How do *you* and *your* students do Nature Study

[CactusPair]

as part of school?

 

We spend a lot of time outside and notice and appreciate the world around us every day. But I don't know how to go about "formal" Nature Study as part of a school subject.

 

I've spent so much time and money on science programs for the younger grades without much success. This can't go on.:glare::confused:

 

I'm thinking of trying a new approach--dropping it all together and "just" doing Nature Study until the higher grades.

 

How do you implement Nature Study in your homeschool? What does it look like? How often do you do it? What about the winter months?

 

Do you read books to go along with what you've seen? Do you go out looking for specific things in nature? Do you actively teach? Or do you jus let the children observe and wonder? Do you discuss formally or informally?

 

I'm not interested in doing anything too fancy, tiring, or time-consuming. I just want to kids to be engaged and remember some of what they've learned.

 

I'd love to hear your experiences and approaches!

 

thanks!

[ClassicMom]

:lurk5:

[Kristiana]

We've had great success using Harmony Art Mom's outdoor hour challenges. She's published an ebook now with the first 10 challenges and tons of nature journal pages, but each of the challenges is free on the sidebar of her blog. The only book you really need is Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study and that can be found free on the web as well.

[JennW in SoCal]

My short answer is that I try not to teach too much, but instead model the open minded curiosity of a naturalist, the skills for identifying things and finding them in field guides. I make opportunities for them to explore whether it is walks and hikes or simply having bird feeders in the back yard or having a garden. Teaching is when I see some fun idea for backyard experiments or some kind of nature craft or when I sign us up for local nature hikes and classes.

 

We own, have ready access to and use lots of local field guides, binoculars, magnifying glasses and used to have little cages for collecting insects. We have eNature.com bookmarked as well as the local natural history museum and zoo sites.

 

When my kids were little we'd stop and observe whatever caught their attention. We'd talk about it, look at it with a magnifying glass or binoculars, and note unique features or markings. We'd talk about the weather, notice things that had changed during the year and ask each other lots of "I wonder" questions. Sometimes we'd measure things, collect things and sort and classify those things. We'd do craft projects with those things or sketch or photograph things. We dissected flowers and seeds, did basic seed experiments (trying to get them to sprout in different conditions). My kids never wanted to dissect creatures or cow organs, so we've not done that!

 

I think science is a discipline that requires patience and a slower pace of discovery than text books might have us believe. Observation is an art, classification is a skill, but both are an important part of science and simply need to be developed over time. That is the work you are doing while studying nature, and it doesn't have to be formalized in order for it to count as school.

 

I'm going to give another plug for Cornell University's Project Feeder Watch. They have a free curriculum guide for homeschoolers and opportunities throughout the year to report bird counts and sitings in your area. Check it out at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

[Kuovonne]

I like Jennifer's answer!

 

My kids are young (5 and 3) so I don't do much. We go to a local park/garden once a week. Mostly the girls just run around. Most of the plants are labeled, so when we see an interesting one, we look for the label. Then I see if they recognize the plant elsewhere. If they see an interesting leaf on the ground, we'll look around to see what plant it came from. The girls have "nature journals" where they can draw a picture of something they see, and we label it with the item name, date, and location. We have magnifying glasses and rulers to look at stuff and measure stuff.

 

At this stage, I'm trying to get my kids to learn how to observe, measure, recognize, and wonder about things, rather than do specific experiments.

[elegantlion]

We've had great success using Harmony Art Mom's outdoor hour challenges. She's published an ebook now with the first 10 challenges and tons of nature journal pages, but each of the challenges is free on the sidebar of her blog. The only book you really need is Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study and that can be found free on the web as well.

 

Barb's challenges really introduced us to nature study. honestly my yard is a nature study paradise. I love Barb's focused challenges but we stopped and really just started to open our eyes to the abundant nature in our yard. I know not everyone is blessed to have that but since we started "looking" for it things just come our way.

 

You can look on my Wakefield blog and they are cataloged under "Wakefield Walks" to see what we have done.

