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Investigating Time

Astronomy· Geography· Math in Nature

29 Sep

“The child should be taught to observe the position of the sun in the heavens from hour by hour, and by it’s position, to tell the time of the day.”

Charlotte Mason – Home Education

Hmmm, I know that I can’t tell the time by the sun except maybe a vague, it’s almost dinner time at sunset.

What about you? Can you tell the time by the position of the sun?

We are so used to checking our devices, that for some of us, our ability to observe signs around us has been almost lost.

I was challenged by Charlotte Mason’s idea, that the ability to tell time by the sun, would be a skill that children gained by experience.

As part of our math investigations, we spent a week taking note of the sun at different times of the day.

sun path

My brain struggled to process what I was seeing. I couldn’t understand why even though I could see the sun rise and set from right to left, my brain wanted to see the sun rise and set the opposite way! Is that because we are so programmed to read from left to right? Or is it because that is how a lot of picture books display the sun rising and setting? Are we so used to seeing the sky depicted from a northern hemisphere perspective?

I don’t think that a week of taking close note of the sun in the sky is enough to know how to tell time, but it has opened my eyes to a wonderful new observation. I know that when we go out for a walk, I will instinctively take note of the sun’s position. I hope over time, that I will become confident in estimating the time by the sun, and in turn, this will be a skill my children will pick up by experience.

Here are some ideas to exploring time that our family have enjoyed:

• Set a timer and every two hours check where the sun is in the sky. You might like to take a panoramic photo each time and compare them.

• Look at the shadows on the ground at different times during the day.

• Measure shadows.

• Place an object on graph paper and trace the shadow at intervals.

• Set up a sun dial.

• Read the book ‘About Time – A first look at time and clocks’ by Bruce Koscielniak.

• Take note of the sunset each day. Make a time graph.

Math in Nature: Measurement
Math in Nature: Area & Perimeter

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Jo: Wife, Home-school Mum and Homemaker

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Nature Study Australia
2018-05-25T15:51:39+10:30
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I looked high and low online for an Australian nature based curriculum and when I found Australian Nature study Guide on Instagram I was so excited to have finally found something that my family can relate to. My favourite thing about this guide is that Marie is so hands on and involved with her customers. I have never felt alone in the journey, she is there to guide and encourage us every step of the way in the Facebook group. Thanks Marie for welcoming us to your nature study family 🙂
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We didn’t find out about the program until about half way through term, so we played catch up most of the time. I love how open ended the lessons are, but with enough structure to work well for those children needing such a program. We have been able to cover much of the required curriculum whilst enjoying the activities we love. Your program has been such a blessing to us, because we needed a change to our homeschooling lessons which would still cover curriculum, but would enable us to relax and enjoy “school” together. Thank you.
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We began our homeschool journey this year keen to explore all that nature study entails. I had searched the web for weeks to research what we would use as our framework. I cannot describe the elation I felt when I came across an AUSTRALIAN nature study guide! Marie has done all the hard work and put together a wonderfully elaborate resource for all ages. You can dip your toe in or dive right into all the ideas and links. There’s so much here we could spend all week doing nature study, and often we do.
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We have really enjoyed the program this term. We have gotten outside more often and the children are definitely taking more notice of things when we are out. Having a place to share what we have done and seen has been an encouragement to keep it up. I sometimes felt like we could spend longer on some topics as they were so interesting but that is probably just my obsessive "we must cover everything now" problem. 
https://naturestudyaustralia.com.au/testimonials/sally/
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