A haze on the far horizon,

The infinite, tender sky,

The rich, ripe tint of the cornfields,

And the wild geese sailing high --

And all over upland and lowland

The charm of the goldenrod--

Some of us call it autumn,

And others call it God.

(taken from "Each in His Own Tongue", by William Herbert Carruth)

Today we completed our art project for Autumn using the book Nature's Paintbox, by P. Thomas.  The medium they chose in the book is oil paints, however we chose to use tempera paints instead.  I also tied this lesson in with the above amazing poem.

We first read the Autumn pages from Nature's Paintbox, discussing all the vivid, rich and warm colors the artist used.

Then we read the poem (at the top of the entry) several times, talking about it's meaning.  We then discussed a list of colors that would be used in painting a picture to go with this poem.

Then we set about making our visions of Autumn!

Hannah

Mom

And of course the lesson wouldn't be complete without a little Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons - Autumn, playing in the background!  This lesson also ties in very nicely to those beautiful, crisp Autumn nature walks, full of warm vibrant colors and feelings.  Each time we have been outside for our nature time lately, we have taken notice of these feelings and colors all around us.

Links to the previous Nature's Paintbox lessons we have done:

Nature's Paintbox - Spring

Nature's Paintbox - Summer

You never know what kids will do if given a little time to stretch their imaginations in nature.  For us not all nature study is organized.  Sometimes it's just all about play.  And in the process, they are exercising and growing their imaginations and sometimes they are even getting along and growing their relationships.

Sometimes logs become houses with walls made of sticks and even old walnut shells become cups and a dish.  And sometimes even acorns are eggs and bark can become bacon turned with a stick on a stove made of stones.

And of course I'll never miss a grand banquet with such delicious foods placed so carefully on a plate made of just the finest rocks on a table of wood.

And then on occasion we'll even allow a special something to be set up.  To us it may be just a tent, but to them it's a new world, palace, or secret hideout.

Or perhaps a secret sister's club!

For us it's not all about structure and lessons when spending time in nature, sometimes, some things are just more important.  Now, please excuse me, I must take my seat, my bacon and eggs are being served.

We are wrapping up our organized study of the wind!  This was such an amazing study!!  I will make the final notes of what we did in this post, along with a listing of helpful books that we used.  Even though I have these studies listed as five days, it took us about a couple of weeks to get through.  In other words, we did not study the wind every day!  And just as a disclaimer, this is the way we do every unit we study, at our own family's pace, fitting them in as we are able.

Windy Words - Haiku Poetry

By doing a search on the internet, I came across a fantastic website that gave a lesson plan for studying weather in which I was able to find some super things for studying wind.  I will post the main website below in the internet site list.  While looking through the website I came across a lesson called Windy Words.  This gave us a couple of things we could do for Language Arts.  We only actually completed one of the lessons from this page, Haiku poetry, and the other is tucked away for later.

First we studied all about Japanese Haiku poetry.  During which we looked at our world map and each of the kids pointed out Japan, where Haiku originated, and we had a short discussion of how close we were to Japan when we were in China.

I had checked out a few books from the library (again which I'll list below) and first learned the basics about Haiku.  Traditional Haiku poetry follows these guidelines:

- poem is short, only three lines and is written in 17 syllables, following a pattern of 5, 7, 5 syllables

- poem, while compact, exhibits words which invoke strong feelings and paints a clear mental picture (imagery)

- poem is about nature and seasons and the feelings they produce

- poem doesn't have to rhyme

Next the kids and I reviewed what a syllable is and what imagery is.  Then we brainstormed a list of words associated with wind.

We next read some examples of Haiku from some of the books we had and after that, using the above words for inspiration, we composed our own Haiku poetry:

Wind rush through the trees

Your howl is like a lion

Your howl blows everything

Gust of wind blows by

Leaves swirl sideways and downward

Colors all around

Winter day breeze blows

Shivering under my coat

Warm fire awaits

Science Experiment - Does Wind/Air Weigh?

We found an excellent and simple book at the library on the science of wind called I Face the Wind, by v. Cobb.  This book has several very simple activities to demonstrate different aspects of the science of wind.  We did them all from the book, but I'll just feature the one that answered the question, "Does the wind/air weigh?"

We gathered together our supplies:  two balloons, a hanger, pencil, and tape.

