I got this amazing image while hiking the Konza Prairie Nature Trail. Isn’t it amazing? I loved this flower. It’s very gentle colors impressed me so much. And I love both yellow and purple together as well as green and purple. But do you know what this is? I was surprised to learn it was a type of milkweed, spider milkweed to be exact!

The colors proved to be amazing in these pictures. They are not enhanced. I took them on a nice evening in May and it made the color really impressive. In the common milkweed , no doubt getting it’s name from the milky white substance it secretes,  I see mostly greens and pinks even though in the photo below it is not yet in full bloom.

Another great way to identify wildflowers is by time of year. If you are not sure about a flower’s identity see what time of year it blooms. I took the next photo just a few days ago. So you can see that now the fruits have formed a seed pod.

There are several other types of milkweed on the prairie; Butterfly Milkweed and Narrow Leaved to name two. You can record what you learn about milkweed when you see them in the field with this notebooking page:

Download a FREE Milkweed Notebook Page

Watch for more Colors on the Kansas Prairie in this series:

1. Yellow
2. Green
3. Purple
4. White
5. Pink

Resources:

Kansas Wildflowers by Color | Great Palins Nature Center | Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center |Nature Gate

Linked up with other wonderful summer series on iHomeschool Network Summer Hopscotch!

The post Color on the Kansas Prairie: Milkweed Green appeared first on Dymphna's Song.

The Sunflower is the Kansas State Flower

Both the photos above and below were taken at the Konza Prairie. One of the best ways to identify sunflowers and distinguish between species is to notice the leaves. After taking note of the leaves on the sunflower below I still couldn’t identify it even when looking at Kansas wildflowers by color. But I believe the one above to be the Sawtooth Sunflower. We saw lots in bloom the last time we hiked.

Sunflower Florets

One thing to study while learning about sunflowers are florets. Florets are the small flowers that make up the composite of the flower head-all the little flowers in the center. Fibonacci spiral patterns appear in many plants and sunflowers are one of them. If you want to incorporate a math lesson with a sunflower study check out this free math lesson plan on Fibonacci by Mensa for Kids. I loved the spiral pattern in the seeds of these sunflowers below. And it made a lovely color combination too! Green is my favorite color and I am a sucker for it.

More wildflowers in Sunflower Yellow.

I also found these beautiful yellow wildflowers on the Konza Praire: Wild Senna (pea family), Missouri Goldenrod (sunflower family), Prairie Coneflower (sunflower family) and some type of Primrose either closely related to or actually the Missouri Evening Primrose (Evening Primrose Family).

Watch for more Colors on the Kansas Prairie in this series:

1.  Yellow
2.  Green
3. Purple
4. White
5. Pink

Use this Sunflower Notebook Page to record much of the info you just learned on the Common Sunflower.

Download Your Free Sunflower Notebook Page !

And if you like this notebook page you’ll love the Sunflower unit packet I created for Hip Homeschool Moms! It will be available on August 25th:

Resources:

Kansas Wildflowers by Color

Great Palins Nature Center

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Nature Gate

Linked up with other wonderful summer series on iHomeschool Network Summer Hopscotch!

The post Color on the Kansas Prairie: Sunflower Yellow appeared first on Dymphna's Song.

What We See on The Konza Prairie Nature Trails

Wildlife:

We always see wildlife- every time. To name just a few, we have been able to view snakes, toads, birds, turtles, insects, plus lots of white tailed deer and even elk.  We have also often heard turkeys and coyotes! We usually just follow the trails on our own. But you can use a KonzaPraire Nature Trail PDF Guide for extra guidance with your observations.

And I just need to mention that there are also Bison being raised and maintained on the Konza Praire -in their own area of course, not on the trail.

Plants:

This year we have just been loosly exploring  the trail and getting to know the routes. And it’s been a family fun way to bring some hands on science into the mix! In the fall we may begin to study trees. What has impressed me so much this summer has been the beautiful colors I see in the wildflowers. They fascinate me. I got a few field guides on wildflowers and have taken lots of pictures. And the idea came to me to create some design color palates from the colors the prairie inspires!  This is how the upcoming wildflower series was born. Watch for:

Also coming in July-

Don’t live in Kansas? Starting July1st, I’m joining homeschoolers across the nation to help bring you resources for all 50 states, plus a HUGE Homeschooling Giveaway with over $800 in prizes! We’ll each cover the laws, communities and field trips in our states. And if you’re a blogger just stop in and link up your state specific posts!

Make sure you’re subscribed by email so you don’t miss it!

See my list of  Science, Nature and Geology Field Trips for Kansas!

The post Konza Prairie Nature Trail- Kansas Nature Study appeared first on Dymphna's Song.