Nature Study as Science

I am a true Charlotte Mason devotee, even if we fall so short of living a truly Charlotte Mason lifestyle.  I stumbled upon her books early in my "homeschool research" years, and felt like I had found a kindred spirit.  Her views on nature study and the importance of time spent outdoors for children really resonated with me because I think God speaks to us in the little things.  Charlotte believed in the careful observation of nature, wildlife, flowers, birds, bugs, trees, etc., not only because it teaches you so much about those actual things (the habits of birds in winter, the life cycle of the insect, etc.) but because it is in looking closely at the created world that you see the handiwork of God.  And once you see, how could you not learn to appreciate Him and His creation so much more?

To aid you in your "seeing," you are to draw.  Draw carefully.  Every detail.  Even if you are not an artist, and even if you think you have no talent at all.  (This has proven MOST important for me, since I lack even the most basic of artistic skills!)  You are also encouraged to write a description of where the specimen was found and what it looks like.  (After all, this is what naturalists and scientists did before we had cameras to do all the seeing for us!)  The goal is to improve your artistic skills and your habits of observation.  It's a lot harder than you think.  And it's especially hard for children, who find it hard to FOCUS on one thing, especially one small, seemingly mundane thing (like a pinecone) for very long.  For this reason, my kids don't really enjoy nature journaling.  But the progress I've seen, and the moments of breakthrough we've had (like when my older daughter works hard at her drawing and says, "Look, Mom, it actually DOES look like a pinecone!") have made it worthwhile for me to continue to insist on this exercise.  It's reminiscent of making time for prayer.  Sometimes it's hard, and painful, and there are so many other things you need/want to do, but once you sit down and really do it, you feel so much better, you see the fruits of your labor, and you wonder why you don't do it more often.  Such is our story with nature journaling!

There are a lot of good books out there about nature journaling.  Here are the ones we've used and love:

Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You

How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook

Wild Days: Creating Discovery Journals

Here are some pictures of the girls working on their journals and some pictures of some pages I have done.  (Nature journaling is supposed to be done as a family, inspiring everyone to become observers and lovers of nature!)

A picture Caeley did of a sunflower from my garden this summer.  Sorry it's sideways!

"A thorny berry plant found at the lake."  Sorry it's sideways again.

My garden critter.  It was really cool!

My fall tree/nut study.

Our most recent pine tree study.

Meara decided to draw a spider with me.

Ta-Da!

My drawing of the spider below, which I found right near the mat where I change the baby's diapers.

Caeley's pine cone study.

Our nature backpack, where we keep all our journals, pens, pencils, water-color pencils, magnifying glasses, collecting bags, etc.  When we want to just run outside real quick, or if we are headed out in the car, we always have the stuff ready to go.

Please visit the other links for this week's Virtual Curriculum Fair

Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
http://www.oramblings.blogspot.com/2012/01/science-and-worldview.html

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by
Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family
http://courtneysix.blogspot.com/2012/01/virtual-curriculum-fair-week-3-social.html

Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School
http://pebblekeeper.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/curriculum-fairexploring-our-world/

Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always
http://www.foreverforalwaysnomatterwhat.com/2012/01/paths-of-exploration.html

Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama
http://www.modest-mama.org/2012/01/learning-geography-at-our-house.html

Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
http://homeschoolheartandmind.blogspot.com/2012/01/mapping-out-our-social-studies.html

The Fascinating World Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family
http://www.fencedinfamily.com/blog/2012/01/the-fascinating-world-around-us/

More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun
http://schoolinginthesun.blogspot.com/2012/01/more-heart-of-dakota-praises.html

Our History by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
http://www.gchomeschool.com/2012/01/this-weeks-topic-our-world-social.html

Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots
http://everydaysnapshots.blogspot.com/2012/01/playful-us-geography-for-first-grade.html

Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History by Lynn @ Ladybug
Chronicles http://ladybug-chronicles.blogspot.com/2012/01/heart-of-dakota-fine-details-part-3.html

Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @
Garden of Learning
http://myhomeschoolgarden.com/2012/01/16/exploring-our-world-through-history-science/

Two History Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent
http://justpitchingmytent.blogspot.com/2012/01/history-must-haves-maps-and-timeline.html

Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK
http://daybydayinourworld.com/2012/01/learning-about-the-world-around-us/

Social Studies and Science - What do we do? by Joelle @ Homechooling
for His Glory
http://homeschoolingforhisglory.blogspot.com/2012/01/social-studies-and-science-what-do-we.html


History Chronologically and with Living Books by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest
http://debbiesdigest.blogspot.com/2012/01/history-chronologically-and-with-living.html

Why History? by MissMOE @ Homeschooling While Living the Life of
Easier http://missmoe-thesearethedaysofmylife.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-history.html

Exploring Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy
http://christadarr.blogspot.com/2012/01/exploring-our-world.html