 

One really interesting thing I did was give ds the digital camera and he went outside and took 10 pictures of things "he" saw in nature. It opened my eyes to what he saw in the yard that he didn't necessarily articulate.

[Karen sn]

Science becomes our main focus of summer because it's everywhere.

Check out your local state parks and see what they offer as far as children's programs, guided hikes for families, camps. My dd went to a 3 day, half day spring break camp at a state park (it cost $20). They were naturalists...had back backs, binoculars, notebooks, field guides. My dd came home and got our copy of The National Audobon Society's Field Guide for our region. She sat on a blanket in the yard and wrote down all the trees, flowers, birds.....she had seen that day or ever in her life.

http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-Regional-Southeastern/dp/0679446834/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241627237&sr=1-1

 

 

We also like the Peterson Guides.

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/peterson/petersonhome.cfm

 

When we see something we research it.

Because it is Spring we happen to be checkingout library books having to do with growth. Trees, flowering plants...etc. We have a few Maples in our yard and they were recently showing us the most beautiful cascade of seeds....twirling ever so rapidly as they drifted in the blowing breeze. It was beautiful. (We're from the sands, now in the hills, so we've never lived with Maples).

 

We happened to have checked out a book about Sequoia Trees and in it were listed the many ways seeds happen. From reproduction to transportation. It was awesome. So we took our book outside and collected seeds and studied them. If you find a cool bug - look it up. Study it's life cycle. Cicadas are by FAR the VERY BEST EVER thing to study. They are sooooooooo cool. We love them. Studied them in Kindergarten and hoping to revisit this summer.

 

If you had told me years ago that kindergarten biology was going to be the reproductive organs of a: cat, rabbit, and that my dd would find every bug ever known in it's "mating pose" (as she later came to call it) *and* that our cat/kitten would go into heat for the 1st time while we're out of town and turn up pregnant, and that our neighbors/friends (who owned the rabbits and chickens that got us here in the 1st place) agreed to let us get their dd when the cat went into labor (even at 3am) ....well, if you had told me that I would have given you a strange look. But that's the way it happened.

 

My neighbor (think midwife) has a dd drawing a uterus of a human. Then they asked about uterus of cat. Then the uterus of a chicken (which is SO cool - I have new respect for birds). Then we find bugs doing it everywhere.

 

And whenever we had questions, we looked them up.

 

In the winter we go lighter on science and more heavy on the 3 R's.

This coming school year, for 6th grade, we are going to do an indoor study of science. Meaning we will draw cells and learn about the classification of the animal kingdom and whatever else. I am hunting for a good biology book. Real Science 4 Kids looks good. My dd will be 12 and this will be our first "formal" classes on biology.

 

How old are your kids?

[Karen sn]

 

I think science is a discipline that requires patience and a slower pace of discovery than text books might have us believe. Observation is an art, classification is a skill, but both are an important part of science and simply need to be developed over time. That is the work you are doing while studying nature, and it doesn't have to be formalized in order for it to count as school.

 

 

That is beautiful and I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Mama2Three]

I like Jennifer's answer!

 

At this stage, I'm trying to get my kids to learn how to observe, measure, recognize, and wonder about things, rather than do specific experiments.

 

:iagree: Well said.

[elw_miller]

My eldest is 4 so we do not do anything particularly formal. We have birdfeeders in our backyard and go on nature walks. I have craft/activity books with science activities in them; the other day we made a little book about the life cycle of butterflies. I also have a bunch of National Audubon Society identification books and Kenn Kaufmann's field guide for birds.

 

I loved looking at the Childcraft Encyclopedia when I was a kid, especially the volumes "The Green Kingdom", "World and Space", "Dinosaurs", and "Feathered Friends". They have short articles about natural phenomena, animals, plants, etc, as well as activities (growing crystals, making homemade parachutes, etc.). These books further pique children's interest in the world by engaging kids in fun, easy activities just like a previous poster mentioned--measuring, observing, classifying, recognizing things around them.

