Nature Study, why isn't everyone doing this???

[Trivium Academy]

In two days, we've learned more than spending 10 weeks studying plants last year in first grade.

1. We walked around our yard for about 20 minutes yesterday.
2. I asked my dd7 what two things she saw that was interesting.
3. I asked her for two things she'd like to learn more about.
4. I found the answers to her questions and we've both learned a lot.

http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-hour-assignment-1.html

She's excited, my ds3 is excited and their neighbor friend that came along with us is excited. 20 minutes walking around the yard with 3 kids and they want to learn!

Total time? 40 minutes, 20 minutes for the walk and another 20 looking for answers to her questions.

[Wendy in ME]

Just kidding. This is actually on my to do list for the rest of the year and future years. I just can't bring myself to start it with 2 feet of snow and below freezing temperatures. I know that there is a lot to study even in the winter but I hate the cold. Your post is motivating though.:o

[8FillTheHeart]

Well......ummm.....hmmmmm.........I really don't like to use these words........ummmmm.......but I don't know how to say this any other way.........I told you so!!! :p

Absolutely just teasing Jessica. :) Really, natural interaction and teaching always produces the best result. I'm thrilled you guys had a great day!!!!

[8FillTheHeart]

But see......what a great time to study hibernation, birds flying south, and what signs animals give that spring is coming! :)

[Beth in Central TX]

Well, if we walked around our yard for 20 minutes, we would be very dizzy. We live in a neighborhood that is less than 10 years old. The few trees that were planted aren't that big. We have one tree, a shed, and a play-yard out back and 2 trees with a little landscaping out front; it doesn't seem like there's enough there fore a nature study. It's one of the disadvantages of living in suburban neighborhood. Your pictures look wonderful though; I think if we had that out our door, I would be more inclined for a nature study too.

[8FillTheHeart]

Ok.....I promise to log off after this one!! LOL!!!! If you literally stake off a 1 ft square in the yard, you would be amazed at the number of things you can find and study. There is actually a book about nature study this way. I can't remember the author.

[Trivium Academy]

Suburbs:
Nature in the Neighborhood (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards)) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=0618352155%26tag=squidooa3115-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26locatio n=/o/ASIN/0618352155%253FSubscriptionId=19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2 ) by Gordon Morrison




Linnea's Almanac (Linnea Books) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=9129591767%26tag=squidooa3115-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26locatio n=/o/ASIN/9129591767%253FSubscriptionId=19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2 )by Cristina Bjork

The story of an urban girl exploring nature.




Kids Container Gardening : Year-Round Projects for Inside and Out (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=1883052432%26tag=squidooa3115-20%26lcode=xm2%26cID=2025%26ccmID=165953%26locatio n=/o/ASIN/1883052432%253FSubscriptionId=19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2 )

by Cindy Krezel


obtained from http://www.squidoo.com/cmnaturestudy


Teaching Nature in Cities and Towns: Urban Outdoor Biology and Ecology (http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Nature-Cities-Towns-Outdoor/dp/0813424585/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203467468&sr=8-17) by Sonia Wolff Vogl and Robert L. Vogl , check your library

Take a City Nature Walk (Take a Walk series) (http://www.amazon.com/Take-City-Nature-Walk/dp/0970975430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203467520&sr=8-1) by Jane Kirkland

A Walk in the City (Nature Detectives) (http://www.amazon.com/Walk-City-Nature-Detectives/dp/1410922987/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203467520&sr=8-2) by Jo Waters

Urban Nature Week by CNI
http://www.childrensnatureinstitute.org/unw/whatisunw/

Most kids nature activities books are geared toward backyard activities. I know I saw a book titled "Urban Nature ______" and it had a child on the cover kneeling, now I can't find it. Urgh.

and if you google "winter nature journal" you'll get more than enough ideas for the winter months.

[Carol in Cal.]

Because in my case, it would take me 3 days to find the answers to the those questions. It would involve trips to two garden stores and a natural history museum. And I would not be sure that the answers were correct.

Too much time for too little result.

That's why I didn't do Charlotte Mason. I just don't know that stuff to begin with.

It's funny, too. One of my favorite things is to get out into wild nature. I just don't know the names of things, nor can I draw.

[AnneJ]

:cool: We'd be in the ER with frostbite after 10 minutes!! Plus there is all the snow on the ground. I can't wait for spring!!!!!!!!!!

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Why not?

I guess my curious boys, who spend alot of time outdoors, picking up every single creepy crawly, stick, rock and what have you, need no organized 'nature study' :D

I guess in some way you could call it nature study. If they ask, I teach, if I don't know, I look it up. If I see something interesting and they don't notice, I point it out, etc. I just call it playing outside! lol ;)

Sounds like your having fun! :D

[Audrey]

I could have said, told you so, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. :) We live on a farm so the interaction with Nature is a given (at least it is for us). I can't say we do "formal Nature Study," but since he's been old enough to hold a crayon, ds has had sketch books and treasure boxes. He's taught himself with very little intervention from me, other than to help him look up things and read it to him when he was very small. Now that he's a strong reader, he looks up things on his own and spends a fair amount of time with his collections and sketch books.

I think one of the things that detracts people from doing Nature Study is the formalization of it. People feel like they have to make a "lesson" of everything they encounter. Nature is far more unpredictable than that. I've found that, at least on this subject, letting him just "go with the flow" of it has been far more productive than any lessons I could have ever created.

The One Small Square books (mentioned above) are great for little ones. Field guides, IMO, are even better, especially for older kids. It's the bitterest, coldest winter we've ever had, but still my ds has plenty to do with Nature. He's been trying to count birds from the windows, sketching them, looking them up in guides. He's also measuring the feed they're eating when it's coldest, more moderate, etc. When the waxwings came through he tracked them across the fields by the bright orange poops they left behind after eating all the mountain ash berries. Somewhere, there is a map tracing them across the whole farm.

