a guide to nature study

one of our favorite subjects in our home is nature study and science. we're love exploring god's creation. there's so much to see and so much to learn about! it's all so fascinating.

in our home school we combine both nature study and science together because when we're out exploring nature we usually find ourselves asking more in depth questions about the things we come across which usually leads us to more scientific information and exploration.

this past summer we made it a point of finding new parks and trails we had never been to before to visit and explore. it was magical! we came across so many cool parks and were surrounded by so much beauty.

so far this school year we've explored the animals in our neighborhood, leaves, autumn leaves and why they change colors, mushrooms, trees and migration! we took a field trip to central park to explore all of the beautiful trees in the park and searched for mushrooms as well. the foliage was magical! i'm so happy we caught it before all of the leaves fell.

i try to keep nature study outdoors as much as possible but we also enjoy learning about nature through literature, field guides, printable learning materials, nature games, etc. these materials are incredibly helpful when we're learning about something we've never seen before or when we have questions that none of us really know the answers too.

something we're trying to get better at is slowing down when we're in nature so we can have time to observe and draw in our nature journals. its so beautiful to be able to look back in our journals and reflect on something we experienced or saw out in nature.

when it comes to nature journaling i do not interfere or critique anything my son is adding to his journal. it's nature through his eyes and heart. i give him the space and time to draw and write what he pleases. and to be honest approaching it this way allows him to really take in and appreciate what he's observing without feeling the pressures of drawing accurately or spelling something correctly.

i also recently designed a research journal, which you can see in the photo above, that we're now adding to our nature studies. it's a great way for us to research all of the different species we learn about and to explore each one in depth. once we've completed our research, we're adding the research to a binder so that at the end of our school year we'll have a binder filled with interesting facts on different species and can reflect back whenever we like! you can find the research journal in my etsy shop by clicking here or click the "etsy shop" link at the top of my blog in the left hand corner.

nature books are a great way to teach your littles about the world around them. there is so much we don't know about the nature that surrounds us on a daily basis. grab a book, cuddle up on the sofa and explore!

these are some of our favorites:

- handbook of nature study by anna comstock

- nature anatomy: the curious parts and pieces of the natural world by julia rothman

- national audubon society field guides (i seriously want to collect all of these field guides! they're absolutely amazing. i love that they have so many photos, it really makes for easy identification of things in nature.)

- nature all around: trees by pamela hickman (she also has books for bugs, birds and plants)

- nature's treasures: tales of more than 100 extraordinary objects from nature by dk

- take along guides (these books are great and there are so many topics available such as "trees, leaves and bark", "caterpillars, bugs and butterflies", "rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks", "birds, nests and eggs"... i could go on and on, there are that many available!)

as i mentioned, we also use a lot of printable learning materials for our nature studies. they're great, super affordable resources that can easily be printed in your home. i wrote a post that included all of our favorite shops to shop at for printable learning material which you can read about by clicking here.

nature games are another favorite of ours when we can't get outside and actually play in nature!

here are some of our favorite flashcards and games:

- butterfly wings: a matching game

- match a pair of birds: a memory game

- bug bingo

- flower families: a go fish game

- ocean bingo

- bird bingo

- seek and find scavenger hunt

when we venture out on our nature walks we always like to take along our nature bag with us. it helps us to explore things more in depth and lots of the time the books we take along help us when we have a question about something we come across. the books also help us identify things we find, which is helpful when my kiddo asks if he can touch something that i may not know about.

i'm sure you're probably curious what exactly we pack in our nature bag so here's a run down...

- walker family goods backpack (my little has the arrow backpack)

- dual magnifying glass

- compass

- binoculars

- national audobon field guides

- pocket guides

- sometimes we'll pack printable materials if we're searching for or learning about something specific

- snacks

- water bottle filled with water

- ziplock bag or a brown paper bag for treasures we may find for our nature shelf of curiosities