 

I have a book that I picked up long before I had kids called 101 Cool Science Experiments. It looks like a fun book--make your own thermometer, see how an egg can bounce, learn about high pressure and low pressure using a ping pong ball and a blow dryer, etc etc. My dd4 might be old enough to do some of these activities, but I bet a slightly older child would "get it" more.

 

I also want to start the Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge with Harmony Art. I have one started but have not yet directly engaged my daughter in her own nature journal.

[farmwife]

It's really amazing to me what happened when I....

bought a few field guides,

bought a bird feeder, and

bought some bird feed.

 

All I needed to add was a little excitement and enthusiasm.

 

That is the recipe for learning about nature. I really think those purchases were some of my best spent money. Now that my children are intune to what is going on in our own backyard it is as if the WHOLE WORLD is now opening up to them.

 

I had to stop the van so we could all look at the ducks and egrets in a marshy area by the road. :auto:

 

I was teaching and they all left when they saw a goldfinch stopping by the bird feeder. This morning we saw a female goldfinch which we hadn't seen before. It was really exciting! :)

[walkermamaof4]

we've just started barb's challenges and are really enjoying identifying birds in particular. today we found these videos online on the cornell site http://www.allaboutbirds.org/netcommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189

how helpful! cornell explains about feeders and feed too, so I've asked for some for mother's day

 

have fun!

[CookieMonster]

It's really amazing to me what happened when I....

bought a few field guides,

bought a bird feeder, and

bought some bird feed.

 

All I needed to add was a little excitement and enthusiasm.

 

That is the recipe for learning about nature. I really think those purchases were some of my best spent money. Now that my children are intune to what is going on in our own backyard it is as if the WHOLE WORLD is now opening up to them.

 

DITTO :i agree:

 

My scenario is a little different. My husband bought the bird feeder. I bought the seed. Birds and Blooms sent me a backyard bird guide pamphlet. I got enthusiastic once or twice about a new bird and tried to identify it. My kids took it from there.

 

They want to know the name of every bird they see. They immediately notice a new one, get the pamphlet, and beg me to find it.

 

HTH

[Wendy Inman]

It's really amazing to me what happened when I....

bought a few field guides,

bought a bird feeder, and

bought some bird feed.

 

All I needed to add was a little excitement and enthusiasm.

:iagree:

This is what started us on a more meaningful study of nature this winter. Especially since we were indoors a lot. But the whole world opened up through our dining room window out into the back yard. We became avid bird watchers and my now 7 year old can identify a ton of species. Now that it's spring we're watching the same species make nests, watching babies, etc. It's made both of us more aware of all things nature related and made us want to get out and take walks more. :)

 

DS just asked for and got new binoculars and a compass for his birthday so we can continue our study of nature.

 

As for winter, beside the bird watching, I have a book on my Amazon wishlist called Discover Nature in Winter that i'd like to get for next year.

[LeslieP]

My kids can't get enough of watching the birds at our bird feeder. Our most frequent visitors have all been given names...usually named after food :D !!

[motherdear]

Sometimes, if we're spending a significant amount of time in an outdoor setting, I'd bring one of my naturestudy handbooks (other times we make notations and wait till we get home). We always carry a plastic bag, a few paper towels, gloves, and a pair of scissors to collect samples. When we come across something of interest, I occasionally look things up, or we pick a piece of it (if it's growing) and sketch it into a spiral artist sketch book when we get home. Other times we press flowers/leaves etc., put them in a plastic bag, take the bag into the sketchbook flat, and label it. Now that DS is older, I let him take pictures with the digital camera. We print them out on computer paper and write a blurb underneath. We had a wonderful time working on a Contenders of the Faith badge on "trees" and we drove around with our camera, tree identification guide, and a bag for samples of leaves. We were delighted to find that our library (a historical building) had a tree collection which was originally built by a wealthy man in our town's history. The research desk provided us with a map of the grounds and the names of the trees with locations. How cool is that! After having done this for a period of years, friends and relatives start saving things for you. One friend stopped by with a big, huge slug that she found on a barbecue grill! We measured it and really had some fun finding out more! My dad saves things like vacant lobster shells (he eats them carefully so we can enjoy the exoskeleton afterwards), pictures of of fish on its way down a pelican's throat (from his trip south), and stuff like that! He sent us a dead dragonfly, a live swallow tailed butterfly, and other insects he's found in his garden! What a dad! Anyways, the sky's the limit! We do own the binocular is and a magnifying glass, which are good for lots of things! Wishing you the best on your nature studies!

