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by Cindy Leave a Comment

Simple Field Guide Hint

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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.

This simple field guide hint is fun (and resourceful) for all ages. Use this idea for any nature study topic.

Simple Field Guide Hint

Get out the stickers!

Before they could write, or even draw very well, I wanted a way for my children to note the plants or animals we had identified. I pulled out a sheet of mini-stickers and we placed a sticker on each picture as we came across something during our nature walks.

As the children have grown, we haven’t stopped marking our field guides with stickers. It’s proven to be a great tool for all of us in remembering what we’ve already identified – and in learning names of plants or animals quickly.

I keep a small sheet of stickers tucked into every one of our field guides for quick and easy marking as we walk.

Simple field guide tip for homeschool nature study

Isn’t that easy? And, it’s surprisingly motivating! Since early this spring, we’ve kept the bird field guide handy and everyone is having fun adding stickers as new birds come and go.

This idea is a perfect addition to any NaturExplorers curriculum guide! No matter the topic you choose, simply carry along an appropriate field guide whenever you head out for a nature walk.

Field Guides I Love

I’m always asked which field guides are best for nature walks. I’m not a field guide snob, so I’m very happy to have any I can get my hands on. However, I love the ease of use and durability of the National Audubon Society’s field guides.

They have a guide on just about any nature topic you can imagine. The first half of each guide is full of large, full-color pictures of various species; each grouped together by types and/or colors. So…if you want to identify a purple flower, for instance, you will flip right to the purple section of pictures.

The second half of each guide includes the nitty-gritty information about each picture. There are descriptions to help you be sure you’ve identified the correct image as compared to your specimen (which is very helpful.) Additionally, you’ll learn things about location, habits, habitats, and more depending on what type of plant or animal you’re studying.

Maybe my two favorite aspects: The covers are made of a durable, protective plastic and the guides are relatively compact. In other words, they’re easy to pack along on nature walks and hold up to lots of use.

This post contains affiliate links.

 National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region, Revised Edition Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region National Audubon Society Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Hardcover)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers–E: Eastern Region – Revised Edition (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Hardcover))

Nature Study is Worth It

I’ve written before about the incredible benefits of nature study as part of your homeschool. But, did you know how much serious science you can learn through nature study? Check out the post below.

Nature Study IS Science

How To Do Nature Study

I’m not going to pretend to have THE perfect method of studying nature because I feel like each family should do what works best for them. However, I do have several resources that might help you along the way…

If you’re already serious about nature study and need some fresh ideas to get you moving in a new direction or to help you dive deeper, you’ll want to look into the NaturExplorers series. You’ll be able to choose from 19 different topics that will each offer 20-40 creative nature walks (some with notebooking pages), plus a ton of follow-up learning ideas for research projects, model-making, experiments, and more.

NaturExplorers guides give you everything you need for creative nature study - plus so much more!

(The NaturExplorers curriculum guides ⇈ are perfect for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers because of all the cool extras like living literature lists and artist/composer/poetry selections.)

If you’re just beginning to dabble in nature study and/or you just don’t know where to begin and/or your children say they hate it, I think you’ll find 100+ Creative Nature Walks or 40 Nature Walks: Outdoor Science Labs On the Go (coming soon!) to be just the ticket.

100+ (Easy and Fun) Creative Nature Walks will get your family out the door in minutes! These educational nature walks can be used with multiple ages at the same time, too!

Do You Love Nature Study?

I’d really love to hear about your successes, failures, and fears. Let’s talk in the comments.

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Last Updated: July 18, 2017 Filed Under: Charlotte Mason, Nature Study, Science & Nature Tagged With: field guides, nature acitivy, nature walk

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NaturExplorers Science Curriculum

NaturExplorers guides are perfect for the 1st-8th grade homeschool, co-op or classroom. This highly adaptable curriculum series uses nature study as the starting point for science lessons that reach into every other subject and meet all learning styles.

