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…
By far, the Nature Study Through the Holidays study has been our biggest seller. For that, we thank YOU! The short and simple activities tied into the Advent theme are just enough during this busy season in our house. Last week, my three children and I headed to a local cemetery for a red and…
Late Autumn and Winter (before everything is covered by snow) is one of our favorite times to search the woods for signs of animals. It’s funny I’m posting this today as we’re covered by about 5 inches of snow, but here’s a peek into our walk a week or two ago. There are wonderful nature…
Nature Study in the Winter? Yes! There are still plenty of wonderful topics to study during the winter. I’ve written about several of them before in a previous post titled, well, what else – Nature Study in the Winter. One great topic that always makes for interesting study is conifers. Conifers are evergreens that produce…
Mountain Press kindly sent us two books to review that we’d like you to know about! The Charcoal Forest by Beth A. Peluso is an informational picture book about how forest fires actually help plants and animals in some instances. Each two-page spread teaches you about a particular animal or plant and how it benefits…
Whether you’ve begun Nature Study Through the Holidays: Easter yet or not, you’ll likely be on the lookout for death and decay this week as you discuss Jesus’ death and burial. I wanted to share some photos of our fascinating finds this past week to give your some inspiration during your walk. When the perishable…
Easter Nature Study It’s been awhile since my Creation Club met for nature study together. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share the Easter story with them and do some mini-hunts based on the ideas suggested in Nature Study Through the Holidays: Easter. Easter Scavenger Hunt Printable For the class, I also created…
The verdict is in…we are LOVING Apologia’s Physical Science!! I’m *not* normally a textbook sort of gal, but this series (as well as Ancient Civilizations and the Bible) is converting me! Why do I like it so much? The info is in depth, but the lessons really go rather quickly. All the lessons bring our wonderful…
Summer is the perfect time for nature study trips that might be difficult to fit into the regular school schedule. Things like all day hikes at a nature preserve, days spent exploring the beach, and observing the middle of the pond from the view of a paddle boat. Paddle boating at Jacobson Park in Lexington…
Below are some pictures of our farm during the recent flooding of Central KY (and other places.) I know it’s hard to tell that the land is flooded if you aren’t familiar with what it looks like typically. Rest assured – this was a FLOOD! We estimate about 45 acres (three bottom land fields) were…
We’re having so much fun studying snow, ice and frost this season! On a recent nature walk, we were looking specifically for animal tracks. We weren’t disappointed! Each of the pictures below shows prints or trails made by different animals. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert tracker yet, so I can’t identify all of them. I’ve…
Last week’s nature study compared a new pond structure to the older ponds we have been studying. The kiddos observed the differences in plant life, animal life, general activity and sounds. We also compared how the new pond was man-made, while the others we have observed were natural depressions in the land. You can see…