Next, I posed the question to the kids if they thought wind, or air, weighs.  Then we filled out the top half of the Science Journal.  On to the experiment!  We attached both deflated balloons, one to each side, on the hanger, then hung the hanger on a pencil.  We observed that the hanger was very even showing that the deflated balloons weighed the same.  Then we blew up one of the balloons and re-attached it, then showing us that there was a slight tilt proving that air does in fact weigh.  Demonstrating the reason why wind has power behind it and we feel it.

Finally, they finished up the notes on their Science Journals and drew a picture if they wanted.

Resources

I Face the Wind, by V. Cobb - Great SIMPLE science experiments about wind and air.

Haiku Books:

Flower Moon Snow, by K. Mizumura

Don't Step on the Sky, by M. Chaikin

Black Swan White Crow, by J.P. Lewis

Picture Books:

The Wind Blew by P. Hutchins

Gilberto and the Wind by M. Hall

Informational Books:

The Weather Book, by M. Oard - Christian Perspective

100 Things You Should Know About Weather, by C. Oliver

Websites:

The North Wind and the Sun - Aesop's Fables

Wind Energy - this website I just recently found, but the educational lesson plans look great.  I haven't had much time to look through them, but I know they are not written from a Christian Scientist perspective, but it still looks like theres LOTS of great stuff to use.  I may try to incorporate some of this in last minute into our studies.

KidWind - Another great website full of lesson plans and stuff to use!

Weather Studies - this is where I found the "Windy Words" lesson, however there is LOTS more stuff to use here.  There are two lessons, one for lower grades, and one for upper.

Haiku Poetry - basics and worksheets

Weather Wiz Kids - Wind

View from my Back Deck

Isn't it amazing how you can look up to the sky this time of year and just tell that change is on the horizon?  The more than usual cottony clouds and turquoise shades of blue behind them, and the suttle rose-colored hues bouncing upon it from the evening sun's rays.  And in the distance the migrating birds fly together squawking in their large congregations.  And there's just a different feel in the air, like a hint of things to come.  The cold caress of a morning breeze only to be met by the warmest sun in the afternoon.  And if you forget to look, you might miss that the trees are just beginning to don their new wardrobe, a sprinkle here and there of crimson red, Goldenrod yellow, and pumpkin orange.

 Maple Tree in our Front Yard

I simply adore this time of year, when Autumn starts to make her grand debut, just as much as I love when Spring begins to sprout her graceful wings.  I've learned to respect all seasons, for they are all a part of God's grand plan.

A walk on a Autumn evening is always so inspiring and refreshing to me.  All five of my senses seem to come alive on such a walk.  Just a few days ago I took such a walk and came back and wrote down my feelings in a poem that I wanted to share with you.

Goldenrod Wishes

Goldenrod wishes on the meadow they fly,

As they lower their crowns to say goodbye.

The crickets get few and harder to find,

their chirp starts to sound like the sorrowful kind.

A strong gust of wind through a tree starts to soar,

A deep beat of a drum through the forest it roars.

In the distance a nut cracks and leaps to the ground,

As the squirrels scurry and hurry by and around.

In replace of the green grass laid down below,

Is a carpet of leaves painted brown, red, and yellow.

On the wind comes a hint of blankets and sweaters,

And cozy warm fires and soft down feathers.

Autumn is coming to greet us this day,

As Goldenrod wishes in the meadow fly away.

 Goldenrod - Nature Walk 9-9-08

 May you and your family be blessed by the bountiful beauty of God's masterpiece in Autumn!

Our wondrous wind study continues!

Made a Weather Vane

I found the instructions here:  Making a Weather Vane

We determined that we had an Easterly wind blowing that day!

Another Great Bible Discussion NOT to miss

My son asked the question, "Why does God bring bad winds and storms when they hurt people?"  In response to this we read from Weather and the Bible the section entitled Does God Send Deadly Storms?   It had us read from Job 38-42:6 where God spoke to Job out of a storm.  As Job had suffered further physical affliction, he asks the Lord "Why is there evil in the world?"  You can read the passage HERE.  I highly recommend reading this alone and with your children.  It is VERY powerful.  Through it the Lord made CRYSTAL clear that His control over nature and his ultimate purposes are to be trusted.  We simply cannot understand all the details of the divine plan.

Natural disasters are certainly part of our world today, but they are not a surprise to God.  Secular environmentalists see nature as inherently good and normal, however the Biblical view shows things much differently.  Today there are results of the curse operating in nature.  The pain and sorrow of this present world, along with severe weather, demonstrate an imperfect world.  But, praise be to our Father, a new world is coming (Revelation 21).  God has established certain laws and principles that govern nature which have been affected by sin, but we must remember He remains sovereign over all these natural laws.  Job's testimony shows us how trials should bring us closer to God instead of driving us away:  "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21 KJV).

