We will soon be studying the deciduous forest and woodlands as part of our winter homeschool science program this year. This is mainly due to the fact that we just moved out to the country and have our own little forest right in the back yard. I want the kids to learn forest safety and some plant identification (mainly poison ivy/oak/sumac) just for my own peace of mind. But we will also be exploring woodland animals and tracking and the life cycle of trees as part of science. I think this will fit in nicely with our Little House history study as we are reading Little House in the Big Woods first and the kids will be able to make a correlation of living out in the country away from towns. Plus, we also have natural prairie grasslands in our backyard as well. I think it will be a full and rich year of learning out here! I’ll be posting our living books on this topic soon as well as adding them to our side bar.
I took the kids out in the woods last week to get some pics of plants that I wasn’t sure of. I tried finding them in my field guides (and I have quite a lot of them) and couldn’t come up with anything. I’m sure what is growing are considered weeds even though they’re in the forest. If anyone recognizes them please let me know. I didn’t have any luck on the internet either. I think I will just have to ask one of the camp guides if they know.
Of course, the kids (who normally ignore me and my camera as I’m always taking pics) were, “Look at me…look at me…take a picture of me climbing this log!” the whole time. I did capture some cute photos of them but it was hard to get anything natural looking when they were constantly trying to pose for the camera shots.
And, last but not least, the classic picking the pickers off our clothes after leaving the woods shot.
simply necessary 
I think you should also teach them about directions in the woods, (i.e…a compass, etc). Also, different ways to mark their paths. Just thought it might come in handy someday, you never know, especially since they like to explore. =)
Thanks for the thoughts…we have that in there too, just forgot to mention it! That’s actually a part of our forest safety – learning the direction of our house from the woods, using a compass, and learning the boundaries to where I don’t want them going past (we will use brightly colored fabric tied to a perimeter of trees). Come visit us soon. The kids would love it! I go in on Friday to be induced.