Keep going. Your kids will amaze you with the things they discover. :D

[5wolfcubs]

Yeah, I'm with Beth...boring suburban yard. Yesterday, during our outside time (we do go out, just no nature study), I let them climb over the 6' block wall fence onto the path beside our house. Dh was not thrilled with that. He wouldn't let them play in that cool creek behind your house either, I'm sure.
In my homeschool-heart we're doing nature study...just got to get it into motion. :)

[Trivium Academy]

What? If I'm doing nature study it has to be all "ORGANIZED"? Huh, huh? :D

Barb said take a walk. We took a walk.
She said ask the kids what they think is interesting. I did.
She said ask what they want to learn more about. I did.

Of course my dd7 has to find something that I do have to look up! One book on the shelf, Eyewitness Tree and the internet provided the answers.

We haven't even started barely. My idea of organized nature study is having an idea of what to do before you go outside. What happened here was not organized at all. There was no field guides, no sunscreen, no bug spray, not even a book about poisonous/dangerous things to avoid. Me, dd7, ds3, neighbor kid and our dog...plus the camera.

Pah-chaw, like I would organize something! :rolleyes:

[Tammyla]

Our nature studies included a simple nature notebook. My ds started his at age 2 when dd was 5. I still have those notebooks and they have become treasures. Amazing how much they can and did learn on a simple walk.

[Chris in VA]

Yea!! I'm so excited for you and your kids!
I think those with suburban yards just need to look closer. Almost everyone has plants of some kind in their yard, and even dirt can be dug and brought inside to look for different rock pieces, little bugs (eewww), and types of soil.
There's TONS to do!
And, clouds in the sky, stars, snowflakes (how long does it take for a quart of snow to melt? Is it clean, or, what does the water look like when you pour it thru a coffee filter?), etc.
Nature isn't just woods, streams and animals, although that's what most of us think of first.

Love what you are doing!

[one l michele]

In two days, we've learned more than spending 10 weeks studying plants last year in first grade.

1. We walked around our yard for about 20 minutes yesterday.
2. I asked my dd7 what two things she saw that was interesting.
3. I asked her for two things she'd like to learn more about.
4. I found the answers to her questions and we've both learned a lot.

http://triviumacademy.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-hour-assignment-1.html

She's excited, my ds3 is excited and their neighbor friend that came along with us is excited. 20 minutes walking around the yard with 3 kids and they want to learn!

Total time? 40 minutes, 20 minutes for the walk and another 20 looking for answers to her questions.

It's 20 degrees, I prefer to read by the fire and we don't have 3 acres of a natural setting to explore, in fact, we don't have a single tree or flower on our property yet, we are luck we have patchy grass. Not too exciting eh?

[Alice]

Very inspiring.

And Hi Chris! Speaking of nature studies we missed you on the walk last week.

Chris was kind enough to invite me along on a monthly nature walk at a local park after I contacted her about buying some curriculum. It's been great for us. It's something I would intend to do more of, but it has been helpful to have a set time and place. Meeting other people has been a motivator for me to pack up the kids and get out there.

[Chris in VA]

Hi Alice! Hey, you're a Worker Bee! We'll see you next month for sure.

Alice is referring to a "great idea" a good friend has--to do a monthly walk in the same park and notice the changes. We are blessed to live near a wetlands park with a great boardwalk. It really is different every month--and has beavers, egrets, geese, turtles, nests, cattails, etc., all in various states of growth.
Parks are great places to visit, esp. if you are not fortunate to live on "interesting property." (But I still think there is more than meets in eye, even in the not so pretty places! lol)

[Crissy]

Oh, but we do!
In fact, it's the only sort of science we do until junior high.

Wonderful stuff, isn't it?:D

These days my 9 year old is creating a field guide of neighborhood birds. His sketchpad is a near-constant companion, and he has been checking out all of the birding magazines he can find from the library.
The sun has been out this week, so walks to the three near-by parks are much more pleasant.;)

[Tina in WA]

We are going to take part in this. It slipped my mind (a lot is going on at our homestead) over the past couple days. But we will get this done in the next day or two. Hopefully before challenge #2 comes along. ;)

This is something I have wanted to do for YEARS. Can't really put a finger on why we haven't done it yet, but I chock it up to I just didn't have the drive to get going on it. Time would go by and I would think... Oh ya... I wanted to do that.

I love how Barb has set this up. I like the accountability, the idea's, and the support.

Jessica, I am looking forward to seeing what you all do in the coming weeks, as well as any one else that takes part in this challenge. :)

Thanks again for posting about this. :D

~Tina

[Trivium Academy]

This isn't our house, we'll be moving in June and we'll still continue even if we have only 1 square each of green yard, we'll still do this. Birds, insects, clouds, sunset/sunrise, constellations, our dog (!), etc. This really IS worthwhile to do but the enthused parent should do it.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Pah-chaw, like I would organize something! :rolleyes:


:D ;)

[tess in the burbs]

but when I looked at CM we lived in the city against a highway and the only thing you saw on the ground were ummmm, well, not nature kinda things you know? When the third murder happened on our street we decided nature wasn't for us and went camping once a year instead.

I am glad you are enjoying your change of gears. When we had nice weather a few weeks ago the kids and I took evening nature walks and then morning nature walks to compare what we could see, hear and smell. they kids loved it! And we will do it again when it's warmer. I love the outdoors but it's got to be warmer.

[Heather in VA]

Well I wouldn't say we aren't doing it but I can tell you why it isn't all we do. Primarily, because regardless of what all the Charlotte Mason-type lists imply, there is alot more to science than what you see wandering around your backyard. I am pretty casual about science as far as curriculum goes in the elementary years but we learn more than 'nature' stuff. The kids love to make things bubble and wonder what makes things move etc.