[harmonyartmom]

After all is said and done, the most interesting subjects to get you and your children excited and engaged in nature study are those things that you at first thought were ordinary. Dandelions, worms, robins, dogs, and clouds all come to mind as things that I have seen some families really get interested in after taking a few minutes to stop and notice what they have right there at their fingertips. It was as if their vision changed.

 

Here is one of my favorite blog entries about the idea of nature study and questions:

http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/questions-and-answers-how-to-use-them.html

 

Elegantlion (who commented earlier) is a perfect example showing how getting started with nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenges is a springboard for you to dive in and then learn to swim on your own. The challenges help you be a little more accountable for sticking with at least the first few weeks of nature study. She had her eyes opened to all the possibilities right in her own backyard for nature study and how when we engage the child....they are hooked. She felt confident to take off on her own and I applaud her for that.

 

I know most of you who read my blog get to hear about my family's experiences with nature study ad nauseam so I won't continue more here. I just wanted to pop in with a suggestion that if you don't know how to get started, Google up the Handbook of Nature Study and read the introductory pages. She has some wonderful ideas and thoughts about what nature study is and what it is not. You can glean from other's experiences as well if you want to hop over to my nature blog and read the links on Mr. Linky and see what over a hundred other family's are doing for nature study. There is also a link on my right sidebar to a Flickr photo group where dozens of moms have shared their child's nature journal pages if you want to get some ideas from them. It is an excellent resource.

 

Feel free to use the challenges out of order to accommodate your family's interests.

 

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

[CactusPair]

Thanks for the all great, interesting, no-pressure ideas.

 

Harmony Art Mom,your site is terrific! Thanks for sharing your blog and challenges. Even a mom like me can get started here.

[harmonyartmom]

CactusPair,

 

You are very welcome. I am so glad that you are enjoying my blog. :)

 

I thought I would share an entry that I wrote that really was inspired by a discussion that was going on here on these boards a few weeks about nature study and nature journals. The entry ended up being about birding and how to adapt nature study to your child's learning style as well.

 

Here is the link:

Nature Study is Not Just About Nature Journals

 

I hope it gives birding families some new ideas to try.

 

Here is an taste of what I wrote about:

 

 

 

• Musical learner: Enjoys listening to and learning to imitate bird calls. Easily identifies a bird by its call. Writes a song about birds.
  
• Verbal-Linguistic: Records a birding experience in a nature journal using words or tells a story about the nature walk. Writes or copies a poem about a bird into their nature journal. Learns the Latin names of birds as well as the common names. Reads the biography of Audubon.
  
• Mathematical-Logical: Tally birds at a feeder. Keep a running list of birds seen over a period of time in a nature journal. Collect bird feathers and categorize them into groups. Studies migratory maps and learns where local birds go for the winter. Learns all the state birds. Experiments with different kinds of bird seed to see which ones particular birds like best.
  
• Visual-spatial: Makes a model of a bird from clay. Sketches a bird in their nature journal. Notices the differences between birds: beaks, wing shapes, tail shapes, size. Builds a birdhouse. Designs and builds their own birdfeeder.
  
• Kinesthetic: Loves to take a walk and look for birds using binoculars. Climbs a tree to find a bird's nest or just experience a "bird's eye" view. Hangs a bird feeder and keeps it full. Plants a bird garden.
  
• Interpersonal: Joins a birding group and learns from the more experienced birders about their local area. Volunteers at a bird reserve with a friend. Organizes a field trip to a bird aviary for their co-op.
  
