You can learn to recognize the various forms of clouds. You may even be able to forecast the weather by looking at the clouds. If the clouds are white and high up in the sky, the weather will probably be pleasant for many hours. If there are big, dark clouds low in the sky, there will probably soon be either snow or rain, depending on the time of year.

On a clear night, especially if the moon is not too bright, you can see millions of heavenly bodies shining in the sky. Most of them are stars, but some of them are planets, heavenly bodies that revolve around the sun. Stars shine by their own light; planets, by light reflected from the sun.

The earth is a planet. Of the other planets, you can easily see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the unaided eye. With binoculars or a telescope, you can see Uranus and Neptune. Pluto can be seen only with a very powerful telescope.

As you look at them from the earth, the stars make certain patterns in groups called constellations. It is interesting to learn their names and how to recognize them. To make your own maps of constellations that you can see, stick gummed silver paper stars on blue construction paper in the patterns of the constellations, one constellation to each sheet of paper. A field book of astronomy will show you how to locate planets and constellations.

You may collect rocks by picking them up off the ground, or by chipping them off large boulders or cliffs. Small round, smooth rocks have been worn smooth by water. Rocks that have been exposed a long time to the weather may be different in appearance on the outside than on the inside. Often the inside of a rock will be bright in color, from one or more of the minerals from which it is made. To find out, break off a piece of the rock with a hammer, but first cover the rock with a piece of burlap or canvas to keep rock chips from striking your face.

As you collect and identify each rock, write a number on a piece of gummed paper or adhesive tape and stick it on the rock. Write the name of the rock beside its number in your notebook. You can keep a rock collection in egg cartons, or in shallow partitioned wooden boxes.