Preschool Nature Study

Nature Detectives.

That is what we have been this month- up close and personal with nature.

Pretty fitting that our Mother Goose Time curriculum sent us a book called 

My Close to Nature! book.

Our MGT activity suggested to take some up close and personal pictures of the nature items around us and then write about them.   I taught her how to use the camera on my phone and had her snap the pictures of what she found interesting in our yard. Here are a few of the pictures my girl took to add to her book....once I get these developed at Walmart....

And then we found this dead guy....

It was so cool getting up close and personal to this cicada.

The feel of her paper thin wings- as if they were only made out of the line structure themselves was really unexpected.

We observed her folded legs and counted them.  Avaleigh was definitely reluctant to touch this dead cicada, but watching me be interested in it calmed her down and allowed her to observe longer. 

I did manage to get a picture of her touching the cicada below. 

Normally, insects and I are not friends!

In fact I hate flying insects and am pretty deathly afraid of them.  If we weren't doing this nature study, I probably would have swept this carcass out of my garage and into the bushes without a second thought.  However since we are doing this study, it forced me to stop and pause.

I have watched my fear of insects pass on to my girl as she too is mostly scared of flying insects and at one point, she wasn't.  As I was brave and touched and got closer to this cicada, so did she.  

I realized how much of an impression I can instantly make on my kids.

As a parent, I have been given so much power, for better or for worse, to help mold my children.

It's a scary, but powerful thought, and 

makes me want to be the absolute very best mom I can be for them.