The Robins Are Back!!

It was a very frosty morning yesterday, but there they were, alight in a tree right outside our front door!!  Violet noticed them and we all exclaimed at once, "Oh, the Robins are back already!!"  It appears that in our neck of the woods, Spring is on it's way...

Here's a little Robin poetry to get you pining for Spring!!

          WHAT ROBIN TOLD by George Cooper                                                   

How do robins build their nests?
Robin Redbreast told me
First a wisp of yellow hay
In a pretty round they lay;
Then some shreds of downy floss,
Feather, too, and bits of moss,
Woven with a sweet, sweet song,
This way, that way, and across;
That's what Robin told me.

Where do robins hide their nests?
Robin Redbreast told me
Up among the leaves so deep,
Where the sunbeams rarely creep,
Long before the winds are cold,
Long before the leaves are gold,
Bright-eyed stars will peep and see
Baby robins--one, two, three;
That's what Robin told me.

We decided to do a little more peeking into Robins this morning and enjoyed making some pictures and narrations for our Nature Notebooks which have been sadly neglected since late Fall I'm embarrassed to say (sheepish grin here).

Here is Seamus's narration (age 4 1/2) :

The father robin has a red breast and he's brown and has a yellow beak.  The mommy robin's breast is paler.  They like to eat sometimes, different insects and worms.  The mother robin lays four eggs in the nest and they are blue. 

Matthias's (age 8) narration and picture: 

American Robins are very common birds.  They are seen all over Northern America and can be recognized very easily by their red breast.  You can tell  males and a females apart because a female has a paler chest.  They also love to eat worms and insects.  They make their nests by taking mud and molding it into a shape that will be fit to hold the eggs and for the mother or father to sit.  They line the nest with fine grasses and other soft materials.  The eggs are a "robin's egg blue" as you will see in a box of Crayola Crayons if you have them.  Usually, the female lays four eggs.  It takes about two weeks for them to hatch.

And Violets (age 10) narration and picture:

Robins make their nests by plastering mud in a circle and molding it with their bodies.  After that, they put soft grasses in.  When the four blue-green eggs are laid, the mother and father take turns sitting on the eggs.  Robins like to eat worms.  The female is the same as the male only she has less red on her breast.   (She informed me that she left a portion of her page blank to be able to add more Robin information tomorrow)  (Uh, OK)

Some of the books we like to reference when learning to draw birds and are:

How to Draw Birds  by John Green

Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie

Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden (this is so beautiful and inspiring especially for Moi!)

And one of our most favorite references for Nature Study is The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock!  This book is invaluable to any Charlotte Mason education!

On a final note, what would be a study of Robins, without a little Mother Goose:

ROBIN REDBREAST

Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,

Up went Pussy-Cat, and down went he,

Down came Pussy-Cat, away Robin ran,

Says little Robin Redbreast, "Catch me if you can!"

Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a spade,

Pussy-Cat jumped after him, and then he was afraid.

Little Robin Redbreast chirped and sang, and what did Pussy say?

Pussy-Cat said: "Mew, Mew, Mew," and robin flew away.

Thanks for visiting our little Nature Corner today, May God Bless you in your day and always!!

Comments

[Jennifer]

I noticed some robins having paler breasts, but I did not know why. Thanks to your children's narrations, I know now! Wonderful post. I cannot wait to look at the "How to Draw Birds" book. My daughter would love it.

[Theresa ♥]

Good morning Meredith! Thanks you so much for your entry int he Field day, it was lovely. I enjoyed the narrations and pictures and I'm off to check out the link to the books you referrenced.