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Becky Parker
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| Posted: June 28 2007 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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In the "Pocket Full of Pinecones" thread Comstock's book has been mentioned several times. I've had this book on my shelf since our first year of homeschooling and have never felt like I used it effectively. Could I ask how you all use it? Perhaps I just need to get "Pocket Full of Pinecones"? Or maybe you have some tips? We love nature hikes around here and my kids are always collecting some sort of bug or seeing some creature. Sometimes I think we're in the perfect situation, but I don't use my resources wisely!
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cvbmom
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Sorry to be of no help whatsoever  but I am interested in hearing what others have to say on this one. We, too, have the book sitting unused on our shelf waiting to be put to good use.
Christine
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ann@home
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I can't help either, I love to browse thru it but it's not a very user friendly format since it's so thick! I wish it were spiral bound and larger pages.
My kids can't manage it easily either so they always grab other things as a reference.
I copied off a nice schedule somewhere of the book by chapter that I started to use last yr but the book was so cumbersome I stopped 
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Dawn
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I guess we use it mostly on a spontaneous basis. For instance, we have been observing some interesting woodpecker behavior, and I went directly to the Handbook to learn more about "Friend Downy" as she calls them.  I like reading her personal anecdotes (especially the red squirrel one!), the old-fashioned poems (nice copywork) and the lesson ideas, too. We followed some of her tree lesson plans if memory serves. I also quote from Ms. Comstock a lot on my blog! 
I have a lot of nature resources here but the Comstock book, from an older era, has such a warm and charming way about it - the material is presented in such a different way than books today.
I do wish to use it in a more structured way, but this is how we use it for now. I'm always glad I have it at my fingertips.
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Sarah
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cvbmom wrote:
Sorry to be of no help whatsoever but I am interested in hearing what others have to say on this one. We, too, have the book sitting unused on our shelf waiting to be put to good use.
Christine |
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Ditto.
Dh and I thumb through it occasionally, but the boys actually READ and STUDY field guides.
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stefoodie
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This is the year I'm FINALLY getting some good use out of the Comstock book. I'm severely nature-impaired, to the detriment of my children, so as a last resort I've decided to take advantage of our area's nature offerings, etc. I've made a calendar of activities at local preserves, science center, the zoo, etc. and picked one activity for each week.
For instance, this week, it's owls. So I've read the owl section in the Comstock, had the kids read a couple of living books on owls, and today we're going to an owl show, where they'll take pics/draw/listen to a talk/dissect owl pellets. Armed with what I read in the Comstock book, I hope to at least be able to understand what the guide will be talking about and be able to ask a few questions of the kids later.
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chicken lady
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stefoodie wrote:
I've decided to take advantage of our area's nature offerings, etc. I've made a calendar of activities at local preserves, science center, the zoo, etc. and picked one activity for each week.
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Great idea! This is so helpful for people who are just looking for ways to get started.
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Paula in MN
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For the life of me, I don't remember where I got this idea from, but it might have come from the AO site, or from a blog about it.
Essentially, decide what you are going to study by season...winter - birds, spring - wildflowers, summer/fall - mammals.
Say you are doing birds - look at the bird section in her book. Look at the birds you see in your area. During nature walks, pay attention to the birds. Use her book to talk about basic facts about birds (all have beaks, feathers, two feet, etc.)Put out birdseed, sketch, journal, add all to notebook.
Use her book as more of a teacher's guide. That has definitely worked for us.
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AndreaG
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I was just coming here to ask about this! Thanks for all the suggestions- hopefully next year I will use my Comstock book for more that pressing leaves!
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AndreaG wrote:
| hopefully next year I will use my Comstock book for more that pressing leaves! |
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LOL!Too funny! And familiar. Every time I open that book a pressed leaf or flower I'd forgotten about falls out!
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Paula in MN wrote:
For the life of me, I don't remember where I got this idea from, but it might have come from the AO site, or from a blog about it.
Essentially, decide what you are going to study by season...winter - birds, spring - wildflowers, summer/fall - mammals.
Say you are doing birds - look at the bird section in her book. Look at the birds you see in your area. During nature walks, pay attention to the birds. Use her book to talk about basic facts about birds (all have beaks, feathers, two feet, etc.)Put out birdseed, sketch, journal, add all to notebook.
Use her book as more of a teacher's guide. That has definitely worked for us.
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I really love this idea Paula! Thanks. This year I'm trying to do a slightly more coordinated approach to nature study with a few themes - not sure if they'll be seasonal or monthly/bimonthly. So far I just pull out the Comstock book to supplement the "whatever" we just found. But, your idea sounds far better!
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lapazfarm
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Here is how we use the book:
Though we do not use Comstocks all that often, I think the book is particularly good for certain things.
It is great to use as a tool for a formal study of a particular thing. Pull it out when you have an animal you've caught, such as a lizards, snake, spider, crayfish, etc that you can observe closely for a long period. Open the book to the correct critter. Read aloud the intro information and then ask older children to go through the exercises, with your guidance, over a period of time as they choose. With younger children do just a few of them together. The idea is to practice close observation. They can also draw when they are done and the exercises in close observation will improve the detail of their drawings.
It is great to use when you don't have a field guide for a particular group of critters, and don't have time to get to the library. Since it is such a broad resource,and it has a little bit of everything, it is kind of hit or miss if what you need will be in there, but at least there IS a little of everything. Good chance of hitting common things.
It is great to use for finding a poem or quote to add to your nature journal. If you go out and draw something (say a bird or a flower), then want a poem or bit of lore to go with it to spice up your page a bit (or for copywork), good chance of finding one in Comstocks.