So I guess what I'm saying is when people say they do 'Nature Study' for science, I usually assume they are following the recommendations of those philosophies that focus elementary science on the plant and animal world. So I would say that no - we don't do Nature Studies.

Heather

[Excelsior! Academy]

We totally started this a couple of months ago. I had planned on trying it in the summer, but when we finished our science curriculum mid-year we started early.

I can not believe we didn't start earlier! My kiddos have learned so much just in our back yard. We plan on getting them nice sketch books and pencils just for this. Next year they will spend an hour in our backyard every day and (hopefully) an afternoon a week away from home. We are fortunate enough to have a nature center, parks, etc. very close by so we will use these weekly.

Days that are brutally cold we will research on the computer or look up things in nature books. I can't believe something so simple for me is so great for them!

[Michelle T]

When he was little, he might have been interested in wandering around examining things outside. He's 11.5 now, and "nature study" is definitely NOT on his list of things he wants to do!

I've tried, believe me. I think nature study might be one of those things that appeals most to girls, and little boys.
MichelleT

[Audrey]

It's over now, but every Feb. there is the Great Backyard Bird Count (http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/). Of course, one needn't be limited to just that week... and you don't necessarily have to go outside to count if you think it's too cold.

[Audrey]

Hooked on Nature has reading lists of all kinds of books (http://hookedonnature.org/childrennature/reading.html)for kids divided by age range

[Audrey]

Having a versatile microscope is nice, but absolutely not necessary. If your kids really get into it, Jessica, you could think about getting one for them so they can get an up-close view of a drop of pond water, or a bit of dirt or mud or bits of pollen... anything.

We have this one (http://www.escience.ca/genSci/RENDER/2/1005/1022/11460.html). I like that it uploads to the computer. It makes viewing easier for people like me, who can't see in a microscope very well because of my glasses. Unfortunately, my ds inherited my cr*ppy eyesight. :( This thing helps though. Plus ds likes making movies out of the image captures.

[godpoetry]

I have one child who I have to make go outside. My other two I believe would live outside. My oldest does nature study on his own. He loves outdoors, and I can not wait until Spring when I can take all my children out for nature walks. We love to go hiking.

[Tami]

That's what I'm been sayin' for years! Charlotte Mason emphasizes learning with real plants, real animals, real LIFE. You go, girl!

[sunflowerlady]

Thanks for posting this. :) I am praying about going to a more Charlotte Mason-type of approach. Nature study sounds like a good way to start to work it in to our schedule. We live in FL in a rural area, so we really have no excuses for not getting out there and studying Creation.

We have done nature walks in the past, and dd has done some sketches, but I never kept up with it.:(

My dd has the Keepers At Home handbook, and there is a section on preserving flowers. Maybe I can talk dh into making a flower press for us.

Rita

[SandraDumas]

1. I tried to incorporate drawing as CM suggests. It was a boring flop. When I take my dc outside they want to play, not draw.

2. Kids that are too young- I think with kids under six, you're better off just letting them explore on their own, and not trying to force any nature study.

3. Strange animal and plant life. The Handbook of Nature Study doesn't work in my neck of the woods. Even the Florida field guides don't work. I live in a gorgeous, 400 acre beautifully manicured development with a HUGE shimmering lake. Other than the birds (which are easily identified) I seem to have a complete lack of ability to identify trees, plants, shrubs, or just about anything else. THis is so frustrating. Finally I realized all the plants here are *not* indigenous to Florida. THe Florida field guides cover only indigenous plants.

4. While I don't try to do Nature study anymore, my kids learn a lot. I try to learn all the birds and we try to identify those. We had a squirrel feeder, and are getting a bird feeder. We grow our own flowers, and now we even have beans (yes dc planted beans right in the front flower garden and they grew), and we can identify several trees.

5. I like textbook learning because when I try to do the CM natural thing, I can never relax. I never know how much "nature study" and how much play my kids should be getting.

With that said, we haven't done formal textbooks yet either and won't until this coming fall. We read great books about science and watch Bill Nye and pick up dollar store science experiment books.

So that's my long winded version. It's just a big frustration for me and I finally just gave up and decided to enjoy our time outdoors in the same way that my mom did with me. Plant things and tend the garden when possible, and spend lots of time outdoors.

[Paula in MS]

This is a good time of year to study birds. Set up bird feeders just outside a window and be patient. We have bird guides inside as well as binoculars for a really good look. I have downloaded coloring sheets for birds and dd6 is coloring them using the bird guide. We have also listened to bird calls on the internet for the various birds that we have seen.

I think the object for nature study is to give children a life-long love of nature. Since we set up the bird feeders, she is much more interested in the bird study (Apologia Zoo 1) than before. Observing nature draws them in.

We are thinking of starting a nature journal around here. Any advice? With temperatures in the 60's, we are getting spring fever.

Paula

[Dawn E]

I've accepted Barb's challenge, too, and if I could get blogger to work right now, I'd have pictures on my blog to prove it. We had a great time, and I'm excited to take a field trip over to my dad's property--actual woods--where I roamed and played as a child. Of course, now I might be too chicken to go out too far. :D

I have a Montessori background and think that Charlotte Mason has a lot in common with the Montessori method. As a homeschooler I love being able to take the good, toss the bad and mesh it all together for a program fitted for my dd. Although we are planning to do MWS next year, I am also planning to continue the Nature walks and study, if for no other reason than for us it is a lot of fun.

[Trivium Academy]

I didn't know a thing and just went outside with paper and pencil and told dd to draw something. Lol. We drew grass and didn't do it again.

I'm sorry Sandra for your frustration, and I didn't mean to make others feel bad by posting this. I really just wanted to put it OUT there, ya know? For those who want to do it but don't really know how or have doubts.

:) Forgive me?

