Explore Outdoors ~ after rain

 I walk in all kinds of weather, but taking pictures in the rain is tough. So I like to wait until the rain stops, and then capture those elusive raindrops. These photos were taken last month in Boston. 

Go on a Raindrop Walk in your neighborhood!

 

Berries, after rain

One thing about Virginia Creeper is that it likes to climb. Fence posts, trees, the speed limit sign where our road turns off from the highway...  in the fall, their leaves turn brilliant red, contrasting with the deep blue berries. Those berries are poisonous for people, but birds love them. Mary Anne Borge writes about birds and creeper berries over at her blog.

What kinds of berries do you see ripening on plants in your neighborhood? Do you have any trees in your yard that birds flock to for fall and winter snacking?

Grab some binoculars and head out to where the berries grow. If you've got some Virginia Creeper growing nearby, watch for these berry-nibbling birds:

• Woodpeckers
• Titmice
• Chickadees
• Nuthatches
• Thrushes
• Robins
• Catbirds 
• Eastern Bluebirds
• Cedar Waxwings 

Explore Outdoors ~ a rainy day nature walk

April is a rainy month - but you can still explore nature. Whether it's your backyard or front walk, or even plants growing on your balcony, you're sure to see some beauty in nature. Here's my backyard rainy day nature break...

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Rainy Day Fun

The world looks different in the rain. Clouds seem to hang closer to the ground. The earth smells greener, fresher. So if you've got some days of gentle rain, head outside for some Rainy Day exploration.

• take time to notice the rain - what it feels like, smells like, tastes like.
• rescue worms trapped in puddles. Gently pick them up and move them to earth. While you're at it, observe them as they crawl around in your hands.
• if there's an overflowing gutter, have a leaf or twig race - or fold up some tiny paper boats and send them off on an expedition.
• go on a nature walk. What animals do you see when it's raining? What do you see after the rain?
• if you have a waterproof camera, take photos of the world during the storm. Can you catch raindrops splashing in puddles or on the sidewalk?

Where Science meets Art

It's been rainy this past month (snowy, too) - but still, on those not-too-wet days I've loved heading outdoors to see what is happening with the changing season. Here are two books to inspire your own investigations as we welcome April showers, mud and flowers.

themes: nature, water cycle, imagination

 I am the Rain
by John Paterson
32 pages, ages 3-8
Dawn publications, 2018

Sometimes I'm the rain cloud
       and sometimes I'm the rain.

Using poetic language and art, author John Paterson takes us on an adventure through the water cycle. He knows water - where it flows and how to paddle through it. And he knows its many moods, from wild and splashy to misty fog.

What I like about this book: I like the first-person point of view - a story about the water cycle from the perspective of the water. I like how we learn about water through the different seasons, and in different states - gas, liquid, solid. Water is everywhere on our planet and, as it notes, "All of life depends on me."

The back matter is filled with so much information and ideas for exploration. There are notes to explain the "science behind the poetry" and tips for taking care of water. Plus science, engineering, and math activities.


Anywhere Artist
by Nikki Slade Robinson
40 pages; ages 4-7
Clarion Books, 2018

I am an anywhere artist.

Who needs paint and paper? All this artist needs is her imagination! And maybe a few leaves from the forest, or driftwood and seaweed. Mud, stones, lichens - they can make art. Or perhaps your art can fill the sky, created from nothing more than water vapor and imagination. Who hasn't created cloud dragons?

What I like about this book: it is so fun, free, and filled with the joy of discovering art in the natural world. As one who collects leaf skeletons for their lacy beauty, I love that this wild artist uses leaf skeletons in her creations. I love that she takes us to very different environments to find natural materials: the forest, the beach, a muddy puddle, the sky.

The title focuses on the art, but inside the pages this is a book about discovering nature. If your kids haven't hunted for leaf skeletons yet, they will once they see them used as art materials. The other cool thing about this book is that all the art materials are biodegradable.  I'd just add a caution: if you go collecting natural materials for your own art, use things that are dead, and only take a tiny tiny bit of living plants.

