A Fun Homeschool Project

I first came up with this idea when my oldest was 8 years old. I like to keep our hand in 'school' during the summer and we were going to be starting a botany course in the fall so I thought this would be a great way to sort of slide into that. I started out with the idea the my child would identify every wildflower (that we could) that was on our property. She really liked the project and has since gone on to identify many more flowers. She also has made a notebook on the noxious weeds in our area. It was really neat to watch her take her book to fair that summer and show it off the judge, who was quite impressed!


We did find several flowers that we couldn't identify. They were all composites (sunflowers, asters, daisies, etc.) and that is a large family that can be hard to id without a key. We have since learned how to use one of those, but it's a bit complicated and beyond the scope of this project. We took good pics and notes on those plants anyway and included them in our book as unidentified flowers of the composite family.


This is a small science project to introduce children to the world of botany. It is designed to be a fun and easy project for younger children with some help from parents but it could also be a good project for an older child to do on their own. Because I wanted this to be a fun project designed to spark interest, there's no technical information such as explaining the plant parts or how the scientific names work. These are important to know, but most young kids find it rather off-putting. It's is information that is easy to find online and is included in pretty much every flower book I've seen.


This project is centered around wildflowers, but if you live somewhere without access to wildflowers, it can easily be done with flowers in your yard or in the city park. Any flowers will work just fine!
 As the child takes notes and identifies the plants each plant will be given it's own page(s) that will be compiled into your child's very own wildflower book.

Tools needed

• Paper for note taking
  
• Ruler or measuring tape
  
• Camera, flower press or drawing tools
  
• Magnifying glass
  
• A good wildflower book for your area or a good wildflower website. A book, or several, are handy for identification in the field instead of waiting to get home.
  

These can be assembled in any format that works for you. What worked well for our family was a binder with paper and a clamp in bag for the pencil, magnifying glass and ruler. You can buy these anywhere school supplies or office supplies are sold, or make your own. We took a gallon zip type baggie put a strip of duct tape along the bottom of the bag on both sides. Then we three hole punched it and put it in the binder. These little bags, store bought or homemade, will easily hold a pencil, eraser, magnifying glass and small measuring tape. A six inch ruler will also fit in one. We used a twelve inch ruler so we just stashed it in the front pocket.

This is a homemade flower press that we use sometimes, but phone books work well.

Fieldwork

When you get to where your flower is, notice what type of terrain it is growing in. Is it dry, sandy soil, a marshy area or a rocky spot? Is it growing in wet soil or actually in the water? If it’s in water, is it in still water, like a pond, or moving water, such as a stream? Also look to see if it’s in full sun or a shady spot? If it’s shaded, is it shaded all day or only part of the day? Is the shade full shade or dappled? If you are on a hill, does the plant seem to prefer the north side or the south side? Eastern exposure or west? Many plants will grow in more than one situation. For instance, a plant that likes a lot of sun and well drained soil will probably be found most on south facing hillsides, but could also be found on eastern or western exposures as well. Although probably not so many as in the better suited locations. Still, taking note of all these condition will help in both identification and learning about the plants’ likes and dislikes.


Next, look closely at the plant itself. First take note of when it is blooming. Is it early spring or late summer? Now note the shape of the leaves. You can describe these in your own words or use the more technical terms from a leaf shape page in a flower book. Are the leaves smooth or fuzzy, soft or stiff and hard? Are the leaves waxy feeling, or maybe thick and plump, like a leaf from an aloe vera plant? Does the plant have stickers or thorns on the leaves or stems? Now measure the length and width of the largest leaf and write it down in your notes. Finally, measure how tall the plant is.


Now,  go on to the flower itself. Is there more than one flower on the plant? If it’s something like a violet then count the number of flowers. Some plants, like roses, can have so many flowers that it’s just too much to count them all. How many petals do the flowers have? Some flowers can have different numbers of petals from flower to flower, although the difference is not usually more than one or two. If this is the case, write down all the different ones that you count. What color is the flower? Is there more than one? For example, the native phlox in my area can have purple, blue or pink flowers and once in a while even white ones. Use your magnifying glass to look closely at the flower, especially the inside or middle of it. Some flowers have little stripes or a different color in the middle. With the magnifying glass you will also have a better view of the pollen grains and the stamens. Finally, measure the width of the flower.

Lastly just look at the flower and the area it grows in. Is there anything else that you want to add to your notes? Does it smell nice, or stink, or not really smell at all? Do you notice any particular bugs that seem to like this plant more than any others in the area? Perhaps it’s a plant that only blooms at night! Any observations that you make that haven't already been covered should be included in the notes.


The last part of the fieldwork is a good picture! With your camera, or your pencil, get a few good pictures of the flower. Try and get at least one good view from the front and one from the side. Most cameras have a macro, or flower, setting that is very good for this purpose. Also get at least one good picture of the whole plant and a good one of the leaves. With small plants you can get all this on one shot, it may take more with tall plants. It can also be a good idea to get a picture of your plant without flowers. If you look around, you can usually find a plant that doesn’t have any.


If using a plant press, you want to try and get the same basic views as with a picture. A flower from the front, one from the side, and at least one good leaf. Pressing flowers can take some practice, but once you get the hang of it you can often get all those angles with one sprig of plant.


This pretty much wraps up the fieldwork portion of your journal. Next you get to identify your plant, if needed, and do a little research on it.

Identification

Now to try and identify the flowers. This site has a reference of wildflower identification sites for each state. http://uswildflowers.com/. Some plants, especially ones in the composite family can be near impossible to positively identify without using a very technical book called a plant key. That's ok, most of the common flowers will be pretty easy to identify with just these websites or a good wildflower book.

When you have found your flower, have your child write down the scientific name and the common name in their journal. Some plants have more than one common name, you can write them all down or pick the most common one, it's up to you. You can also write down any other information that you like. For instance, is it a poisonous plant? Can it be used for food or medicine? Is it native to your area or introduced?

This the photo selected for the cover

Once you have all the information for the flower, it's time to arrange it all in the final flower book. It can all be written out neatly and draw or paste a picture of the plant on the same page. If you decided to press the plants, you can glue those on there as well. If you'd rather use a computer, you can type the info out and have fun playing with the different fonts and colors. However you want to make the flower book is ok. After all, it's supposed to be your child's own special wildflower book. They can make it how they want it!

Most of all, have fun!!

Here's an example from the book, mullein. This is the close up of the flower. Below is a pic of the whole plant.

We put our pages in page protectors and then in a 3 ring binder so it's easy to add pages and/or change them as well.