One of the main goals I set early on in our homeschool was to give my children a love of learning. Creative homeschooling is the mode I’ve used to successfully do that. Don’t think that you can never put your child in front of a textbook or computer screen to homeschool creatively! Instead, think of it as offering your children curriculum and styles to meet their needs. Sometimes that will be a textbook or computer class. Other times, it may be a unit study, living literature, field trips, games, project-based learning, co-op classes, or interest-based studies. These articles show you how. Be inspired!
I’m glad you’ve decided to join me for this episode of the No Sweat Nature Study Podcast! Today we’re going to visit a very unique habitat to see life under rocks! Would you want to live under a rock? Besides the uncomfortable heaviness of a rock, it sure seems like it would be a damp,…
Enjoy firefly nature study in the late spring and early summer when bioluminescence abounds at dusk! It’s so exciting to be back with you for another season of the NSNS podcast. This summer, we’ll be learning about all sorts of fun and interesting bite-sized topics together! Just like last season, each episode will encourage you…
I love organized homeschooling plans, but not everyone around my house is as excited as me about having a plan and sticking to it. This homeschool student planner has been a game-changer in the organization department. Plus, it’s bumped the high schooler’s productivity up a notch or two (or three)! When my son was a…
These days, it seems like hands-on homeschool is a buzzword of sorts. What’s all the fuss about? Let’s define hands-on first. It’s best to define hands-on first because I think its overall meaning might surprise you. You see, hands-on learning can actually mean several things. Most obvious, hands-on means “touching” things during lessons. For instance,…
Picture books for middle school? Shouldn’t older students have moved on from picture books years ago? Not necessarily. Many of the best living picture books include amazing stories with rich language that big kids are finally able to read and enjoy on their own. Additionally, some of the picture books we have on our shelves…
I have a serious chef in my house. He’s only nine years old, but the boy can cook! When I see a natural motivation like this in one of my children, I make sure there are plenty of opportunities to foster its growth. So…he cooks. Because our goal is to have healthy kids in the…
Enjoy a hands-on pollinator nature study and homeschool nature walk challenge with the whole family! Today, we’re learning about one of the most important groups of animals. It’s not your typical group like dogs or horses. It’s not even one of the big groups of animals like mammals or reptiles. This special group is made…
Hello, NaturExplorers! This ant nature study will help you to observe what’s going on above ground and imagine what’s going on below ground wherever you see these busy insects. I know not everyone is a fan of insects, but the insect we’re learning about today is so industrious that I hope you won’t mind. Industrious…
Let’s have a rockhound adventure with a sedimentary rocks nature study today! What’s a rockhound you ask? That’s the nickname given to a geologist or the name given to an amateur rock collector. Since I doubt many of us have gone to school to become geologists yet, we are amateurs. If you’ve never collected rocks…
I’m homeschooling my third (and final) child through 3rd grade. My next youngest is in 10th grade. Here’s the thing…I’m tired. Tired of all the time it takes to plan the piecemeal approach to teaching language arts, that is. I used to teach in the public school system and in homeschooling my older two children…
We’re in for a windy ride today! How can we do a wind nature study when we can’t see wind and can’t even really hear it? Great question! Observing the wind is less about looking for the nature specimen and more about looking for signs that it’s there. What is wind? If you had to…
I think you’ll love these living chapter books for nature study. They capture the attention of readers with wonderful tales that weave a storyline and nature together beautifully. From harrowing adventures to hidden gardens, many of these timeless stories have been well-loved for years. They also happen to subtly encourage a love for nature and…