Word Wednesday: Dandelion Dissection with Thorton Burgess

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Jewelers loupes have proven to be one of our most beloved science tools. If you haven't the space or inclination to buy microscopes, these would be a worthy alternative. Especially since they are compact enough to be used in the field for nature studies. They fit over your eye (Eye Loupe) and work like a strong magnifying glass. If you stack them, their magnification doubles. When introducing, be sure to give ample time to your budding scientists to examine their body! They like to see every hair on their fingers and the dirt under their nails, close up!

 

Since we were reading stories and poetry about the anatomy of a dandelion, we dissected one (or many!) to see what we could find; hollow stems, multiple flowers on one stem, pollen, hairs...

I first learned about Thorton Burgess by accident. We were at a local bookshop years ago and as I was purchasing the owner handed me a stack of Burgess animal storybooks; Prickly Porky, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Buster Bear. The price was a hefty $15 each-but came highly recommended. These books combined storytelling with nature science and we were hooked. I've since added all Burgess books to our home library that I can get my hands on: Burgess Book of Birds, Burgess Flower Book, Burgess Book of Animals. They are loaded with information told by funny characters from the wild.

We used 'Peter Rabbits First Signs of Spring' (Chapter three of Burgess Flower Book) to learn about the first flowers following winter; dandelions and chickweed.