While Mahayla takes a formal, high school biology class this year, Caleb (6th grade) and I (along with the interested 4-year-old) are studying biology using a variety of resources like Considering God’s Creation, Lyrical Life Science, Vol. 1 and, of course, NaturExplorers studies. Botany has been first on our list and we’ve been having so…
You cannot even imagine how wonderful our Jr. Master Gardener class (aka Botany Lab) has been. Our horticulture extension agent rocks! We’ve only had four classes so far and have covered tons of topics – plant parts, flower parts, soil types, the water cycle, ecology, organic pesticides and fertilizers, insects and pollination! Everything has been…
Here’s a simple field guide hint that will work for all ages from preschool through adult. We started using this little trick before our children were even readers and we still use it to this very day. Simple Field Guide Hint Get out the stickers! Before they could write, or even draw very well, I…
Fruits and nuts nature study is full of goodness when you add creative nature walks, fun activities, and a few good living books. This post contains affiliate links. Our weekly nature walks so far in September have been so exciting as we’ve been on the hunt for fruits and nuts. This is the perfect time…
Does the thought of a spider nature walk give you chills? It shouldn’t! Spiders are pretty incredible, and you don’t have to get all that close to observe them in nature. This post contains affiliate links. Autumn is a great time to find spiders and spider webs. Here, there…spiders everywhere! Are you afraid? The garden…
Not every nature walk has to be serious! Let your children take the lead during nature study often. It might not be just the thing you would’ve planned, but it will be exciting and worthy nonetheless.
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…
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…
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…
(This post contains links to my products.) It’s caterpillar and butterfly season, but those fast and furious butterflies won’t sit still long enough for me to snap a picture! Caterpillars love cameras. On a recent walk with my hubby – alone (do you know how precious a nature walk alone with my husband is?? )…
*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…