Nature Day: Rainbow Lake

By far, my favorite part of homeschooling are the weekly nature hikes we make time for.

Initially I had planned to sign Jack up at our YMCA for a Homeschool PE program that was supposed to be on both Tuesday and Thursday of each week.

This was going to coincide with Isaac being in preschool and give me a couple of days to do non-homeschool tasks like my freelance work, or catching up on errands, or just go have a cup of coffee with a friend.

So it threw me when I went to sign up and the program had dropped to just Tuesdays.

My initial reaction was frustration, I wasn't sure I could really do the homeschool thing without having breaks on those days. Really this was just a mental block on my part.
 

A friend pointed out that I could embrace the one-on-one time with Jack, and I am so glad that I have!

Thursdays have been set aside for our Nature Study. We follow the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum by Raising Little Shoots, and I adore it.

We are blessed to live in an area when we have endless trails to explore, and the curriculum guides us in those spaces. Each week we study a new topic, while on the trail, and then we spend some time Nature Journaling together. Jack is not great at journaling, so we have found that using a field guide and me co-journaling with him works the best.

Last Thursday we went to hike at Rainbow Lake. It is one of our favorite places on our mountain (Jack's top pick is Mushroom Rock).

The hike meanders down into a ravine where there is a small lake that is dammed creating an overflow of water into a lower creek. We have only seen it dry once, when we were in a drought a year ago.

On the hike down, you walk past a big bluff with good free climbing spots. Our favorite spot is a chimney in the rock that you can climb up and end up on top of the bluff. It feels like climbing through a small cave. Jack loves doing this (of course, he loves climbing!).

Rainbow Lake is a pretty spot to explore. We had planned to go to the swinging bridge, but Jack stuck his foot in the water. Since it was 37F his foot started aching from the cold, so we decided to hurry back to the car.

On this trip we were paying attention to winter trees. I had noticed buds on many of the trees – I thought it must be too early for buds, but our nature study let us know that this was normal for this time of year.

We were surprised by how many birds were fluttering about. Jack loves to run ahead on the trail and I would come up on him standing perfectly still watching various birds in the trees or on the trail itself.

We noticed that the leaves on the ground had a faint outline of frost on them and the ground itself, while dirt, looked like it was glittering and sparkling. 

The bare trees made me think of the Secret Garden. They were a tangle of old vines and twisted roots. It was lovely in its messiness.

While in the woods, we observe, we wander, we run, we climb, we test our limits, we are quiet, we are loud in an effort to find the echo. It's wonderful way to be, for a couple of hours each week. It's a beautiful way to be outside together, exploring God's creation.

Past Visits to Rainbow Lake:
Hike to Rainbow Lake I (2013 – Jack was so little!), Hike to Rainbow Lake II (2015), Rainbow Lake to Edwards Point (2016), Rainbow Lake Loop (2017), Friends for Life (2017),  Hurricane Irma (2017 – visiting with family)

Check back on Thursdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack: September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) ⎮ Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family) ⎮ Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls ⎮ Mushroom Rock (with Mommy and Daddy) ⎮ Raccoon Mountain

December: The Boulders ⎮ Toccoa River (family hike)⎮ Amnicalola Falls (family hike)

January: Green Gorge