[Amy+2]

I have ALWAYS found that when things are going a little haywire with the 'books', the BEST solution is to tell the boys to grab their Nature Notebooks, go outside, and find something to draw and or write about in their notebooks. It never ceases to amaze me how much we gain from a trip into our backyard.
Works like a charm EVERY time!;)

[Friederike in Persia]

How do you know this stuff?
I'll get the books recommended and give it a try, but I'm still not sure they'll have the correct information in the end.:confused:

[home4fun]

I have been inspired too, here on the site, to look into adding nature journals to our studies. I picked up some bird books at the library and my 9 year old son has been inspired (or maybe obsessed?) with learning about birds. One cool thing he is doing is using tracing paper to trace the birds from various books. Then, he uses color pencils to color them and add his comments at the bottom of the page of details he wants to remember. He does this any chance he can get and I love that he loves it! We also checked out bird calling books from the library that play bird sounds! Our house sounds like spring even if it does not feel like spring!

So I hope also to carve out time to make this a daily adventure of exploring nature studies.


Angie (home4fun)

[wide eyes & laughter]

Jessica, this is very inspiring for me. I started out my hs journey more like this: nature studies, focusing on the "core", and some other changes you are making. However, I'd gotten a bit side-tracked with a more bookish style after feeling as though I wasn't doing enough! With that came a lot more stress for me. Glad to say that recently I've been making some changes to our school as well!

Thanks for the inspiration!
Cheryl

[Kimber]

Personally, I'm scared to death of my backyard. There have been more copperheads back there than I care to count. Sometimes we just look out the window at the snakes.

Actually, it's not that bad. But since the trees and land around us have been cleared we have a few snakes a year in various places. And they are copper heads.

Also, I've tried nature study. With 4 kids, 3 boys 8 and under, there was blood shed and tears all over. My two younger kids are a little unruly at this age, and they have to be closely monitored when outside.

So I leave the regular nature study to my dh. He takes them on walks and introduces them to things and does bird watching too. He's an outdoors guy. I'm an indoors kind of country gal. My kids are blessed to have him for a dad because if it weren't for him, they'd miss out on a ton of good dirty fun stuff.

Just last Saturday, he had them outside for about 8-12 hours playing in the dirt and making rivers. I'm more of a sit at the table and get a book or some crayons kind of a mom. But I'm learning to do better.


Kimberly

[ncmomo3]

1. I tried to incorporate drawing as CM suggests. It was a boring flop. When I take my dc outside they want to play, not draw.

2. Kids that are too young- I think with kids under six, you're better off just letting them explore on their own, and not trying to force any nature study.

3. Strange animal and plant life. The Handbook of Nature Study doesn't work in my neck of the woods. Even the Florida field guides don't work. I live in a gorgeous, 400 acre beautifully manicured development with a HUGE shimmering lake. Other than the birds (which are easily identified) I seem to have a complete lack of ability to identify trees, plants, shrubs, or just about anything else. THis is so frustrating. Finally I realized all the plants here are *not* indigenous to Florida. THe Florida field guides cover only indigenous plants.

4. While I don't try to do Nature study anymore, my kids learn a lot. I try to learn all the birds and we try to identify those. We had a squirrel feeder, and are getting a bird feeder. We grow our own flowers, and now we even have beans (yes dc planted beans right in the front flower garden and they grew), and we can identify several trees.

5. I like textbook learning because when I try to do the CM natural thing, I can never relax. I never know how much "nature study" and how much play my kids should be getting.

With that said, we haven't done formal textbooks yet either and won't until this coming fall. We read great books about science and watch Bill Nye and pick up dollar store science experiment books.

So that's my long winded version. It's just a big frustration for me and I finally just gave up and decided to enjoy our time outdoors in the same way that my mom did with me. Plant things and tend the garden when possible, and spend lots of time outdoors.

Sorry-- I have to completely second this one. I just never worked for us either for the reasons Sandra listed and more. It is just way too loose for us.

[Trivium Academy]

Carol,
Barb left a comment at my post that the answers I was seeking could have been found in The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock. My book is still in route, although I have checked out from the library. It's wonderful. Between it, field guides and the internet- is anything impossible? :)

[Trivium Academy]

You're welcome, I'm excited and scared too. I'm trying to shed the public school mentality and adopt a more developmental view but it's hard. I think I need to keep an arsenal of reminders on the fridge or something. I wrote about it a little in my post about Testing a CM schedule after today's lessons (Tuesday). Since we're using Tapestry, I can trust the books they have chosen a little bit more than if I was doing it on my own. They use living books for their primary resources but Ambleside/Mater Amabilis is tempting! I'm still figuring out a nice balance for 1-4 science, there are books I want to read but my comfort lies in what the WTM suggests. I hope I'll get to a comfortable place about it soon!

[gardenschooler]

We are, we are! I find we learn more just piddling around the garden, going for long walks, and just discovering things as we come across them (in other words, we don't go out looking for something in particular). I don't do it in any organized fashion, but educating myself on different kinds of trees, plants, wildlife, etc. has enabled me to answer questions or help identify things 'on the spot', you might say.

I don't count this as 'science'. It's just *fun*. Making a lesson out of it would probably take the fun out of it for us. Well, at least it's not a lesson as far as the kids can tell. ;)

You sound so excited, Jessica! I'm glad for you. And you are going to looove The Handbook of Nature Study. I enjoy looking through that on my own, and I also like reading A Pocketful of Pinecones once in awhile, just for inspiration.

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but my kids have enjoyed the Fun with Nature books.

[Audrey]

I'm still figuring out a nice balance for 1-4 science, there are books I want to read but my comfort lies in what the WTM suggests. I hope I'll get to a comfortable place about it soon!

