Nature study has been one of the most rewarding subjects in our homeschool through the years. It reaches deeply into every single realm of science. It gets us outdoors for fresh air, sunshine and exercise. It creatively includes other subjects like language arts, math, geography, and even history. But most importantly, God has revealed so much about Himself to us through the study of nature.
Nature study works easily with all homeschooling styles. It makes a huge difference with children who need to be active. It can meet all kinds of learning styles, and offers those with learning disabilities a fresh perspective on learning to give them success. Best of all, nature study works really, really well when teaching multiple ages. I know you’ll enjoy some amazing learning using the lessons you’ll find below. Have fun!
I love to incorporate more than one subject at a time when possible. It not only saves time, but makes connections that are so important for children to understand. Last week, we were blessed with a dry snow that led to lots of snow drifts. I sent the kids on their merry way with a…
It can be difficult during a nature walk to identify lichen vs. moss. These simple descriptions and pictures should help you learn the differences between the two. Lichen vs. Moss: What’s the Difference? Through the course of our nature clubs and writing the NaturExplorers studies, the following question has come up several times. “What’s the…
Keeping a nature journal or nature notebook is a very personal thing. Some people prefer a blank-paged notebook, while others prefer a lined composition book, and still others prefer to use prepared notebooking pages. Some people like to simply draw sketches with a label or two, while others enjoy journaling full pages alongside their drawings….
I recently happened upon a new-to-me field guide publisher that I’m loving. Adventure Publications puts out small (4 3/8 x 6″), but jam-packed, guides on all sorts of nature subjects. Most importantly for me, they offer not only general field guides, but many that are state or region specific, too! Don’t let the fact that…
Some of the NaturExplorers guides suggest the completion of a diorama to go along with a research project. Dioramas are such a fun and creative way to model entire habitats or ecosystems. Even better, they can prove to be an informal assessment of your child’s understanding when you ask him or her to create a diorama…
We were blessed beyond words when Jessica from Powers Taiwan Chatter left us a wonderfully sweet comment about her family’s experience with our newest unit, Remarkable Rain. She has graciously allowed us to share some of a post from her blog where she wrote about the fun they had studying and playing in the rain…
I’m in love! I’m in love! After reading LOTS (and I mean lots) of books to weed out the best of the best to include in our NaturExplorers units, I have to tell you that it’s very hard to find books that meet all my criteria: Living, interesting, inspirational Factual without being dry Don’t address…
I’m on a mission to help you find the best field guides on the market – and I have another treasure to share with you! The Finders Field Guides published by Nature Study Guild Publishers are unlike any field guide I’ve ever used. Instead of colorful, realistic illustrations or actual photographs of nature examples, there…
In our neck of the woods, July is wild blackberry month. Over time, we’ve located several wild brambles growing along fence lines around our farm. I have to admit that harvesting is a tad difficult because of all the thorns, but well worth the effort. I wanted to share just a few pictures from our…
*Although this post is about home vegetable gardening, you’ll notice some of the pictures are from a field day class my children and I took from the University of Kentucky School of Agriculture. I wanted to encourage you that even those of us who have been gardening for years have room for growth. Your local…
In our Remarkable Rain NaturExplorers unit, one of the suggested activities is to watch and document an approaching rain system. Our family had the awesome opportunity to do this not too long ago. Here are pictures taken over no more than a four minute time frame… Rain can be a very exciting, out-of-the-norm nature study….
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to review the Smithsonian’s Backyard and Oceanic Collections. This wasn’t the first time I’d enjoyed picture books from the Smithsonian Institution as many of them had previously visited our home from the library. Whether reading titles to tie into nature study topics, or just wanting well-written books full of…