Australian Nature Study Guide Volume 1 Review

Ever since I read Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion (Chapter 33 Nature Study, Chapter 34 - Nature for City Children and Chapter 35 - Neighbourhood Nature Study) I have had a love affair with the idea of Nature Study and Nature Journaling. I even gathered a whole list of  Resources for Nature Journaling. After discovering a few wonderful blogs showing how to do nature study as well as the Handbook of Nature Study Home of the Outdoor Challenge I was even more inspired, I did not however follow through because all the challenges were Northern Hemisphere challenges.  Due to the demands of marriage, motherhood and home education I just did not have the energy or time reserves to develop our own Southern Hemisphere equivalent.  I was so excited and relieved earlier this year when I discovered Nature Study Australia which is hosted by Marie, a fellow veteran home educating Mom here in Australia.

Marie had been educating for a few years and was feeling burnt out when she was introduced to a Charlotte Mason educational philosophy and as such implemented the gentle arts into her home school. As her homeschool took on this new way of learning she found it was important to become organised before each study so that they did not run down rabbit trails and become despondent due to no direction.

As a busy mum, I appreciate the time I save by out sourcing resources, and this is one of the reasons I’ve written the Australian Nature Study Guide for Aussie mums and dads, who love the idea of nature science, but need the encouragement and resources to get started. - Marie

 After discovering this wonderful resource I contacted Marie via Instagram and asked her if she had any samples available for review.  She kindly blessed our family with Volume 1 of the Australian Nature Study Guide Summer/Autumn edition and Free Notebook Pages (Advanced, Intermediate and Kinda).

The guide contains

• 68 pages
• Five weeks of summer study covering
  • Honeybees
  • Blue Tongue Lizard
  • Summer Tree Study
  • Spotted Grass Frog
  • Jacky Winter
• Five weeks of Autumn study covering
  • Kangaroo Apple
  • Bandicoot
  • Autumnal Equinox
  • Emperor Gum Moth
  • Golden Orb Weaver Spider
• Starting Out Guide
• Optional Gear for Nature Exploration list
• Ideas on starting a Nature Journal both for basic and advanced journaling
• Each week of study contains
  • an introduction
  • colour photograph of the thing you are focusing on that week
  • Ideas for further exploration
  • Related Internet links
  • Nature Ramble Ideas
  • Recommended Literature
  • Non Fiction Ideas
  • Poetry
  • Scripture
  • Hymn
  • Picture Study
  • Digging Deeper (for younger, older and oldest students)
• Additional Activities contains ideas from expanding your nature studies at home 
• Resource List - contains a list of wonderful books to collect to enhance your nature studies at home. (Field Guides, Amazing Fact Series, Nature Journaling, Poem books, etc)

How a study works
Since it was Autumn we jumped in on the first week of Autumn studies, Week Six, page 34 - Kangaroo Apple. Being an immigrant it was fun to learn that the local Aboriginal people call this a Bush Tomato and that it is a part of their bush tucker menu in the drier parts of Australia.

Marie does not dumb down her introductions and uses enough scientific jargon along with explanations to keep the information both interesting and relevant.  For example she explains that the Kangaroo Apple plant in hermaphroditic meaning that it contains both male and female organs.

My husband is a passionate bird photographer and he was very impressed with the introduction to the Jacky Winter in Week five.

As we read through the information provided there were a few Internet linked recommendations to books and YouTube clips which helped us to learn more about the item of study.

In the Nature Ramble section there were recommendations on where to go and look for a Kangaroo Apple along with ideas of what to do on your walk.  There are some questions to use to expand the experience and help both you and your children appreciate the experience more deeply.

Being a passionate book enthusiast I have greatly enjoyed the Literature Jaunt sections in each study. A couple of lovely discoveries have been: Wild Food Plants of Australia and the very beautiful Bush Seasons by Joan Semmens. I appreciate these recommendations as I do not need to seek out relevant books in our local library I can simply log in from home and request the books on the list for pick up.

Each of the poems in the Poetry Picnic have been Internet linked and are just beautiful. I have not had to seek out the recommended poem or book to find it.  The same goes for the Hymn each week.  Marie provides links to the lyrics, music and instrumental pieces.  I have found some new albums to add to our listening pleasure on Spotify from her recommendations.

