While driving in beautiful Tennessee, I’ve noticed the rolled bales of hay and thought it would make for a great topic of nature study. We can study both the science of grass and the history of agriculture!
Looking at resources to build the lesson I found a great article about a hay farmer in Tennessee that gives a little information on the agriculture business of growing hay! Hay is the third largest crop producer in Tennessee behind corn and soybeans. The children loved naming animals that rely on hay for their food and it was fun to mention that this farmer also provides the hay for the elephants in Hohenwald, Nashville Zoo, and Knoxville Zoo in addition to the typical animals of cows and horses!
One hazard for farmers that grow specific grasses for the hay crops is the growth of weeds in the sedge and rush family. This led us into the poem:
Hedges have edges, rushes are round. Grasses are hollow right up from the ground.
I used this poem last year when we did an independent study on grass. This is a great visual for students to see the arrangement of the leaves and stems to distinguish the difference!
For our journaling, students went out into the field to find a grass sample to draw in their nature journals. I loved seeing the creativity of several students who chose to do a rubbing on their page in order to see the grass leaf and stem. We also enjoyed finding the “foxtail” grasses and compared it to the other grass species found in the field.
I went back to my “Notes in Nature” roots with this class and also taught two folk songs that have to do with grass! “The Green Grass Grows All Around” and “Weevily Wheat” were perfect activities to do with the students! It makes my heart so happy to sing and dance out in nature. I could literally do it every day! (And it’s more fun to sing and dance with a group rather than just our little family unit!)
Closing out our lesson I had an optional activity of trying what barley and alfalfa grass tastes like! I brought along some green superfood powder and water bottles to give the kids a chance to taste! My favorite comment was “it smells like horses!”
I’m still trying to decide what next month will be – I’m thinking tree nuts! Hopefully we can find some hickory trees along the path! To sign up, visit the Nature Adventure Group page!
KIND + CULTIVATED 