Summer Pond and Tree Study

Thursday 3rd July

We packed our bags with everything we could possibly need and more, made a picnic, enlisted the family for an adventures, and headed out to Clifton Park to go and visit our conker tree and the pond to do our seasonal studies for summer! The boys were more than a little excited to be going back to the pond and couldn't wait to get their duck back in there to see how warm the water was. If this makes no sense to you, then check out our post from spring, when the boys used their new thermometer for the first time.

We met Nannie, Auntie Hammy and Baby Panda at the park and then went to show them our tree. Bear was quick to point out the tree and ever quicker to notice the conkers growing on it where it had been covered in blossom last time we did our studies.

The boys got their gear out and went about their investigations. There was lots of measuring, magnifying and microscoping, (yes, that is a word now,) and they collected lots of tiny conkers from the floor under the tree where they had been knocked out prematurely. The Cub was actually first to voice the fact that they were so small, and Bear picked up on it and immediately informed us that it was because they hadn't finished growing yet. I backed this up by breaking into a few to show them the miniscule little conkers that had started to grow inside, which they found absolutely fascinating and continued to find ones for me to open to see if they could find one big enough to class as a conker.

After plenty of investigation, we had our picnic close by, meaning the boys could both still go to and from the tree, checking stuff out and asking lots of questions. They're both always so full of questions and it makes me so happy that they're so interested about everything.

After lunch, we headed for the pond, which is their favourite. I can understand why, there is so much more to see and do at the pond. Their bags were immediately emptied and the duck came out and got thrown straight in by Bear to take the temperature of the water. The water registered at 20 degrees this time, up by 6 degrees since we did our study in spring. The pond lilies had beautiful big white flowers on them, there were pond skaters and water boatmen in the water, which was pretty clear. 

The Cub checked it out in his magnified pot and everything! Aunty Hammy and I had a go at catching a bug, but I'd forgotten to pack the net and they were far too fast to catch in the pot, so we had to settle for catching a pond snail to look at under the magnifying glass. The Cub took the duck thermometer for a walk pond while Bear played with ripples, and even Panda came to get involved, checking out what we were doing and chewing on a magnifying glass!

Ice cream was next on the list, and a play on the rocks for us before heading home, where we will be putting journal pages together with our findings. I will do a post with our years' worth of findings once they're all complete to show you the changes we observed over the year. Then it will be time to start searching for a new tree and a new pond ready for next year! If you have any recommendations, please share them.

That last photo, because who doesn't need to see a boy taking a duck for a swim?

Mama Bear x