The Ultimate Guide to Christmas Nature Study
Is Christmas nature study really a thing? Are we truly worried about nature study during, arguably, the busiest month of the year?ย Yes, and yes!ย
During the colder months, we often forget the importance of fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. This can lead to combustible behavior from cooped-up kids (and parents). When you add busyness to the mix, the combustion potential grows. While taking the time for nature study during December might seem counterproductive, it may be one of the best choices to tame the chaos.
On the academic side, most of us aren’t taking the entire month of December off from homeschooling. That means there’s still work to be done…even when the whole family is buzzing with the excitement of Christmas festivities. Christmas-themed nature study is a great way to turn the excitable energy into meaningful science lessons.
Finally, on the spiritual side, nature study has an uncanny ability to bring our Creator into focus. As we spend the month of December teaching our children about the Savior of the world, nature study can uniquely help.
Christmas Nature Study Curriculum
Nature Study Through the Holidays: Advent is a simple and beautiful way to connect Biblical themes to the Christmas story. Weekly, your family will focus on Advent themes through Bible verses, hymns, and unique nature walks. The nature walks increase Biblical understanding and connect heartstrings to the One with hands-on, experiential learning that sticks.
Christmas Nature Unit Studies
Unit studies can be fun during December. While none of the suggested curricula below is specific to Christmas, the themes are easily connected to seasonal learning.
All the titles in the NaturExplorers series include in-depth information, nature walks, hands-on activities, kid-friendly research projects, booklists, and connections to poetry, artists, and composers. The three topics below can beautifully tie in with the Christmas season.
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Coping with the Cold$28.00 -
Snow And Ice$28.00
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Constant Conifers$28.00
No Sweat Nature Study Christmas Video Classes
In the No Sweat Nature Study membership, the number of Christmas-themed classes grows every year! You can see a list of several of the fun video lessons below. No Sweat Nature study classes, both live and recorded, provide a wonderful opportunity for your children to learn from and engage with a trained science teacher. Plus, during the 45 to 60-minute classes, parents can tackle some tasks from the Christmas to-do list!
Other Fun Christmas Nature Study Ideas
There are many, many nature topics to enjoy during December. Here are a few unique ideas.
- The Winter Solstice occurs on Dec. 21st, the shortest day of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Donna Young has providedย a fun science activity to measure shadows, and The Crafty Crow has linked all sorts of fun craft ideas to celebrate.
- Enjoy a red, green, and white nature walk.
- Ice skating can count as a nature-themed activity.
Nature Christmas Books for Kids
Over the years, I’ve collected some amazing Christmas picture books that our family enjoys reading year after year. Believe it or not, several of those books can support nature study! Click here to see that booklist.
Christmas Nature Crafts and Gifts
Christmas decorations are extra special when created by someone in your family. Things found in nature make beautiful decorations and even perfect gifts. I’ve pinned some of my favorite Christmas nature crafting ideas on Pinterest!
Christmas Gift Ideas for Nature Study
If you’re still shopping, there are many fun ideas for nature study gifts. Don’t forget, No Sweat Nature Study makes a GREAT gift. It’s educational and entertaining and keeps giving all year long. If grandparents or other family members want to bless your family, they can purchase a gift code for you to use toward the membership.
Have fun this Christmas season and make memories that will last a lifetime!
Thank you for creating and sharing this Christmas inspired Nature Study. I have always loved adding Unit Studies to our Time4Learning. I just think Unit Studies are a great way to add Fun/interest led topics to any learning routine. O’ and Thanks for the last minute gift ideas. Lately our home has been taken over by lady bugs, they are EVERYWHERE! My son loves them, trys to keep them as pets, but they die in the bowls, cups he puts them in. I am thinking Ladybug Land would make him very happy.
We do change our focus during Advent: lots of Scripture study, crafts, baking, visits with friends.
It makes the coming of January and a return to the routine fill with expectation!
I am excited to add in more nature study this time around.
I love this wonderful and informative post, thank you! We are new to home schooling so this is our first Christmas season doing it and this post has so many great options for us that I can’t wait to go through each one and quickly plan to incorporate them this month! Thanks again for all you share! I follow your facebook page diligently and so everything you post on there is front and center on my wall and it is refreshing to see it at least once every day! <3
You’re so sweet, Elizabeth! You have one whole semester under your belt. I hope it’s been a wonderful adventure and you have many more years of homeschooling ahead of you!