{pretty, funny, happy, real} Nature Club

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty} 

Last week was our first St. Francis Nature Club!  When thinking about what kinds of activities I'd like to help with in my new homeschooling group here, Nature Club came to mind, especially as I read the "Haystack Full of Needles" book about homeschooling socialization by Alice Gunther.  We had a great turnout and are meeting once monthly at a local botanical garden and nature center, with possible side field trip activities one other day each month.  I started our meeting with a storybook about St. Francis and the Prayer of St. Francis, before letting families explore on their own.

These photos were taken in the butterfly house

They have some parrots there, too!

 {happy}

I forgot our stroller, so our family's nature walk didn't last long.  Once the boys noticed the play structure, there was no going back to walking!  It was a hot day, too.  They loved the swings!

{funny}

This was a huge iguana.  Thomas ran over and announced that it was a dinosaur! 

Thomas has been quite a "hot mess" at activities recently.  I think this fit was due to his desire to use my camera, but there's always something.  He won't go to sleep at night, either, so we are having interesting sleeping patterns around here! Hopefully it will get better soon, because it isn't all that funny when your toddler is awake after midnight!!!

 

 {real}

After the walk we had a nice picnic lunch under the pavilion.  I brought colored pencils and watercolor paints for the kids to decorate their sketches from the nature walk.  I gave some ideas before we started about what kinds of things to draw, and next month I hope to give a "nature challenge" to find some particular items to draw, with a sharing time during lunch.

I was quite thrilled when we ended up having over 50 people attend this first meeting!  I had gotten RSVPs from about 5 families, 2 who didn't end up being able to come.  How exciting it was to see families bursting out of vans when I pulled up!  I think this will be a great avenue for nature study, outdoor learning, and friendship building in the coming months.  Thanks be to God that this little desire of mine was fulfilled :-)

Also some prayers for our family are appreciated, in regards to a house we've found this week, and another intention for a family member who needs a safe home.  Thank you!  

St. Joseph, pray for us.  St. Francis, pray for us.