Let's play a game...I'm going on a Nature Study Walk and I'm taking with me a...

[Sue G in PA]

_____________ (fill in the blank!). I'll start...a camera. Just trying to get some ideas on what to pack when we start. I'm getting really excited and we're actually going to start next week if we can brave the cold and snow. Perhaps we'll start by sitting by our living room window :)

[dragons in the flower bed]

I'm going on a nature study walk and I'm talking with me Sue's camera and . . . baby food jars to encourage specimen collection.

[hsm]

a snack for the kids, clipboard and colored pencils

[Hilary in MI]

. . . and (if the kids are younger) "bracelets" made of masking tape, sticky side out, onto which they can stick finds from the ground (pine needles, little pine cones, etc.).

. . . and a guide book for plants and animals (including info. about identifying tracks and scat).

(and water and snacks and a thermos of cocoa and a change of clothes and first aid kit and . . . have a great time!)

[frogpond1]

water bottles, bandaids and snacks for the trip back home.

[Closeacademy]

old wool or cotton socks to walk through a bunch of dead weeds with and hopefully pick up seeds. When you get home you water them and put them in a plastic bag to grow.

I got this idea off another list but thought I would share here.:)

[mcconnellboys]

...a bag for collecting seeds, nuts, bark that's dropped from trees, cones, dried flowers, etc. These can be taken back to the warmth of home for study and sketching until it's warmer.

Regena

[Testimony]

sketch pad and colored pencils and binoculars

Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[cin]

My field guide books for our region (plants mammals, insects and reptiles), peanuts and our spotting scope.

[EKS]

A pocket microscope.

[Lisawa]

_____________ (fill in the blank!). :)

Well I would "want" to take Patricia in WAs camera :D but since I cant... I would take mine.... I would bring water, an empty backpack with little baggies in it to take things home if we want and eager kids... maybe a snack if we get the munchies...:)

[Trivium Academy]

We took our camera, two bottles of water and binoculars on a trail at a nearby State Park. Um, if you do this- get a map of the trails.

I posted all about it.
http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/02/we-got-lost-in-woods.html

[GothicGyrl]

bug spray, bug zapper, bug killer, bug net, bug death, ummm, pretty much anything that kills bugs.

;)

And my air conditioner.

[Trivium Academy]

Cin,
What is your "spotting scope"? Is it a pocket microscope?

If you don't see this, I'll email you.

[Audrey]

backpack with:
sketch book
coloured pencils
assorted containers and baggies (for collecting)
tweezers
magnifying glass
digital camera
a couple of bottles of tap water

[Tutor]

We bring:

-backpacks (each person carries their own)
-camera
-notebooks
-pencils
-zipper bags (unless we are in a state or national park or nature preserve where sampling is generally illegal)
-water bottles
-snacks and/or lunch
-first-aid kit
-garden gloves (so we can pick up items with thorns or muddy)
-sunscreen
-insect repellent
-hat
-kerchiefs (great for holding rocks, wrapping dirty specimens, wiping sweat, holding on a bandage...)
-nature guides

[Alana in Canada]

an ice cream bucket--any plastic container will do and a magnifying glass to look at all the creepy and gross things in the water.

[Ali in OR]

...my children who have just used the potty at home before we left!

[godpoetry]

notebook, backpack, pencils, crayons, baggies, wet wipes, water bottles, snack, insect spray, first aid kit(never leave home with-out it, long story):rolleyes:

[BizyPenguin]

Bright Bright colored clothes...Just in case a tick gets on one of you, so that you can hopefully see it before it tries to bite your neck three hours after your hike! (Yep! It happened to my ds today and I was FREAKED out!!!!):eek: We got the tick and squished him, though, so ds is fine. Needless to say, I'll be doing a ton of laundry this weekend and vacuuming the car tomorrow, and cleaning and cleaning and Ewwwww!!!! We kept telling ds to stay on the path, but boys will be boys and hey, he even climbed a tree and sat in it----which is probably where he got the tick. Poor Sister cried and cried during tonights bath b/c I comb through every single curl in her precious little head and she has a lot of hair! Anyway, just be careful on your nature walk. This makes the third time in the past five years that we've dealt with a tick incident. (I'm giving up that particular trail, BTW.) Sigh! Did I say, Ewwwwww!!!! Have fun

[Mom to 3 Island Boys]

in addition to the above...

a walking stick (for some reason they all love having a walking stick and save their favorites),
cell phone (for emergencies),
blanket to sit on while eating or sketching,
a book (to read aloud while on the blanket),
a "bug collector" (those little cage-like things for catching and keep bugs for observation ~ Blecch!)

[GreenKitty]

When going on a nature walk we take a backpack to hold: My camera, water, binoculars, crackers, journals, pencils, small jar and cell phone.

[SandraDumas]

(because yes we do go though I gave up on being full fledged CM)...

A shotgun (for the alligators...this way my kids can get near the water)

A gas mask (so when the lawn guys decide they need to spray *that part* of the lawn *right then* we can all can don a gas mask)

latex gloves (so when the kids play in the dirt I don't have to worry whehter permethrin has been sprayed recently for the fire ants)

charcoal, and a spanking implement (so when my kids ingest sap, or bark from any of the thousands of highly posinonous Oleander plants, first I can save their lives, then I can spank them.)

A leash (so my 4 year old will stay away from the lake)

Okay. I'm all set for a good time.

[GreenKitty]

Cin,
What is your "spotting scope"? Is it a pocket microscope?

If you don't see this, I'll email you.

Not Cin. Though a spotting scope is a small telescope. Much easier to carry around, we use it for birdwatching. Bin*culars (http://www.binoculars.com/search/index.cfm?Ntt=spotting%20scope&Ntk=all)

[Chris in VA]

Don't think you'd like to live around here--last tick season (Spring), our dog had about 10 ticks on him everyday, and dd probably had one every 3 days or so--it's something you get used to, believe me.

[hsm]

IT sounds like we're going campling for a few weeks instead of a morning explore-about:) fun thread

[BizyPenguin]

Don't think you'd like to live around here--last tick season (Spring), our dog had about 10 ticks on him everyday, and dd probably had one every 3 days or so--it's something you get used to, believe me.

One tick every other year just about does me in! LOL!