Would it help not to think of it as "science" but rather as another subject altogether? I mean, what kid couldn't use more time outside just grooving with Mother Nature? You could count it as ecology, or conservation or even phys. ed. in a way, too.

[DawnUK]

It's by far been our favorite thing this year. Having four children, the younger two being 2 & 3, nature study is something that we can ALL enjoy. Some days it's so hard to fit lessons in with the older two while the younger two want me to build train tracks with them. When they are physically pulling your pant leg in the direction that they want you to go, you have to go! But they love bug hunting. My youngest, who just turned two, comes running if anyone finds a bug yelling, "where? where's the bug?!"

I keep a nature backback fully stocked with clip boards, pocket microscopes, crayons, colored pencils, nature guides, magnifiying glasses, etc. That really helps with the me not have to organize.

I think that sometimes we are so disconnected from nature, in a way that our grandparents probably weren't. My grandfather could identify most any bird by sight or sound. He could predict the weather based on signs that he saw-- if the cows start to lay down, it's likely that it'll rain. I want to know all of these things. I want to teach them to my children. I'd love to find a good book about things like that. Anyone?

--Dawn

[Lorna]

I think that sometimes we are so disconnected from nature, in a way that our grandparents probably weren't. My grandfather could identify most any bird by sight or sound. He could predict the weather based on signs that he saw-- if the cows start to lay down, it's likely that it'll rain. I want to know all of these things. I want to teach them to my children. I'd love to find a good book about things like that. Anyone?

--Dawn
Hi Dawn,
If you are in the UK there is a lovely bird song book with cds. It is quite pricey but we managed to order it from the library. I also bought one for my grandad when he was getting over a knee operation (he is a beekeeper and keen gardener so it was hard for him to be indoors for any amount of time).

Collins Field Guide: Bird Songs and Calls of Britain and Northern Europe (Contains 2 accompanying CDs) (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Field-Guide-Northern-accompanying/dp/0002200376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203493325&sr=1-1) by Geoff Sample

Jessica,
You absolutely must look at the articles on this website http://freedom-in-education.co.uk/current_newsletter.htm
You will love them, I promise!

All the best,
Lorna

[snickelfritz]

After a spell of bad weather, my kids need LOTS of time to re-acclimate to being outdoors. Last spring, I tried nature study on our first good day at the park. It flopped. Big. After a few days of getting some time outside just playing and running, they started to notice things themselves. They were much more willing to be pulled from playing to look at a little critter.

My kids are a little small for the drawing, but I point out what I knew. How many legs on the insect? What about the spider? Look at the buds coming out. I wonder what those will turn into (and actually come back to look again.) Have those trees changed (flowers, leaf buds, full leaves, flowers gone, seeds appearing, etc....) It helps to find one good place to go and to keep going back. I use a park that has a decent playground, a small creek, turtles, a pond (probably man-made, but oh-well), a few landscaped trees and flowers, and bathrooms.

I have found that plant nurseries (the real ones, not Wal-mart) have been delighted to help me identify a leaf we have bring in.

Mostly, I just want them to EXPERIENCE nature. If I don't know the name of the tree, we can still observe it. How does the bark feel? Do a bark rubbing or a leaf rubbing. How are these leaves different from that other tree?

[Lorna]

'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell is a wonderful autobiographical book which inspired me just to encourage and facilitate rather than dictate my children's interaction with nature.

[8FillTheHeart]

I am highly incompetent in identifying things. We own lost of field guides (the Audobon ones are my favorites). My kids are very efficient in going through and finding the different species. Field guides are also a great way for them to learn about the finer details of classification.......they have to look at the map to see if the species they think it is actually lives in our geographical area, etc.

I even have huge picture book guides of spiders, bugs, etc for the younger crowd.

[txchick]

When we try to do formal Nature study, the kids have no interest.

Here is what we do. We do it naturally. We live on an acre out of town. We have mostly a desert landscape...weeds, cactus, mesquite growing everywhere wild. Clumpy grass. We are raising Poultry(duck, chickens, guineas) and Rabbits now. We have access to watch all sorts of other animals from Coyotes to Horses.

Bugs are often captured and studied...usually released. We try to garden as well. My kids are both wanting to do Photography so I'm encouraging them to photograph anything they find interesting outside. This is especially helpful to my 9 year old who really doesn't have art skills like his older brother.

Instead of a notebook, we will do a photo album or blog style website.

Its better to live it than made it into a subject in our house...We have had complete Life cycle lessons without books or paper!

Donna

[GreenKitty]

It sounds like you had a wonerful time. We love nature.:)

[Soph the vet]

It was forty below wind chill overnight. There is nothing but white as far as the eye can see. As soon as we thaw out we will will walk, we will look, we will never come back inside!!:D

[GothicGyrl]

Itemized for those organized peoples:

1--Sun isn't good for someone strange like me.
2--If I have to get out in the sun, I melt.
3--It's too hot.
4--Bugs. I hate them.
5--It's too hot.
6--BIG bugs. Skeery. They stalk me.
7--It's too hot out.
8--My kids are too old.
9--they'd rather be putting on makeup and kicking my butt in guitar hero
10--It's just plain too hot.

Seriously though--if I had younger kids, I would do this. But they are older now and are not interested in these things anymore. Instead, they like to hear mom scream "Quit stalking me" all through the house because a stupid 3 inch praying mantis made her side porch his home. We've got bugs big enough to make anyone scream and I just do not do bugs of any kind.

Which is why, in summer, I stay inside, with my nice air conditioning.. ;)


(this is,however, what I would do if they were younger..did I say that already? My mom, who watches my 3 yr old nephew, does this with him all day long. They bike ride to Weedon Island --which is like a block away from her and do nature walks all day)..