• Intrapersonal: Spends quiet time outdoors observing birds, perhaps recording their experiences in their own nature journal that they don't share with others. Has a pet bird.
  
• Naturalist: Enjoy lots of time outdoors looking for birds and learning their life cycles. Learns the names of birds, keeps a bird life list, learns the calls, and keeps a nature journal. Remembers easily the names of birds and their habits. Has a collection of bird's feathers, bones, and nests.
  
• Existential: Learns about endangered species of birds. Spends time contemplating a bird's life cycle. Keeps a journal of their thoughts about birds and how they fit into the web of life on the earth.
  

 

[walkermamaof4]

for those of us just starting, can anyone tell how you go about finding a good enough pair of binoculars for each kid?

 

Oh -- my ds (6) saw his first purple finches this week. He said, "They are so pretty, I can't keep my eyes off of them"! (((I think this nature study thing is working!)))

[AuntPol]

We are studying birds this semester.

 

I have been reading from Burgess Bird Book and then stopping to read a book by Arthur Scott Bailey on an particular bird when we get to that chapter in Burgess. After we read about the bird, we look at videos on youtube of the bird. Both authors write books that my get my kids interested and are found free online. I also like this series of books (also free) by Clara Dillingham Pierson -Among the (pond/meadow/forest/barnyard) People

 

In addition we have:

** Raised baby chickens for several weeks and studying them with the Handbook for nature studies. We got ours with someone promising to take them when we couldn't handle them at home anymore (against HOA rules).

**Built a bird feeder

**Made suet and pinecone feeders

**Taken class at the local museums/parks/wildlife organization about birds: bird banding, e-bird class, class on woodpeckers, bluebird box monitoring, and next week we have a class on birds of prey. These have either been free or $5 for the family.

**Do e-bird at home and on our nature walks

**Collect feathers, broken eggs, old nests as we find them.

**Work on trying to identify birds by sight, by calls, silhouettes, nests, eggs. We also just observe them and note their different behaviors.

**My daughter has just started a blog on her nature studies (some birds, some not -depends on her mood that week) and they help me with my blog posts which are often about bird activities.

*I bought 2 sets of bird identification playing cards ($4 each from current) and kids play "go bird" and concentration games.

**Creating a notebook on birds with homeschoolshare printables.

 

We also don't limit ourselves to birds. If a good class comes up that is free or inexpensive and fits our schedule we take it. We've taken classes on arachnids, trees, worms and we have snakes and a zoo trip coming up. We watch documentaries and animal planet shows. We just watched one on the symbiotic relationship of ants and aphids one Sunday and then discovered them together when walking by a tree at football practice the following Saturday!

 

We walk in nature almost every day -either exploring the woods near our house, walking dog around neighborhood, or visiting a park. We note what we see and rush home to look it up. We do draw in our nature journals but we don't focus on just birds for our nature journals. I let the kids draw whatever they want for the most part. We carry our camera and take pictures of what we see and look it up when we get home. We have a "Curiousity Shelf" that contains interesting things we have found over the years -fossils, shells, sharks teeth, eggs, feathers, etc.

[petepie2]

for those of us just starting, can anyone tell how you go about finding a good enough pair of binoculars for each kid?

 

 

I'd like to know about this as well!

 

:lurk5:

[swimmermom3]

Thank you! Thank you! I think this is one of my favorite threads. Beautiful ideas and beautiful writing. The Outdoor Hour Challenges have provided a whole new perspective on homeschooling for us.

[Chris in VA]

Haven't read the other replies, so forgive me if this has been mentioned--

I love Cindy Rushton's Nature Study the Easy Way. She has examples of her kids' journals/notebooks (so you can see that it really is ok for a 5 yo to draw his own way--not perfect is ok); hymns, poems and quotes for nature notebook copywork; ideas for many, many places/experiences, even things to do each season (winter, too); and lots of practical encouragement. Great Book!!!