Science : Botany - Gymnosperms

We learned about the different types of gymnosperms. Those that bear pollen cones or seed cones are the conifers. Those that bear berry-like cones are like junipers and yews. Then there are special ones that don't really bear cones but still have "naked" seeds, as is the characteristics of all gymnosperm. They are the ginkos and cycads.


One section focused on Softwood versus Hardwood. I proceeded to read a picture book called Woodlore by Cameron Miller and Dominique Falla. I picked this book up years ago in a garage sale. I was naturally attracted to its contents as my home has always been stocked with wood of all types. It starts out like this:

Yew trees grown throughout the ages,
Have the wood the bowyers favors.
Maple and spruce are always kings
For makers of lutes and violins.

This book is written in poetic form telling which types of wood are best for what purposes. Interesting!

The Elementary Apologia Science books have sections called Creation Confirmation. I love these as they are so important in building up our faith. Here's my boys narration for one of such sections in this chapter:

The world-wide Flood happened about 4700 years ago. We know that by counting the generations of people in the Bible. All trees will die in the world-wide flood. Seeds will still survive. All trees alive now must have grown after the Flood. The oldest living tree is 4700 years old. That is a good evidence that the Flood took place at about 4700 years ago.

Visit Rumphius Science Webpage to learn more about how we approach Science in our homeschool.