A 32-Week New York Nature Study for Delilah

This course is designed to be a fun, hands-on exploration of the amazing animals, plants, and natural cycles of New York State. Each week, we'll focus on a new topic, go on an adventure (even if it's just in the backyard!), and record our findings in a special Nature Journal.

Core Book & Resource List

These books can be used throughout the 32 weeks. Consider them our core library for the year. We can find many of these at the local library or purchase them as special resources.

• Nature Journal: A sturdy, blank, unlined sketchbook that will be Delilah's companion for the whole year.
• Field Guides:
  • National Audubon Society Field Guide to New York by Peter Alden
  • Peterson First Guide to Trees by George A. Petrides
  • Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America by Roger Tory Peterson
  • A Field Guide to Animal Tracks by Olaus J. Murie
• Inspirational Reading (Fiction & Non-Fiction):
  • The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
  • The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
  • Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
  • Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
  • In the Woods: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
  • The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed-Jones
  • A Nest Is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston
  • An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston

Part 1: Autumn's Preparations (Weeks 1-8)

Autumn is a season of change. We'll watch as the world around us gets ready for winter.

Week 1: The Mighty Oak Tree

• Materials: Nature Journal, pencils/crayons, a small bag for collecting, magnifying glass.

Lesson: Let's start with one of New York's most important trees: the Oak! Oak trees provide food (acorns!) and shelter for dozens of animals. We'll go on a "Mighty Oak" hunt. Our mission is to find an oak tree in our neighborhood or a local park. How can we identify it? Look for its special lobed leaves and its fruit, the acorn. Let's feel the bark—is it rough or smooth? Look closely at an acorn with a magnifying glass. Who do you think eats these?

Activity: Collect a few different oak leaves and acorns. In the Nature Journal, Delilah can do a leaf rubbing by placing a leaf under the page and rubbing over it with the side of a crayon. She can also draw the acorn and label its parts (the cap and the nut). Write down three animals we think rely on oak trees (like squirrels, deer, and blue jays).

Week 2: The Traveling Monarch Butterfly

• Materials: Nature Journal, orange and black crayons/markers, world map or globe.

Lesson: Have you seen any Monarch butterflies, Delilah? In autumn, these amazing insects do something incredible: they migrate! That means they fly thousands of miles south to Mexico to escape the cold winter. They are the only butterfly to make such a long, two-way migration. Let's talk about why they can't stay for a New York winter (they can't survive the freezing temperatures, and their food—nectar from flowers—is gone).

Activity: On a map, trace the general path a Monarch from New York would take to get to central Mexico. In the Nature Journal, draw a big, beautiful Monarch butterfly. Let's practice drawing its life cycle: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa), and adult butterfly. As we walk outside this week, let's keep our eyes peeled for any last Monarchs fluttering by.

Week 3: The Busy Black Bear

• Materials: Nature Journal, modeling clay or play-doh, books about bears.

Lesson: New York is home to the Black Bear. What do bears do to prepare for winter? They don't truly hibernate like some animals; instead, they enter a deep sleep called "torpor." To get ready, they need to eat A LOT! This period is called hyperphagia, a fancy word for "super eating." They eat berries, nuts, insects, and grasses to build up a thick layer of fat to live off of during the winter.

Activity: Let's build a bear den! Using pillows and blankets, Delilah can create her own cozy den to crawl into. Afterwards, using modeling clay, she can sculpt a black bear and some of the foods it would eat in the fall. In the Nature Journal, draw a picture of a bear's den and list five foods a black bear would be eating right now in New York.

Week 4: The Colorful Sugar Maple

• Materials: Nature Journal, collected maple leaves of different colors, wax paper, an iron (with adult help), old towel.

Lesson: Why do leaves change color in the fall? It’s not magic, it’s science! Trees like the Sugar Maple have green pigment called chlorophyll, which helps them make food from sunlight. In the fall, as the days get shorter, the trees stop making food. The green chlorophyll fades away, revealing beautiful yellow, orange, and red colors that were there all along! The Sugar Maple is famous for its brilliant colors.

Activity: Let's go on a color hunt for maple leaves. Can we find green, yellow, orange, and red ones? We can preserve our most beautiful leaves. Arrange them between two sheets of wax paper, place an old towel over it, and have an adult carefully press it with a warm iron for a few seconds. This seals the leaf inside! In the Nature Journal, Delilah can trace a maple leaf and color it with its autumn colors.