[theodwyn]

I dragged my kids out to do this at the pond next to our library. I enjoyed it. I'm not sure how much they did!
Wendy

[St. Theophan Academy]

This is one of our favorite "school times". My kids love being outside, so we try to take a nature walk as often as I can handle it (w a newborn :) We are in fact on our way out the door to our local wildlife preserve to walk around there this morning :) The Comstock book is great, we love it - along with a few good field guides. If you are loving this part of CM - you really should try doing a "tea time". This is our afternoon snack - with hot chocolate (or lemonade in the summer) served in china teacups (I have a collection of mismatched pieces, so even the 3 yo gets a fancy cup). This is when I read our poetry - we do poetry on the Ambleside schedule so I read from the poet for that term, and then take requests for poems from previous readings. I never thought my 9 yo boy would beg to hear poetry, but he loves tea time! Oh, and no discussion of the poems, we are just listening and enjoying (and they do not have to recite memorized poems at this time, that is done during recitation). I have found that CM methodology works well for the arts especially, so we follow her ideas for "studying" art, music, poetry and nature (and of course narration). Check out Tanglewood School curriculum for some good ideas on incorporating CM and classical homeschooling.

Anne Marie

http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/

[danielle]

For the nature impaired, like me: we did this great 2 week program last summer, and now that dd is headed for high school at home, she's begging to do their 2nd and 3rd level instead of hs biology. I learned more in 2 weeks than in my previous 54 (ahem) years, and also how to find the answers. I highly recommend it for older kids (12+) or parents trying to stay ahead of the bugs, snakes, tree identification, endless questions, yadda, yadda. http://www.wildernessawareness.org/home_study/kamana.html
Danielle

[Trivium Academy]

My original post was just to share our adventures and encourage those that want to do nature studies but don't know how. It wasn't to pick on those that don't wish to do nature studies with your children. It wasn't meant to start a negative thread.

I'm disappointed in the need to attack something worthwhile just because you may decide not to do in your own home. I wasn't calling anyone out to justify themselves, I did wonder why so many don't use nature studies as a tool in their homeschool and now I know. My ds3 picked up a book about trees this morning and told dh all about it, practically narrating to dh about the 20 minutes we spent in the yard the other day.

I know those who wish to create drama will take this post and run with it but I won't be here to respond. I am sorry if I put anyone on the defensive, it wasn't my intention.

I'm also sorry for those who felt they were criticized by others by sharing their nature adventures and how they conduct nature studies in their homes. Thank you for sharing your experiences and how it has affected your homeschools, it's encouraging and beautiful.

[Kimber]

In case you do read this, I think you misunderstood. Your thread was wonderful, and I think the rest of us were not angry at all, just making fun of our situations. I know mine was written with underlying humor, and I read humor into the other post as well.

Don't be sorry, it was great!

[GothicGyrl]

I think she was speaking of me--in which case, my humor was sorely misunderstood. It was all humor and I do believe I said, twice, that I would do this with my kids if they were younger and in fact, my mother does this with my younger nephew.

Kimber is correct--we were all making fun of our own impairments in this situation. There was zero negativity involved. It was meant in fun and lighthearted.

[ncmomo3]

In case you do read this, I think you misunderstood. Your thread was wonderful, and I think the rest of us were not angry at all, just making fun of our situations. I know mine was written with underlying humor, and I read humor into the other post as well.

Don't be sorry, it was great!

Correct.
Just amusing experiences from different people with different experiences--nothing neg. or attacking.

[Kimber]

In case you read this one (other post was in the wrong place), my post (and I assume the others, too) were written tongue in cheek, so to speak. No offense was taken from your post. I thought it was great.

In fact, my dh and I would like to move so that our children can actually be outside more. It is my number one complaint about where we live--so close to the creek and all the snakes. :-)

I am a total wimp. :D

[Trivium Academy]

If it was all tongue in cheek, not a problem. I thought I had caused a problem and wanted to apologize for it, some comments didn't seem so tongue in cheek to me and I felt obligated to apologize for those since I spurred this on.

I'm not going to point out any particular posts, I think those that made comments in a mean-spirit will know who they are. Those who didn't make comments in a mean-spirit have nothing to worry about concerning my apology to those who might have been offended or disheartened. I was disheartened by some of the comments and since I started it, I figured it would be best to apologize to those who might feel the same as I.

Kimber, GothicGyrl your posts were tongue in cheek. See, now I'm causing problems by posting again. Sigh. Off to read to my kids. :rolleyes:

[GothicGyrl]

Jessica--don't worry about those naysayers--I don't :) Yes, I think most posts were tongue in cheek though--even though I could have said something like "Me? Outside? No way..I can do that?" or "Ewww nature, yuck" or even if I was serious (which I only partially am, I really do despise bugs), my kids don't like the "nature" either. hehehe.. We're all just a bunch of freaks. ;)

Ahh, don't worry about it--you didn't cause anything. I just wouldn't worry over it. You did nothing wrong. Honestly.

[Karen in CO]

For the nature impaired, like me: we did this great 2 week program last summer, and now that dd is headed for high school at home, she's begging to do their 2nd and 3rd level instead of hs biology. I learned more in 2 weeks than in my previous 54 (ahem) years, and also how to find the answers. I highly recommend it for older kids (12+) or parents trying to stay ahead of the bugs, snakes, tree identification, endless questions, yadda, yadda. http://www.wildernessawareness.org/home_study/kamana.html
Danielle
Danielle, thanks for the link to the wilderness awareness site. I hadn't seen that before and it looks great.

Jessica, aren't nature studies great? I have been doing a 10 week "formal" science program with my dd each year and using nature studies the rest of the year. It is my compromise. My dd also grows her own little garden and the youngest helps in the garden - she loves fresh tomatoes. For the cold winter here, when the weather is nicer, we bundle them up and take them to our favorite park and enjoy the changes in the lake and streams as they freeze over. We also feed birds and keep an identification book by the window. Something to look for as spring arrives is an opportunity to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) or a local u-pick farm. It is wonderful for kids to get connected with their food supply.