More to look into:  Jonah 1:4, Psalm 148:8, Psalm 42:7.

Trade Winds, Beaufort Scale, and Wind Power

We also read from  100 Things You Should Know About Weather and learned about the trade winds, Beaufort Scale, and Wind Power.

Trade Winds:  Did you know that winds have names?  World wind patterns are called global winds.  The most famous are the trade winds that blow toward the Equator.  Trade winds blow one way north of the Equator and another way south of the Equator.

Trade winds blow in the tropical areas where air is moving to an area of low pressure at the Equator.  Their name comes from their importance to traders when goods traveled by sailing ship.

Beaufort Scale - Wind ranges from fair and light breezes to full blown hurricanes.  It's strength is measured on the Beaufort Scale, named after the Irish admiral who devised it.  The scale ranges from Force 0 (calm) to Force 12 (hurricane).

Wind Power - Did you know that wind can turn on your tv?  Wind can be harnessed to make electricity for our homes.  Tall turbines are positioned in windy spots and the wind turns the turbine and the movement powers a generator and produces electrical energy.

Coriolis Force

Read from The Weather Book about the Coriolis Force.  Because the earth is spinning on its axis, air flow in the atmosphere is more complicated.   The spin causes air to move to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.  This deflecting force on air is called the Coriolis force.  Pretend you are at the center of a disk.  If you throw a ball toward a target on the edge of the disk, the ball will miss to the right.  It will appear the ball was deflected to the right.  What really happened was that as the ball reached the edge, the disk rotated to the left underneath the ball.

The North Wind and the Sun

We read Aesop's Fable "The North Wind and the Sun".  You can find the story HERE.

In my next post I plan on listing some delightful picture books we have read that involve the wind.  And some fantastic websites I've found.  And also about a writing activity we will be doing called "Windy Words."

Walk, bike, roll or stroll to a trail near you this Columbus Day Weekend (October 11 -13th, 2008) for the first annual Make Tracks Family Trail Weekend! Join families across the country for a Green Hour® you won't forget.

Visit http://www.nwf.org/maketracks/index.cfm for details!

Day 2 of our wind study was full of neat Artist and picture study and more wind poetry!

Artist and Picture Study

We picked out five beautiful works of art that exhibited wind in them.

Surprised! Tiger in a Tropical Storm, Henri Rousseau

Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh

Wheatfield with Cypresses, Vincent Van Gogh

Lady with a Parasol, Claude Monet

 La Prairie, Claude Monet

 We had a discussion about each of these artworks, and answered questions such as:

- what is the name of this painting?

- who was the artist?

- what do you see in this painting?

- what is the weather like in the painting?

- how do we know the wind is blowing; how did the artist show the wind in the painting?

- which painting is your favorite?  Why?

After choosing their favorite painting, I gave them the option of trying to recreate the painting with their own touches. Alex wasn't interested in that part, but Hannah chose to put her hand to recreating Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.  I was so proud of her work!  She even used glitter glue to show the sparkly parts.

Hannah's Starry Night

I have it on our planner to have Hannah do some research on Vincent Van Gogh later in the week and write up a short report on him. I think I will have her use the website, Vincent Van Gogh Gallery.

Poetry

We also shared more poetry.

Who Has Seen the Wind?

by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the leaves bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

The Wind

by James Reeves

I can get through a doorway without any key,

And strip the leaves from the great oak tree.

I can drive storm clouds and shake tall towers,

Or steal through a garden and not wake the flowers.

Seas I can move and ships I can sink;

I can carry a house-top or the scent of a pink.

When I am angry I can rave and riot;

And when I am spent, I lie quiet as quiet.

Also Hannah wrote up some wind poetry of her own.  And with her permission, I'm sharing it below.

Wind o' Wind

Wind o' Wind blowing so hard,

fly my kite so very high.

Make the seeds fly to the sky,

to land them on the ground.

Your roar like a lion echoes through the woods,

the leaves swim round the round.

Wind o' Wind blowing so hard you blow the trees right down,

you whistle and howl with all your might.

Wind o' Wind stop this now,

your time has come to go to sleep.

Now hush o' Wind, leave this place,

drift away with dreams of this day.