Weeks 5-8: More Autumn Adventures

• Week 5: The White-Tailed Deer: Go for a walk at dusk or dawn and look for deer or their tracks. In the journal, draw a deer and label its antlers (if it's a buck).
• Week 6: Seed Dispersal: Find different kinds of seeds (helicopters from maples, fluff from milkweed, burrs that stick to your socks). Figure out how each seed travels.
• Week 7: The Eastern Gray Squirrel: Watch squirrels burying nuts. How many do they bury? Do you think they remember where they all are? Act like a squirrel and hide 10 acorns in the yard, then try to find them an hour later.
• Week 8: Autumn Fungi: Look for mushrooms and fungi on logs and on the forest floor (DO NOT TOUCH OR EAT). Draw the different shapes and colors we find in the journal.

Part 2: Winter's Secrets (Weeks 9-16)

The world may seem quiet, but winter is full of life and secrets if we know where to look.

Week 9: Who's Been Here? Animal Tracks

• Materials: Nature Journal, pencil, plaster of Paris (optional), a small cup and water (optional), a patch of snow or mud.

Lesson: Snow and mud are like a storybook in winter. They tell us which animals have been walking around! Let's become detectives and learn to read the stories in the tracks. We can look for common tracks from squirrels, rabbits, deer, and birds. How can we tell the difference? Look at the size, shape, and pattern.

Activity: Go on a track hunt! Find some clear tracks in the snow or mud. In the Nature Journal, Delilah should try to sketch the tracks and measure them. Who do we think made them? For an extra special project, we can make a plaster cast of a track! Mix the plaster of Paris with water, pour it gently into a clear track, and let it harden. Once it's dry, we can lift it out and have a permanent copy of the track!

Week 10: The Hardy Northern Cardinal

• Materials: Nature Journal, red crayon, birdseed (especially black oil sunflower seeds), materials for a simple bird feeder (e.g., pinecone, peanut butter, birdseed).

Lesson: On a gray winter day, what's that flash of red? It's a male Northern Cardinal! Cardinals don't migrate; they stay in New York all winter long. Their thick, fluffy feathers keep them warm. The bright red color of the male helps him attract a mate, while the female is a more camouflaged brownish-tan color. They love to eat seeds.

Activity: Let's make a treat for the cardinals! Take a pinecone, tie a string to the top, cover it in peanut butter, and then roll it in birdseed. Hang it on a tree branch where we can see it from a window. Let's watch to see who visits. In the Nature Journal, Delilah can draw a male and female cardinal and write down what they ate from our feeder.

Weeks 11-16: More Winter Wonders

• Week 11: Evergreen Trees: Find a White Pine and a Hemlock. How are their needles different? Collect a small branch of each and draw them in the journal.
• Week 12: The Black-Capped Chickadee: Listen for the "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call. These tiny birds are tough! They can lower their body temperature at night to save energy.
• Week 13: Signs of Life Under the Snow: Gently brush away some snow at the base of a tree. What do we see? Green moss? Tunnels from mice or voles? Draw our discoveries.
• Week 14: The Woodchuck's Den: Woodchucks (or groundhogs) are true hibernators. Let's go on a hunt for a woodchuck burrow (a big hole in the ground, often on a hillside). Draw what we think it looks like underground.
• Week 15: Winter Twigs and Buds: Look closely at the bare branches of a tree. Can we see the tiny buds that hold next spring's leaves? Sketch a twig and its buds in the journal.
• Week 16: Ice and Frost: Explore the patterns ice makes on puddles and frost makes on windows. Try to replicate the patterns with a white crayon on blue paper.

Part 3: Spring's Awakening (Weeks 17-24)

Life bursts forth in spring! The world wakes up from its long winter nap.

Week 17: The Chirp of the Spring Peeper

• Materials: Nature Journal, access to a recording of a Spring Peeper's call (online), flashlight.

Lesson: What is that loud peeping sound we hear on the first warm spring nights? It's not a bird! It's a tiny frog called a Spring Peeper. They are about the size of a quarter and are one of the very first signs of spring. The males "peep" to attract a female. They live in wetlands and forests near ponds.

Activity: After dark on a warm evening, let's step outside and just listen. Can we hear them? It can be very loud! We probably won't see them, as they are experts at hiding. In the Nature Journal, Delilah can draw a Spring Peeper sitting on a branch. Let's write down words that describe their sound (like "jingle bells" or "sleigh bells").

