Do you take a long summer break from homeschooling? If so, you NEED the I'M BORED Activity List! Because we live on a farm that requires a lot of attention in the summer, it's always been necessary to take a "traditional" long break from school. Even though we stay busy with farm, mowing, and gardening tasks, there is still plenty of time for children younger than 13 to say, "I'm bored!" While I certainly appreciate reading good books aloud on the porch swing and playing board games under a shade tree, I don't have time to be the constant director of activity or playmate for bored children. Many years ago, I started creating a yearly list of 100 activities that my children could ... Read More
When You Need a Summer of Rest
Maybe you've noticed that I haven't been around for a while? Sometimes life just gets so busy that certain things fall by the wayside. Other times, I just need a break. Both happen to have been the case for me these last few months. Both are also the reasons I needed a summer of rest to restore my soul outside of blogging. Bigger kids lead busier lives. I couldn't have imagined being busier than my frazzled self when babies and toddlers were running around the house. But life can indeed get busier. I travel to ballgames and instrument practices and church events. I stay up way past my bedtime to talk about things on a teen's heart - and those can be big conversations! I spend ... Read More
Pond Nature Study
What could we possibly find during one simple walk around a small pond? Enough to keep us busy for over an hour! My big kids were busy with other commitments not too long ago, so hubby and I set off on a nature walk with our 6 year old, Eli. I love taking nature walks with little people! They are so inquisitive and find wonder in everything. We didn't have a specific purpose in mind for this nature walk, except to visit the pond. We let Eli lead the way and made more nature discoveries because of it! So, here's a glimpse into a child-led pond habitat nature walk. Pond Nature Study Water Features Eli had tons of fun simply learning about the water - its depth, movements and ... Read More
August Nature Study
(This post contains links to my business website, Shining Dawn Books.) August Nature Study Anytime is the perfect time for nature study, but late summer is especially wonderful! All the photos above were taken during nature walks over the last two weeks. So, just what topics do I recommend studying right about now? Animal Signs Birds Caterpillars and Butterflies Clouds Creeks Erosion Frogs and Toads Fungi Nuts and Berries Ponds Rain Rocks Spiders Trees Wildflowers Choose a topic or two and get outside! Don't miss the wonders awaiting you! Do you need some ideas for getting started? Don't miss the 10 Days of Nature Study series! ... Read More
Parts of a Flower
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 much fun learning the in-depth ins and outs of various plant types. In the lesson below, we were studying the functions of a flower. The activities came from the Wonderful Wildflowers NaturExplorers study. (The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller is a great kick-off book for this type of lesson.) Isn't science great ... Read More
An Abundance of Wildflowers
My children and I have just ended a wonderful month of nature study focused on wildflowers. Wonderful, beautiful, magnificent wildflowers. I could go on and on about my feelings toward wildflowers, but I'll spare you the gushy words! I've already posted about our scavenger hunt and dissections. I hope you'll take a peek if you're planning to study wildflowers anytime soon. To end the study, we went on a short walk to the back of our farm. The goal was to see how many wildflowers we could find and how many of those we could identify. In about 500 feet, we tallied 30 types of wildflowers! Considering it's late August and many of the flowers are gone already, I was amazed! After ... Read More
Monarchs!
As summer has progressed into autumn, we are blessed to see more and more monarchs in our area. I know the time is fleeting as their journey south will begin very soon. It's not too late in the year to do a quick study of butterflies using the Butterflies Flutter By NaturExplorer unit. ... Read More
Creek Study and Family Fun
A peaceful family afternoon can turn into a wonderful nature study experience! My husband likes to fish - I, um, don't. However, rather than be a party pooper, I decided to tag along on the afternoon of fishing to spend some time with my family. And, like usual, whenever I take the time to get outside, God blesses me with His creation! As my son ventured out into the creek on some large rocks, I found a bountiful area of shells and pebbles. As my daughter worked her way to the bottom of the dam, I found an amazing wall of rock layers to explore. As my little guy "fished" for moss, I spied a mallard duck couple searching for an afternoon snack. See what I would've missed ... Read More
Wild Blackberry Walk
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 walk that day. As hard as we tried, we never made it home with enough for jam or freezing. Oh well, the walk sure was yummy! ... Read More
It’s Caterpillar Season…
(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?? ) - we came across some beautiful, blooming milkweed. Monarch butterflies and caterpillars can be found on milkweed, so I took a peek to see what I might find. Instead of finding monarchs, though, I found these. Actually, I found hundreds of them! Talk about a munching crew of caterpillars - they had at least half the leaves from the entire cluster of plants eaten ... Read More