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Oh, what peace this quote brings to my soul. It’ Oh, what peace this quote brings to my soul. It’s true, you know. I’ve told my children for years that it only takes a nature walk to see God through His handiwork and to know that His promises are true.⠀
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When the world seems to be falling apart around you, the sun never stops shining. The seasons never stop moving. Without a single, solitary effort of human hands, the woodlands still buzz with life.⠀
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A student of nature can see the consistency in cycles and notice the incredible and creative intricacy of even the smallest specimen and be in awe that we truly serve a God who isn’t unaware of even one tiny detail in our world right now. ⠀
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Life kind of seems overwhelming, though, I know. Remember when I said my motto lately has been to just put one foot in front of the other to do the next right thing? Nature walks (even when it’s cold) never fail me as a right thing. ⠀
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Breathe, friend. Take a nature walk today and let God speak to your soul.⠀
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#homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolmom #homeschoolfamily #wildandfreemom #charlottemasonirl #winterhomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #thisishomeschool #winternaturestudy #nosweatnaturestudy #homeschool365 #ihsnet #naturestudy #naturexplorers #nature #hewins
It might seem trite to post a winter picture book It might seem trite to post a winter picture book list right now, but I’m a big believer in keeping things as normal as possible in my home when things aren’t so normal otherwise.⠀
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It’s the principle of putting one foot in front of the other as you simply do the next right thing. Good books almost always can be a “next right thing” choice.⠀
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Even though I’m not homeschooling younger children anymore, I’ll probably never stop sharing wonderful picture book ideas with you. 🤓 I’ve spent way too many hours reading and collecting to ever stop loving them!⠀
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Eli and I may not be using these books right now, but they are still some of my favorites for winter reading. Whatever may be going on around you, the winter months are always a good time of year to get in lots of extra reading. Snuggling and hot chocolate are optional, but encouraged.⠀
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Click the link in my bio to find a blog post about these books + some of our favorite winter chapter books, too!⠀
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#homeschool #readmorebooks #livingbooks #livingliterature #picturebooks #winterpicturebooks #homeschoolmom #wildandfreefamily #charlottemasonirl #winterhomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #thisishomeschool #winternaturestudy #nosweatnaturestudy #homeschool365 #ihsnet
We celebrated a 14th birthday over Christmas break We celebrated a 14th birthday over Christmas break! 🎉🎁🎂🏀🥰
I love being auntie to a sweet baby again! 😍 I love being auntie to a sweet baby again! 😍
Merry Christmas from the Wests! 🎄 Merry Christmas from the Wests! 🎄
Christmas picture books are some of my very favori Christmas picture books are some of my very favorite books of all time. I’ve spent years collecting new ones here and there (and will probably continue collecting for years to come because there are at least a few favorites I still don’t own).🤗🤫⠀
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When the kiddos were younger, I would sometimes wrap each of the books and place them in a basket near the Christmas tree. 🎁 Each morning during December, one of my children would choose a book to unwrap and that was the one we would read for the day. Oh, such precious memories!⠀
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This year, even though my youngest is in 8th grade, the books are not hidden away! I’ve found a creative way to read them with Eli. We’re using them as mentor texts for his own stories during language arts. #sneakysmart (He’s writing some pretty great stories, too!)⠀
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Click the link in my bio if you’d like to see my entire list of picture book favorites for the Christmas season!🎄If you’d like to know more about using picture books to teach writing to older kids, search “writing with picture books masterclass”on my website.⠀
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Did you know the main purpose of my blog for the l Did you know the main purpose of my blog for the last 14 years has been to encourage you that you CAN homeschool creatively to meet the needs of your children and bump up the joy factor all around?⠀
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Creative homeschooling doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t have to ditch all the boring stuff so that every single moment of every single day is a giant production that completely wears you out. No way!⠀
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Instead, creative homeschooling is really just about making little changes here or little additions there to provide a better opportunity to learn. If your kiddo is struggling with the idea of multiplication in the textbook, you pull out the manipulatives and reteach it a different way. If writer’s block strikes during a persuasive essay assignment, you read a few persuasive picture books to ignite fresh ideas. If spelling brings tears, you move the lesson to a white board and allow your children to write giant words to move all the large motor muscles for renewed energy and fun.⠀
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It can also mean replacing the monotony of learning with something else once in a while. This is where you can insert a unit study with living books, documentaries, field trips, hands-on activities, and more in place of a chapter or two in a history textbook, for example. Or, to take off for an entire day of nature study to renew and rejuvenate everyone’s mental state. ⠀
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December is the BEST time of year to insert a little creative homeschooling into your life because there are so many easy ideas ready for you to use without much effort! That means it’s easy...even if you’re new to the idea. Click the link in my bio to see what I mean. ⠀
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You don’t have to substitute creative ideas for everything in December! (But, you can if you want.) Now that Eli is in 8th grade, we don’t turn every subject into a Christmas theme like in years past. Instead, this year we’re simply adding ornament painting to our Names of Jesus Bible study, favorite Christmas picture books as mentor texts for writing assignments, Christmas poetry to our morning basket, and including baking and service projects as add-on afternoon activities some days. ⠀
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Have fun and let me know how I can help!
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