Indoor Nature Study

One nature study book that I have used often and especially love is called Growing Up Green, by Alice Skelsey and Gloria Huckaby. It's sort of hippy flavored, which I rather enjoy, and it was written in the 70s.

I used this first with the Head Girl and Equuschick when they were wee mites of one and two years. I used a copy from my library all those years ago. In 1999 I found it again at the local used bookstore and grabbed it for old time's sake. It is a nice book, with lots of fun things to do with your children to share the love of growing things, even in winter.

The following ideas can make a pleasant interlude from more rigorous scientific researches. They are easy, pleasant to do, free, and can even contribute to a family meal. They do have some scientific value as well. You can use these activities as the background for a discussion about eating roots, and for a brief lesson on root vegetables and how their roots differ from those of other plants- because the plant stores so much sugar in the roots there is enough energy to sustain further growth when you slice the tops and root them in water.

If you never have grown this kind of kitchen left-overs houseplant, you might begin by having your children guess what will happen. Write down their guesses so they can compare them later. This is also a good time to discuss the different parts of a plant (roots, stems, leaves), and to have a child sketch and label an example.

Grow a Potato Vine It's very easy and very pretty. You just stick a potato or a sweet potato (they make a prettier plant) in a jar of water so that just the bottom touches the water.
If the potato is too even in shape to stay up on the rim, then stick three toothpicks up around the side, and they will prop the tater up so it doesn't submerge.

It makes a beautiful vine and you can keep it going for several months. Once it starts to turn a bit yellow, it's time to repot it (I use a large coffee can), and then it will keep for another month or two. Then you need to either dump it or plant it outside and start another one.

For nature study you would have your child sketch the progress of the leaves and roots each week, measuring roots and leaves, that sort of thing.

You can also start a root garden. Slice the tops off of root vegetables such as parsnips, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, or beets. Put them cut-side down in a shallow pan of water (pie pans are perfect). You don't want the top submerged, but you do want enough water to allow the greenery to grow.

The children can could sketch those, measure their rate of grown each week, see if they prefer sun or shade, or if one vegetable does better than another. The tops of the turnips and beets are edible, so you can reuse them in a stir-fry. If you have chickens, you can feed them the greens when you have finished with them.

Another fun thing is to take root vegetable like a turnip, hollow it out from the root end, put three toothpicks in the side so that you can hang it upside down, like a small planter or basket. Keep the hole filled with water. The idea is that the turnips sprout leaves, the leaves would grow up, making a leafy looking basket.

This website has a pdf file of all the kitchen windowsill ideas I was going to share.

To be honest, we don't make this a huge science project. We just grown greenery in our kitchen from kitchen leftovers because I like greenery in the house. I think it's pleasant to the spirit and balm to the soul. I also like free, and I really enjoy reusing things that would otherwise have gone into the rubbish bin. So growing a brand-new window-sill garden of greenery from trash combines all those little pleasures of mine.