Beyond the Books:
How much rain falls during a storm? The easiest way to find out is to set a bucket in an open area of your yard and, after the storm, measure how much water is in it. Or you can make your own rain gauge out of a plastic bottle.

Where does rain gather in your neighborhood? And where does it go? Does it create a wetland in your yard? Make rivers in the gutter? Whoosh down storm drains? Fall over boulders in a creek? Find out where it goes.

Create art from natural things you find. It can be as simple as painting with mud, or creating a pattern from stones. This time of year you might find leaf skeletons beneath old piles of leaves. Or if you live along a beach you can find all kinds of seaweeds and driftwood, shells, and claws. Leave your art in nature, and return in a day or two to see what has happened to it.

Ephemeral Creations ~ choose a dry day so you can lay on the ground and look at the sky. Then create art from the cloud shapes. Do tree branches frame your art? Does mist turn it into rainbows?

Today we're joining the STEM Friday roundup - and we're also joining others over at Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books. Review copies from publishers

Watersong

Watersong
by Tim McCanna; illus. by Richard Smythe
32 pages; ages 4-8
Simon & Schuster, 2017

themes: nature, rain, ecosystems

Drip drop
      plip plop
           pitter patter pat ...

A rainstorm moves in as a fox trots through a marsh. As the storm builds, fox looks for a safe place to shelter.

What I like love about this book: The language. Reading the words aloud is like listening to a rainstorm. Whish! Hiss! Whoosh.... The illustrations are stunning, and capture the storm from all angles, including from above.

 You can feel the energy of the leaves whirling in the wind! I love the beat of the words, and the way they are grouped on the pages. At first the words are soft, few on the page, but as the storm intensifies the words become rougher, more intense, louder.

I also love that there is back matter: notes about ecosystems, watersheds, and the importance of water to plants and animals. The story itself doesn't explain the water cycle or ecology of a marsh, but we see it. Notes add some context that an older reader can share with a youngster.

Beyond the book: 

Follow the sound of Rain. Next time you have a rain storm, listen to the sounds. Write down what the rain sounds like. Feel the beat of the drops against the roof or earth.

Go on a "sense" walk. After rain, walk outside and listen. Smell the air, mud, plants. Feel the air, grass, drips and drops from leaves above. Look for glitter, rainbows, reflections.

Where does water go? Follow the rivulets - do they join a stream? a river? how does the water get from your house to a lake or ocean? Where else does water go after the rain?

Measure a raindrop. You'll need a cookie sheet or shoebox lid, flour, a bowl, a fine-mesh sieve, and a ruler. Here's how to do it.

Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.We're also joining the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. Review copy from my personal library.

Wednesday Explorer Club ~ Wordless Wednesday

How to Measure a Raindrop

There’s always water vapor in our air. Sometimes it collects in clouds and then, when it gets heavy enough, falls to earth as rain.

Most people think of raindrops as tear-shaped. But a French scientist, who filmed falling droplets, found that air resistance causes raindrops to change shape as they fall. He documented large, round drops that flattened as they fell, growing wider and then filling with air like a jellyfish or a parachute . When the parachute inflated, the drop burst apart into smaller droplets. All of this activity happened fast, too - within 6/100 of a second.

So how big are these raindrops when they finally reach us? Meteorologists – scientists who measure such things – say that raindrops range anywhere from 1/100 of an inch to 1/4 inch in diameter. 

You can measure your own raindrops. What you need:

• shoebox lid
• ruler
• flour
• bowl
• fine mesh sieve

Fill the shoebox lid with flour and use a ruler to smooth the top so it is level.

During a gentle shower, hold the shoebox lid out in the rain until about 15-25 raindrops have fallen into the flour. Bring the lid inside to see what you’ve found. Flour absorbs water, and since the flour is a powder it will hold the shape of the raindrop together.

Now set the sieve over the bowl. Carefully pour the flour from the lid into the sieve, shaking it gently. This will sift flour into the bowl and leave the raindrop lumps behind.

Gently pour your flour-preserved droplets onto a sheet of paper and measure them.

You can find more rainy day activities at weather wiz kids.