I am a huge fan of beautiful art and pictures to fill the minds of both children and adults alike.  Each week in the Picture Study area Marie provides a Internet linked picture.  For the Kangaroo Apple she recommended this beautiful painting by Louisa Anne Meredith.  This beautiful painting is from 1891 and illustrates the leaves, flowers and fruit.

In the Digging Deeper sections there are some wonderful ideas to broaden your students learning and includes some wonderful resources to help you learn some new drawing or painting skills such as this YouTube clip on painting foliage in water colour.  Since we are new to Nature Journaling I chose to start Nathaniel off slowly and asked him to simply draw a Kangaroo Apple. I was rather impressed with his first attempt.

Scattered throughout the book are quotes such as this one:

"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning." - Brad Henry

 There is no planning neccessary other than getting in books from the library to expand your experience should you wish to.

Notebook Pages
There are three separate levels of Notebook pages: Kinda, Intermediate and Advanced.

• 13 pages
• Sunrise/sunset record chart
• Cover page to colour
• PDF Format 

Each of the Nature Journal books is beautifully presented.  Above is a sample comparison of week 6 Bush Food page.  From left to right Kinda, Intermediate and Advanced. Click on the image to see it full sized.

 Australian Nature Guides Available for Purchase

• Volume 1 - Summer/Autumn
• Volume 2 - Autumn/Winter
• Volume 3 - Winter/Spring Coming in Term 3 2018
• Volume 4 - Spring/Summer Coming in Term 4 2018

Photograph by Nature Study Australia

Connect with Nature Study Australia on Social Media

• Nature Science For Aussie Families Closed Facebook Group
• Nature Study Australia Facebook Page
• Instagram - nature_study_australia
• Pinterest - Marie @ Nature Study Australia

Final Thoughts
Nature Study Australia's blog is inspirational, Marie shares some wonderful information on Australian Fauna, Flora, Seasons and Backyard . Recently I was inspired to make a Phenology Wheel after seeing one on the blog.

I highly recommend you subscribe to their news letter your in box will not be inundated with junk, you will however be blessed with free resources and a once a month news letter with relevant information pertaining to our current season here in Australia. It's also a great way to know when the new volumes are released!

I LOVE the Australian Nature Study Guides and am looking forward to purchasing the future Volumes as they become available later this year.

Chareen 

200 Years of Australian Fashion (Part 1 of 2) {Field Trip}

Last week Friday we joined another homeschooling family for a day trip into Melbourne city to go to the 200 Years of Australian Fashion exhibition, which is currently on display at The Ian Potter Centre. There are 101 outfits by ninety designers and makers on display in four galleries.

When you arrive you feel as though you are transported back in time as you enter the display via this passage way.  

Oldest Dress c.1805
This evening dress is believed to be the oldest surviving dress made in Australia and is estimated to have been worn in c.1805.  The fabric is muslin which is thought to have originated in India.   The silver in this dress used to be golden but has faded over the years.  The dress is entirely hand made .

Maternity Dress c.1828
This gown was hand-sewn out of silk serge (this is a woven fabric with diagonal ridge patterns of brown and cream thread)and only worn in private within the home. It has a front-opening bodice, drop front cut into the skirt to show the shift as the waistline lowers and skirt widens.

Cotton and Silk evening Gown c.1855
This beautiful gown was worn by Anne Lavinia Grice who was the wife of a prominenet pastroalist and bussinessman.  She arrived in Australia in 1843 and married in Sydney before moving to Melbourne in the 1850's. The dress is made of cotton, silk, metal, mother-of-pearl and baleen.

The Department Store
During the 1850's in Australia small general stores (repositories) sold a range of drapery and trimming supplies to the working class.  The upper class acquired their clothing at men's tailors and outfitters and woman"s dressmaking establishments.  By the mid to late nineteenth century impressive emporiums had appeared on the scene and changed the streetscape and increased the local availability of fashionable clothing.

Silk and Cotton Dress c.1877

Silk Bonnet c.1875
This bonnet is from Mrs O'mera Millinery Establishment in Inverell, New South Wales
 

Dressmaking and Tailoring

• Dressmaking is based on draping fabric around a form and was traditionally practiced by women around the world.
• Tailoring was historically practiced by men and is the art of measurements, pattern cutting and shaping. 
• The nineteenth century saw the beginning of the practice of applying labels to clothing  and therefore the recognition of designers and allow us to now track an individual's signature style.
• It was during this time that tailors began to make men as well as women's equestrian wear.
• In 1861 a census revealed that 20% of woman worked outside the domestic environment. 
• Black was worn as a symbol of sadness at the death of a loved one.