We have completed Day 3 of our wind study which encompassed more about the science of wind and some more awesome Bible study!  I'll get that typed up in an entry as soon as possible.

"He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries"

- Psalm 135:7

We have had two days (so far) of really great studies on the wind.  In this post I will share with you what we did on Day 1, and then be back (hopefully tomorrow) to share more!

SOME BASICS

So, just what is the wind?  What in the world causes it?

Wind is simply just moving air.  Air, while invisible to us, certainly makes it's presence known when it decides to get on the move.  And thus you have wind.  We look straight through it, walk through it, and some days don't even think about it being there, but yet it exists all the time.  Wind can be a welcomed cooling gentle breeze on a sultry hot day, yet wind can rip trees from the ground and throw them about for miles.

Wind is caused by differences in air pressure in our atmosphere which are as a result of the sun's heat.  Areas under high pressure naturally expand and move towards areas of low pressure.  The greater the difference in air pressure, the faster the air will move.

BIBLE STUDY - THE WIND AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

We started off our wind study with a dynamic Bible study.  I keep saying "go into Nature, and you will find Him!"  He is in every single piece of it including the wind that blows through our hair.  We first watched a great video clip that was recommended by Melissa at Living Life Between the Trees.  You can find it at Christian Answers.  It recounts the story in Acts of The Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' followers.  And how it sounded like the blowing of a violent wind from Heaven.  Did you know that the word Spirit in both Hebrew and Greek means "breath" or "wind"?

After viewing the video clip, we took out the Bible and read from Acts Chapter 2 and had a great discussion.  Using a lesson from the book Weather and the Bible by DeYoung we made a list of the symbolisms between the wind and the Holy Spirit.  I was impressed that the kids were able to add even more than was listed in the book.

1.  Wind is moving air, and this fresh air is needed continually for life itself for every living creature.  Even seeds often require wind for their dispersal and growth, such as Thistle and Dandelions.  Similarly, the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, the source of all life.

2.  Wind has no material shape or form.  It is invisible; we cannot see from where it comes or where it is going (John 3:8).   It is a mysterious unseen force.  However, it's presence is well known by it's effects.  The Holy Spirit, while not being "seen" with human eyes, can be experienced by the transforming work He does in human lives by changing, sanctifying, encouraging, and teaching.

3.  Wind is a powerful force.  It cannot be halted or controlled by humans and has the ability to change the landscape around you.  And likewise the Holy Spirit is not subject to our control.  The moving of the Holy Spirit is God at work and has full power to change us from the inside out.

4.  Wind comes in great variety.  It may be like a soft whisper gently rustling in the leaves, or it may be a hurricane uprooting trees.  Likewise the Holy Spirit may gently bring a person to Christ, or He may work in a climatic and dramatic way to bring a hardened heart to conviction and conversion.  Read Acts 16 and contrast Lydia (vs. 14) and the jailer (vs. 30).

5.  When the wind blows around you it can have a cleansing and refreshing feel.  Just as the Holy Spirit can change us to feel cleansed and renewed in Christ.

PICTURE BOOK

After our wonderful Bible study and discussion, I pulled out a delightful old favorite picture book to read, Gilberto and the Wind by Marie Hall Ets.  It went along perfectly with our study!

CRAFT - WIND WAND

Afterwards, we gathered up some scrap ribbon and tape, and headed outdoors into Nature and the wind.  The kids went on a hunt for sticks, which weren't hard to find after our wind storm.

And using and idea we adapted from Earthways by Carol Petrash, we made Wind Wands.  Gabby especially had tons of fun with this activity.  She ran around the backyard swinging her wand for our entire Nature time!

WIND DAMAGE OBSERVATION

While outside we observed all the fallen branches and leaves from the storm.  It was amazing!  The kids were so excited to find so many acorns and hickory nuts lying about.

Hannah found a HUGE branch from a Pignut Hickory tree.  And of course the other day we had driven around our neighborhood and local park to observe damage there as you'll see the the post before this one.

WIND POETRY

Back inside we read a poem written by Robert Louis Stevenson from A Child's Garden of Verses.  This again went along perfectly!  I've since found a lot more wind poetry and will share that along with our Artist study and project (and more) in my next post.

The Wind

I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies' skirts across the grass--
     O wind, a-blowing all day long,
     O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all--
     O wind, a-blowing all day long,
     O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
     O wind, a-blowing all day long,
     O wind, that sings so loud a song!