It is great for a basic research tool for mom when planning a unit on certain aspects of nature. If you are doing a more planned day of nature study, with a distinct goal in mind, (rather than a day of just explore and discover), then Comstocks is a good tool for you to use to help plan. It gives a good overall picture and ideas for investigations you can do to make your day more fruitful.
And that is basically what we do with it.
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Tami
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ann@home wrote:
I can't help either, I love to browse thru it but it's not a very user friendly format since it's so thick! I wish it were spiral bound and larger pages.
My kids can't manage it easily either so they always grab other things as a reference.
I copied off a nice schedule somewhere of the book by chapter that I started to use last yr but the book was so cumbersome I stopped |
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My kids use it when I remind them to, except for one of my sons who pulls it off the shelf just to read for pleasure. Then he walks up and spontaneously narrates to me, in great detail. Sometimes I think he's a born CM'er!
But on a practical note, Ann, I have had great success with books like this that are cumbersome (like the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide), by taking them to Office Depot where they will slice off the spine and then spiral-bind the book so it will lie flat. 
I've even had this done with some of my books that where the binding comes unglued, like D'Aulaire's Greek Myths. But I had to take that one to a printer, because none of the regular copy/binding places had spiral long enough for it. 
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Mackfam
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Tami wrote:
I have had great success with books like this that are cumbersome (like the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide), by taking them to Office Depot where they will slice off the spine and then spiral-bind the book so it will lie flat. |
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OOOOOH! That is an awesome idea!!!! Thank you Tami! You can spiral bind a book that thick?
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ann@home
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I did think about trying to change the binding but figured it was too thick for spiral binding...maybe I should relook into that or comb binding.
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Tami
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Mackfam wrote:
OOOOOH! That is an awesome idea!!!! Thank you Tami! You can spiral bind a book that thick? |
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Well, I hope so, after making the recommendation! But in all honesty, I'm not 100% sure. I assumed it would work....  But my Ultimate Geography book was pretty thick...
Now you may have to go up a level for service. If Office Depot/Staples type of place can't do it, then try FedEX-Kinkos - they handle more business clients. If they say no, then I'd ask them for recommendations, or go to the yellow pages for printers.
Tell them what you need, and that you're a hs'er. The company that did my D'Aulaire book wanted $35 to spiral bind, but when I explained that the book was only $18 new (and still in REALLY good condition, except that the glued spine had split in 3 places ), and I was trying to preserve for my younger child, they just said bring it in and they'd work something out for me. It took a few days, but when I picked it up, they didn't charge me at all!
Oh, and I'd definitely go spiral-bound, not comb-binding for something this thick. Or if you wind up with a printer, they will probably have even more options that the other places don't/can't stock.
If you do it, let us know. Good luck!
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Becky Parker
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Thanks so much for your ideas ladies. Paula, your idea intrigues me because I'm such a planner by nature. I really like the idea of studying frogs or something like a theme and I know Comstocks book would come in handy for that. Trouble is, every time I've tried something like that we find absolutely NO frogs on our nature hike, but instead we find say, robin eggs or something. I guess I should have a more "flexible plan".
I think the main thing I need to do is put it in a more accessible place. At this point it is on a shelf with our field guides. Trouble is, when the kids want to look up a particular bird, tree leaf, or animal, they go to that field guide and don't even think about opening the big Comstock book.
I'm also thinking I need to make better use of her introductions. I love to read them just for pleasure and I think my ds would do...but I would have to start by strongly suggesting it, or even assigning it. Once I did that I bet he wouldn't put the book down.
Thanks again for all your help everyone!
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Dawn
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Linda Fay has a nice post up at her blog this morning about nature study and the Comstock book: Nature Study - Butterflies or 'How We Use the Handbook of Nature Study'
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Mackfam
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That was a great post Dawn! Thanks so much for the link. For those of you that try to do a themed study of nature - could you give me a little idea of what themes you use. I'm not looking for "super-structure" - I always want to have the flexibility to enjoy investigating the special unplanned gifts we might see while out observing, but I feel like I could benefit from a bit of an outline/guide to move by.
This was Linda Fay's list, and it looks a lot like the list I had planned:
Birds
Trees
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Mammals
Flowers
Crops
Flowerless Plants
Non vertebrates
Rocks and Minerals
The Heavens (includes weather, stars, planets)
Any other ideas? My list includes Botany studies, Zoology, Astronomy, Earth Science. I was trying to coordinate with the Comstock book somewhat. I was hoping to study seasonally...any thoughts???
Thanks for this helpful and timely thread Becky!
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SuzanneG
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I thought of this thread from the archives about The Handbook of Nature Study when I saw Barb's blog post the other day:
How to Naturally Share Nature Study with your Child
Barb Harmony Art Mom wrote:
So hopefully I have helped you understand a little of what I get from the Handbook of Nature Study.
* The HNS is for the adult to read and be inspired from.
* The HNS is for gleaning information and observation ideas for nature study.
* Young children will learn the proper names for things naturally if you use it in conversation.
* Older children will need a bit more preparation to begin to focus their nature study time.
* Nature journal entries are not required after every outdoor experience.
* Nature journals include a variety of information.
* Nature study refreshes and inspires the parents as well as the children.
* Regularly read the Handbook of Nature Study to refine your skills as a guide for your children.
Dust your copy of the Handbook of Nature Study off today and read a few pages of the introductory chapters. Scan the Table of Contents and see if anything catches your eye for a nature study this week. Join us in completing the Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. Do something this week to get you outdoors with your children for even a few minutes to have some fun and refreshment. |
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Comstock's Book