Wedding Outfit 1889
This outfit is made of wool, silk, metal, cotton, wax and plastic.  It was purchased and worn by Mrs Ethel Florence Francis for her wedding to Cr David Phillips.  They were married at the Sydney Rd Methodist Church in Brunswick Melbourne on 30 January 1889.

Cape 1895
This cape is made from silk, metal, wool, glass and mirror by George & George.  It is one of the earliest labeled items of clothing by the George brothers William and Harley. They moved to Melbourne from England in 1877 and established George and George in 1880.

Early 20th Century

Evening Dress c.1959
This dress was from the fashion house La Petite (1940-86) in Melbourne.  It was purchased and worn by Annette Klooger.  She wore it in a live performance on The Graham Kennedy Show.

Ball Gown 1956
This ball gown is from the fashion house La Petite (1940-86) in Melbourne. It was worn by Lady Brooks, the wife of the Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brooks, to a reception they held for the Duke of Edinburgh in 1956 who was visiting Melbourne for the Olympics. It was made of silk, cotton, glass beads, sequins, diamante and artificial flowers.

1960's Youth Culture
Fashion took on a radical social change during this era. Ready to wear clothing replaced custom-made clothing. A whole new generation of designers pioneered fashion and the clothing industry in Australia.

1970's Flamingo Park Sydney
Jenny Kee opened Flamingo Park along  with her friend and fellow designer Linda Jackson which produced clothing with a decidedly Australian flair.

1980's
These years are when Australia became increasingly independent in their fashion culture and were years when the designers experimented with unconventional materials and began to blur the lines between fashion and art.

Next week I will continue the journey fashion in Australia.  The children and I were pleasantly surprised at how much we really enjoyed this exhibition.  I highly recommend it for the young and old alike. 

This display is open to the public until the end of July.
Blessings
Chareen

Places to Explore near Melbourne

One of the things I enjoy about home educating is the opportunity to make use of the things within our community in order to make use of immersion learning. The second thing I love about this life style is the opportunity to meet families from around the world which in turn encourages us to explore local places and 'show' our guests a little piece Australia.

Michelle from Homeschooling Down Under and Belinda from Live Life with Your Kids have invited us to show you our little piece of Australia. In our 'back yard' we have a number of gorgeous places to visit and today I would like to introduce four of them to you.

1. Victorian State Rose Garden

This is a little piece of heaven earth-side.  The garden beds are arranged in the shapes of rose petals and filled with roses from around the world.

Photographs do not do the Rose Garden justice.  The Rose Garden is open every day of the year to the public and entrance is free.

2. The Mansion

Here is a place you can spend a full day and not see everything there is to see.  Entrance to The Mansion property is FREE but if you would like to look inside the historical home there is a small fee.  Walking through these gardens is magnificent.  The trees are enormous and the grounds are beautifully kept. Continue round the back and you will walk into history.  The farming part of the mansion is still there to take a look at.  If you like art there is also a sculpture walk to enjoy.

3. Werribee Open Range Zoo

A visit to us is not complete without experiencing a little piece of Africa or the Werribee Open Range Zoo.  Paul works here and if you'd like to meet his serval be sure to attend a presentation (You can watch Paul introduce serval at a night zoo presentation on YouTube).  Depending on the time of year the zoo is open after dark (Night Zoo) and during summer for Rhythm of Africa.

 You can also meet many of the animals up close and personal.

4.Geelong

 Geelong is a beautiful waterfront city not far from our home.  There are a number of museums and areas to explore here.  Among them the Wool Museum which often has exhibitions on.