For those with snakes - YUCK. After we moved in our house we discovered that our yard was infested with garden snakes. I would put the baby on a blanket in the yard then within minutes 4 or 5 would be slithering toward her. I am originally from a swampy part of FL. I have a very healthy snake phobia. I have been on a quest to kill everyone (the kind in my yard can lay up to 80 eggs per year). Two years later I still kill at least two snakes a week. My dh chides me - "How can you teach our kids to appreciate nature if you have to kill every snake in the neighborhood?"

It is nice to see people getting excited about something that is a wonderful addition to our school day, but I know many families in which it just wouldn't work.

[GothicGyrl]

For those with snakes - YUCK. After we moved in our house we discovered that our yard was infested with garden snakes. I would put the baby on a blanket in the yard then within minutes 4 or 5 would be slithering toward her. I am originally from a swampy part of FL. I have a very healthy snake phobia. I have been on a quest to kill everyone (the kind in my yard can lay up to 80 eggs per year). Two years later I still kill at least two snakes a week. My dh chides me - "How can you teach our kids to appreciate nature if you have to kill every snake in the neighborhood?"

I can SOOOOOOO relate to "healthy fears" of something--I am this way with bugs... but sheepishly I say, your DH is right, yanno.. ;) If all they are is garden snakes--killing them is bad, very bad. They eat all the nasty pesky bugs that like to tear up wonderfully delicious gardens. ;) We've got nice sized Rat Racers, Greens and Blacks here and I try not to kill them at all --I just keep repeating "they eat the nasty evil bent-on-putting-me-in-therapy-bugs" over and over.

Shooing them away is easy--just use a broom, and scoot them off--they usually scury away fast. But don't kill them. They eat the nasty evil bugs. ;)

[Excelsior! Academy]

This is one of our favorite "school times". My kids love being outside, so we try to take a nature walk as often as I can handle it (w a newborn :) We are in fact on our way out the door to our local wildlife preserve to walk around there this morning :) The Comstock book is great, we love it - along with a few good field guides. If you are loving this part of CM - you really should try doing a "tea time". This is our afternoon snack - with hot chocolate (or lemonade in the summer) served in china teacups (I have a collection of mismatched pieces, so even the 3 yo gets a fancy cup). This is when I read our poetry - we do poetry on the Ambleside schedule so I read from the poet for that term, and then take requests for poems from previous readings. I never thought my 9 yo boy would beg to hear poetry, but he loves tea time! Oh, and no discussion of the poems, we are just listening and enjoying (and they do not have to recite memorized poems at this time, that is done during recitation). I have found that CM methodology works well for the arts especially, so we follow her ideas for "studying" art, music, poetry and nature (and of course narration). Check out Tanglewood School curriculum for some good ideas on incorporating CM and classical homeschooling.

Anne Marie

http://www.tanglewoodeducation.com/

I totally agree with the tea time and china. Our dds have tea cups and saucers that have been collected from various places. Garage sales, b-day parties, antique malls, etc. They LOVE that they can drink out of real china. If they get broken, oh well, we'll just get new ones.

[Hazelt"nut"]

I always did this when my dd6 was a little tot...then I let the hustle and bustle of school get in the way. Now we are getting back to our "roots" ha ha. Had a great first nature trip to a local pond and an amazing time with some feathery friends. Both dd6 and ds3 added pics we took to their journals and wrote about their observations. (I wrote for the three year old!) Read about it at our blog under A Sick Day of Homeschooling.

Sheryl in GA

www.hazelnutacademy.blogspot.com (http://www.hazelnutacademy.blogspot.com)

[Rhondabee]

Well I wouldn't say we aren't doing it but I can tell you why it isn't all we do. Primarily, because regardless of what all the Charlotte Mason-type lists imply, there is alot more to science than what you see wandering around your backyard. I am pretty casual about science as far as curriculum goes in the elementary years but we learn more than 'nature' stuff. The kids love to make things bubble and wonder what makes things move etc.

So I guess what I'm saying is when people say they do 'Nature Study' for science, I usually assume they are following the recommendations of those philosophies that focus elementary science on the plant and animal world. So I would say that no - we don't do Nature Studies.

Heather

My kids also much prefer more active science experiments.

But, there's no reason not to take the concept of "find something that interests you and pursue" outside of the realm of "nature studies". That is the ideal in our "studies", whether related to school or not - asking questions and finding the answers.

I think that's one reason why we love Read-Alouds, because they expose us to things that otherwise we wouldn't encounter. And, if it's something we're curious about, we go find out more.

[DawnUK]

Lorna,
Thanks for the CD recommendation-- I'm off to hunt it down!

--Dawn

[Amy in MD]

We've moved from a great property/land to a postage stamp back yard. I have been pouting about the change instead of doing something positive.

Thanks for the inspiration to enjoy nature,
Amy

[Colleen in SEVA]

We don't do nature study because I hate nature. :) Not ALLL of nature, but pretty much most of it (at least according to my hubby).

My boys would probably like nature walks, but Red still puts rocks in his mouth. Green is dangerously adventurous and not ready for that much freedom. Yellow would want to be carried, and I don't have enough hands. Plus, Blue would want to know ALL of the answers, and we would get no other schooling done beyond answering his questions from our nature walk. They do play outside most days, dig in the dirt, find neat rocks, climb our tree, play gently with worms, bring me dead bugs to look at in the microscope (Brock was a good investment) -- but we don't *study* it per se. And we DO NOT go on nature walks.

So... my compromise was to enroll my son in an ecology class through homeschool co-op. Each week, they go on a nature walk and collect things, learn about them, draw about them, clean themselves up, and the rest of the boys are safe in the nursery while I chat with other moms. It really is a win-win situation! LOL!!

