Green Hour Assignment #3 - Snow Falling Softly

We live in Texas. Snow is a very, very rare occurrence. To have snow blanket our land twice in one week is simply unbelievable.

My plans for study of any type have been rearranged this week due to circumstances beyond my control ... see previous post. I did tentatively plan our nature study for yesterday afternoon; yet, somehow I knew things might just change. And did they ever ...

Around noon, the most beautiful HUGE snowflakes began to fall and lay a beautiful carpet of snow over our little world. We got the wee boys in their cribs for a nap and headed to our 'playroom/schoolroom' to play catch-up on our week. Then it hit me... we can do our nature study right now!

Our assignment for the Green Hour Challenge this week was to incorporate an entry into a nature journal following outdoor exploration. Barb was quick to point out that nature journaling is not a formal exercise, but rather an extension of an experience. She lists several neat things that can be put in a nature journal as a memory of your time in God's creation... leaves, seeds, flowers, drawings, writing of any type, leaf rubbings, pictures taken outside, etc.

We already have nature journals and our kids have loved coloring in them and adding pictures of birds we meet and even dinosaurs from our local Heard museum's outdoor animated dinosaur exhibit. So, this assignment for me was an opportunity to explain a bit further to my kiddos about the exciting opportunity of preserving memories in a very personal way.

Back to the assignment... I decided to modify the assignment and ask the kids to sit quietly for 3 minutes at each window in our playroom and just watch what happened outside. (I know that the overwhelming preference is to be outside and experience it all first hand ... but, for today, observation was key.) It was such a beautiful time. My kids faces were plastered on the windows ... we could see things from a bird's eye view since our playroom is on the 2nd floor. There was absolutely silence in my house for the first time since we've became foster parents.


We all came back together and the consensus was a new appreciation for how hard the birds were working to fly in the snow. Everyone started drawing and here is what we ended up with:

Budding Author's lovely Spring tree with the unexpected snow

Little Mommy's picture of our garden covered with snow

Little Mommy's fabulous tree with several bluebirds perched in the branches

I decided to write a quick poem, the moment was quiet enough for my heart to feel for these fine feathered fellows...

A Fine Feather of a Day

Oh, wee feathered friend,
how cold you must be!
Sitting high, high up
in yonder tree.
The unexpected snow
and ice it brings,
a tizzy, dizzy,
flurry of wings.

Oh, wee feathered friend,
please hurry, do;
to gather your seeds
and head home, will you?
To fill your tummy
and care for your nest,
close your tiny eyes
for a peaceful rest.

Oh, wee feathered friend,
keep warm tonight;
as winter's fingers
extend to fright.
Until tomorrow,
may you be,
protected, dear one
in your sheltering tree.

And shortly thereafter, the time arrived for a snowball fight!!!