If you all looking for some family friendly things to do in Melbourne do not forget to check out this post: 10 Family Friendly Places to Experience in Melbourne Australia 

Blessings
Chareen

Ice, Wind, Rock by Peter Gouldthorpe {Tuesday's Treasures}

Ice, Wind, Rock: Douglas Mawson in the Antarctic

• Format: Paper back / Hardback
• Number of Pages:32
• Publisher:Lothian Children's Books
• Publication Date: 
• ISBN 10:0734411553
• ISBN 13:9780734411556
• Author Peter Gouldthorpe
• Illustrator:Peter Gouldthorpe

I just love a good find at the library and this is one of those finds.  This book is both beautifully written and illustrated.  It is good quality twaddle free Australian history.  It tells the historical journey of Douglas Mawson down in the Antarctic and his fight for survival giving the reader a deeper appreciation for the beautiful wild Antarctic and why the Australian base is called Mawson base.  If you are studying the geography and history of the Antarctic I highly recommend this beautiful book. 

Blessings
Chareen

*********************************************************************** 

Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures. I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books and Resources out there out there hiding on shelves and somewhere on the internet.

I invite you to blog about

• a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library,
•  a great homeschool item you have found and
•  any new resources you are enjoying. 

Grab the button for your post and add a link to your post below. I would love to read about your treasures. 

<center> <a title="Every bed of Roses" href="http://everybedofroses.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Tuesday%20Treasure" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34ZwphRT56uBFiecv5EEBxyalzCTnsjQzOt4kU5-Q9aQJyVUyaYqZZUixp3AyRGc3ATJx5bnVQouhIRfO6gMRqnnhKOUODA1dqJ2ay1Pp-25FrZIxRDlO771WXy5drTH5o1go2sHRUNAp/s1600/tuesdays+treasures.png" width="125" height="125" alt="Every bed of Roses" /></a></center>

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ANZAC Day - an Ode to the Fallen

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children

England mourns for her dead across the sea,

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow,

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again,

They sit no more at familiar tables of home,

They have no lot in our labour of the daytime,

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires and hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the night.

As the stars shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain.

I found this write up about this poem over at ANZAC Day "The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in Australia since 1921."

Resources

• Gallipoli by Kerry Greenwood
• ANZAC Day
• Learning about Anzac Day a collection of ideas to help young children about war from over at Suzie's Home Education Ideas. 
• 10 Ways to help Children Understand Anzac Day over at Suzie's Home Education Ideas.  
• A collection of Books for World War 1 over at Seven Little Australians & Counting. 
• Free Printable ANZAC Unit for Young Learners over at Our Worldwide Classroom.
• On Pinterest
• Australian Army ANZAC Day
• The playing of the Last Post on YouTube
• Classroom Activities on ANZAC Day
• A is for ANZACs
• Words of Remembrance
• Make a poppy
• Lest We Forget Download - printables, recipe, crafts etc.

I Was Only Nineteen {Tuesday's Treasures}

Next week Friday 25 April is ANZAC day here is Australia.  I'm on the search for books to read about Kiwi's and Aussies and ANZAC.  Today I was given this book to read to Sir N.

I Was Only Nineteen

• Format: Hardback
• Number of Pages: 32
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin Children's Books 
• Publication Date: 2014 
• ISBN 10: 1743317239 
• ISBN 13: 9781743317235 
• Author Words by John Schumann from the iconic song about the Vietnam War 
• Illustrator: Craig Smith 

This book is beautifully illustrated.  The words are the lyrics from a song by John Schumann and sung by the Australian group Redgum  (Album: Caught In The Act).  It took him 15 minutes to compose and is a tribute to the men and woman of Australia who fought in the Vietnam War. The illustrations are beautiful and take you on the journey with a Grandfather as he shares his memories of being Only 19.

Blessings
Chareen

Here are a couple of YouTube clips of the song: I Was Only 19 (1983) and I was Only 19 Photo Montage

*********************************************************************** 

Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures. I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books and Resources out there out there hiding on shelves and somewhere on the internet.

I invite you to blog about

• a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library,
•  a great homeschool item you have found and
•  any new resources you are enjoying. 

Grab the button for your post and add a link to your post below. I would love to read about your treasures. 

<center> <a title="Every bed of Roses" href="http://everybedofroses.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Tuesday%20Treasure" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34ZwphRT56uBFiecv5EEBxyalzCTnsjQzOt4kU5-Q9aQJyVUyaYqZZUixp3AyRGc3ATJx5bnVQouhIRfO6gMRqnnhKOUODA1dqJ2ay1Pp-25FrZIxRDlO771WXy5drTH5o1go2sHRUNAp/s1600/tuesdays+treasures.png" width="125" height="125" alt="Every bed of Roses" /></a></center>

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