[BizyPenguin]

We just couldn't make it work. We do the Green Hour just about every day, though and that works very well and is more natural for us. I blogged about this very thing last week. If you visit my blog, click on 'Mother Nature' in the sidebar for more of an explanation. All the best!

[kalanamak]

She's excited, my ds3 is excited and their neighbor friend that came along with us is excited. 20 minutes walking around the yard with 3 kids and they want to learn!


Yup. That's why I have pussy willow branches on my dining room table (today's find). Although brave dh has done most of it, we strive for 2 hours outside every day. Luckily, it is temperate here.

[SandraDumas]

I think it's a GREAT question!!! If you find something that you tried, it worked, it sounds perfect in theory, it's easier, cheaper and more efficient than the "other way" you wonder to yourself....WHY doesn't everyone do it this way???

I think it was a great question. I didn't realize my post sounded frustrated. Sure, nature study was a frustration b/c it didn't live up to my dreams, but I'm not frustrated now, and wasn't at your post!!

:D

[Kathy in MD]

Ok.....I promise to log off after this one!! LOL!!!! If you literally stake off a 1 ft square in the yard, you would be amazed at the number of things you can find and study. There is actually a book about nature study this way. I can't remember the author.

I've linked to the backyard one. There's also one on the night sky, however any of the books would give hints on how to look at your backyard. http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Donald-M-Silver/dp/007057930X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203618398&sr=8-2

But even without the book, the OP could set up a bird feeder and bird bath and observe. Then she could dig a 6" deep hole in the yard and look at the roots and bugs :D hiding there. With the tree, pull a leaf and have a magnifying glass to look at the pores. Do rubbings of the tree bark and then go to a park and compare barks. Compare the blades of grass to tree leeves. Get paint chips in all the shades of green, glue them around the edges of a piece of cardboard (calendar or paper pad type), cut out the center and pick out the different shades of green in nature. Do the same with shades of blue and grey and look at the sky and clouds. (The color frame will look like a picture frame made entirely of paint chips) Lie down on the grass an see how a mouse would view your yard. Start a compost pile and watch decompossion.

[5wolfcubs]

I haven't read all the replies (this was a hot topic!) but yesterday we went to another homeschooler's house...she lives in a similar suburban neighborhood to me. Her house was delightful -- collections of rocks, framed pictures drawn by her daughter and of her daughter in the great outdoors and of different kinds of leaves, piles of books. I didn't get to ask her about her homeschool-style, but the love of learning (particularly about nature) were just so evident. My house is just EMPTY by comparison. Anyway, while at her house I thought of you & this post and just wanted to share that I've been encouraged that my "conditions" don't have to be perfect (I don't need 3 acres in GA) to do nature study or be the educator I want to be, it really is up to me! :)

[Darcy from LWM3B]

I am very eager to be outside. It's hard not to be envious of those of you in warm climates right about now. We have had several inches of snow on the ground since right after Thanksgiving. It's been a snowy, totally white, wet and very, very cold world for 3 months now.

I am sooo eager for green! Gosh, even patchy grass sounds nice.

Know what my weatherman said this week? -45 degrees outside. That's not a typo. Our actual temperature the day before was -6. With the wild chill it was -45. There was a pet/small child weather advisory.

Playing in the snow is only novel for about 2-3 times. We used those up by mid-December. Now we're just dealing with cabin fever and watching the deer play from our big picture window.

While I do like many of the CM philosphies, that green hour is something that we haven't seen in months!

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

We are under 10 feet of snow, but I still try to get the crew outdoors. I think the seasons have a lot to offer- as mentioned before, I let them discover on their own things around us. We do more guided stuff in the other 3 seasons. I am not a big walk around nature girl and prefer the city, but I endorse it with the children....shhhhh don't tell them:rolleyes:

[Cornerstone Classical]

Hey Momof7,
You may be thinking of the series of books from Scholastic called "One Small Square". These books are *awesome*! My dc beg for this series to be read. And they have easy instructions for your own outdoor exploring!

[Cornerstone Classical]

nt

[Rhondabee]

I am very eager to be outside. It's hard not to be envious of those of you in warm climates right about now. We have had several inches of snow on the ground since right after Thanksgiving. It's been a snowy, totally white, wet and very, very cold world for 3 months now.

I am sooo eager for green! Gosh, even patchy grass sounds nice.

Know what my weatherman said this week? -45 degrees outside. That's not a typo. Our actual temperature the day before was -6. With the wild chill it was -45. There was a pet/small child weather advisory.

Playing in the snow is only novel for about 2-3 times. We used those up by mid-December. Now we're just dealing with cabin fever and watching the deer play from our big picture window.

While I do like many of the CM philosphies, that green hour is something that we haven't seen in months!

I looked to see where you lived, thinking maybe the Yukon or something like that and saw Iowa - -- - just about choked on my coffee! :)

Saying a prayer you have a happy Friday and a restful weekend!
Rhonda

[harmonyartmom]

Jessica,

I have been watching and reading this thread for the last few days and finally have a minute to post a reply.

I wanted to publicly say how proud I am of your progress in nature study this week. I think it is fantastic.

You know how much I value nature study, art, and music in our homeschool and I feel so grateful to be able to share my passions with others, especially those that take to heart what I am trying to share.

Keep up the good work and don't stop sharing because it really is like ripples in a pond....good ideas just keep flowing until they reach hearts that are open and ready for new ideas.

Green Hour Challenges (http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/480223/)

[Strawberry Queen]

Our winters are really long. By the time spring comes (May) I am soo done with school. We go to the playground, collect leaves, rocks etc. but I just can't do anything else, I don't have the heart:). Now that dd7 is reading for herself, she'll probably do some.
Of course we do take our nature guides with us so that we can identify things, but that's as far as we're going at the moment.