Week 18: The Return of the American Robin

• Materials: Nature Journal, brown and blue modeling clay, small twigs and pieces of grass.

Lesson: The American Robin is a true sign of spring. While some may stay through winter, most return in the spring. We often see them hopping through the grass, listening for worms. They build amazing nests out of mud, grass, and twigs.

Activity: Let's be robins and build a nest! Using brown modeling clay for the mud base, Delilah can practice weaving in small twigs and pieces of grass to make a sturdy cup-shaped nest. Then, she can make three small "robin's eggs" out of blue clay to place inside. In the Nature Journal, draw a robin pulling a worm from the ground.

Weeks 19-24: More Spring Surprises

• Week 19: Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers: Go on a forest walk to find Trout Lilies and Trillium. Why are they called "ephemeral"? (Because they bloom and disappear quickly before the trees leaf out).
• Week 20: Maple Tree Flowers & Seeds: Before the leaves, maple trees have tiny flowers! Let's find some. Later, we'll see the "helicopter" seeds (samaras) form.
• Week 21: The Busy Beaver: Visit a local pond or stream and look for signs of beavers: chewed trees, dams, or lodges. Beavers are amazing engineers!
• Week 22: Garter Snakes: As the ground warms, Garter Snakes come out to bask in the sun. They are harmless and helpful! If we see one, let's observe from a distance. Draw its pattern in our journal.
• Week 23: Pond Life Scooping: With a net and a bucket, let's gently scoop near the edge of a pond (with an adult). What can we find? Tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs, snails? Observe them in the bucket and gently return them.
• Week 24: Dandelions - Friend or Foe?: Learn about the dandelion. Its leaves, flowers, and roots are all edible and it's an important early food for bees! Make a dandelion crown or blow on a seed head and make a wish.

Part 4: Summer's Abundance (Weeks 25-32)

Summer is a time of growth, buzzing insects, and warm, long days.

Week 25: The Magical Firefly

• Materials: Nature Journal, yellow highlighter or glow-in-the-dark paint, a clear jar with holes in the lid (for temporary observation).

Lesson: Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are not flies or bugs—they're beetles! They create light in their bodies through a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. Each species has its own special flash pattern that it uses to communicate and find a mate. It’s like they are talking in a secret code!

Activity: At dusk, let's go outside and watch the fireflies. Can we see different flash patterns? A slow glow? A quick "J" shape flash? We can gently catch a few in a jar (with some damp grass) to observe up close for 10-15 minutes, and then we MUST release them so they can continue their important work. In the Nature Journal, draw a picture of the backyard at night, using a yellow highlighter or glow paint to dot in the fireflies.

Week 26: The Essential Milkweed Plant

• Materials: Nature Journal, magnifying glass.

Lesson: Remember the Monarch butterflies from the fall? This is the plant they cannot live without! Common Milkweed is the ONLY plant that Monarch caterpillars eat. The plant has beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers that feed many other pollinators, too. Later in the summer, it will form big green pods full of silky seeds.

Activity: Let's find a patch of milkweed. Let's look very carefully on the underside of the leaves. Can we find any tiny white Monarch eggs? Or a striped caterpillar? Let's examine the flowers with a magnifying glass. Do we see any other insects visiting? In the journal, Delilah can draw the milkweed plant and any creatures she finds on it.

Weeks 27-32: More Summer Explorations

• Week 27: The Painted Turtle: Visit a pond and look for turtles basking on a log. Why do they sit in the sun? (To warm up their bodies!). Draw a painted turtle and its beautiful shell markings.
• Week 28: Dragonflies and Damselflies: These amazing flyers are insect-eating machines! Let's watch them hunt near a pond or field. How are they different? (Dragonflies hold wings out flat, damselflies hold them together over their back).
• Week 29: The Black-Eyed Susan: A classic New York summer wildflower. Let's find some and observe all the different pollinators that visit its big, dark center.
• Week 30: Night Sounds: Sit outside after dark and listen. What do we hear? Crickets? Katydids? An owl? Let's write about the summer night symphony.
• Week 31: Spider Webs: Go on an early morning walk when dew has collected on spider webs. Let's look at the amazing engineering of an orb weaver's web.
• Week 32: Reflecting on Our Year: Let's look back through the Nature Journal. What was Delilah's favorite discovery? What surprised her the most? Let's make a final entry with her top three favorite New York nature moments from our 32-week adventure.