, which tree we might want to study for a year… the best place to test the water and so forth.  Charlotte (10), who loves to draw and write, made notes and drew a lovely picture of the Mandarin duck which currently resides in our pond.  Thomas (11) loves to take photos, so he clicked away to his heart’s content. Lillie (10) simply observed quietly. She had plans on the return home.

I tried to capture the pond and its residents:

Along with the solo Mandarin duck. Although I only managed a photo from the distant:

One Year Tree Study

We chose a tree for our year-long study. We got off to a sterling start as none of us, not even mum, could identify it!

Assessing the Pond: Recording Our Thoughts

We left it at that and journeyed the short distance home.  Whilst I was busy putting Becca (2) down for a nap, I could hear much industry going on in the living room.  Thomas (11) had picked up feathers and a beautiful leaf. He began a nature table, whilst Lillie (10), after some research, did an impromptu presentation on the Mandarin duck:

Whilst I schooled Abigail (4), the older three enthusiastically attacked the task of collaging the rather bare cover of the A2 art pad. This was to be our family pond study journal for the year.  I gave them some photocopies and a nature book I knew we would never use to cut and paste:

And the final product:

Specimens from Assessing the Pond

We collected some of the bits and bobs Thomas (11) had brought home and pressed them in our flower press.  We would try to identify the leaf once it was flat and before we stuck it in the journal:

Once everything was dry (the journal), and flat(the feathers and leaf) we gathered notes, pictures, developed photos and began making our page for the month of March.  There are 15 pages in the book and we have decided to make one double-sided page per month.  With the extra sheets at the back, we will include tables and graphs of the water ph, maybe some weather charts and tree pictures (and anything else we might think of later on).  We’re already looking forward to next Monday!