Monday, November 8, 2010

OHC: Apples

Join us as we study nature using The Outdoor Hour Challenges. This year Ryne and Grace are joining with friends Cameron and Avery to explore this beautiful world God made. Moms, Kellie and Casey, are enjoying the adventure as much as the kids.

I'm a couple of weeks behind in posting our nature studies, but on October 22 the kids had an indoor nature study on apples. I bought 10 different varieties of apples for them to examine, compare, sketch, and taste. It's amazing how different apples can be!
I thought the kids did a great job noticing some subtle differences and really brought out those differences in their sketches. Everyone was fascinated by the bumpy texture of the Sweet Tango.

They each picked two apples to focus on for their notebook pages. Ryne chose the Gala and the Sweet Tango. Cameron chose the Granny Smith and the Honey Crisp. Avery chose the Jonathan and Red Delicious. Grace chose the Granny Smith and the Cortland.

And then it was time for the best part -- tasting the apples!
Ryne had one of the best lines of the day when describing the Sweet Tango: "Sour, with a touch of tang on the finish."

Because it was such a beautiful day (we've been blessed with wonderful weather for Friday School days so far), we decided to talk a walk in the woods.
Overall, nature study is going well this fall. We're all out of order on Barb's challenges and we've had to skip a few, but isn't flexibility one of the best things about homeschooling? It can sometimes be difficult keeping the attention of four kids and I often wish I could be a better guide, but I am encouraged by the observations I see them all making and the fun they are having.

5 comments:

  1. My boys' favorite apple is the Gala, too. I love Ryne's comment about the Sweet Tango- very well stated.

    Congrats on the blog award nomination. I voted for you! :)

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  2. I nominated you for Best Nature Blog, so I am glad you are doing a nature-y post today:)

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  3. Another great post! And, you are a fabulous guide!

    Where can I vote for your blog??

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  4. I love your apple collage with ten different kinds of apples! Beautiful visual guide to the different varieties.

    Great study and I wanted to thank you for sharing your link with the OHC.

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  5. Apples are the best food to do those comparison studies with, in my opinion, because each kind tastes so different and yet all of them are delicious!

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