5 Simple Nature Study Ideas

We would like to share some simple ideas for nature study! I hope you’ll join us for this series. We love nature study in our home!! And Winter Promise loves nature study, too! Like Charlotte Mason, we believe that there is much JOY to be found in studying and observing nature and God’s creation all around us! We love making memories together as a family, and one wonderful way to do this is through nature study! But, don’t make it too hard! It doesn’t have to be!

“As soon as he is able to keep it himself, a nature-diary is a source of delight to a child.”

Charlotte Mason

1. Keep a SIMPLE nature notebook or journal with your child! The key to this is keep it simple. You don’t have to go out and buy anything fancy. Just take a simple notebook, some colored pencils, go outside and EXPLORE. Have your child draw, label and date what they see!

2. Go on regular nature walks. This is as simple as simple gets, but I know that for me, at times, I let all the other “stuff” of our homeschooling day get in the way of what could be the best part of our day! Getting outside, enjoying fresh air, admiring God’s beautiful creation around you, time with your children…these are all fabulous reasons for taking nature walks with your children!

3. Explore your own backyard. I love taking little “breaks” in our homeschool day, walking out into the backyard with my kids and “assigning” them a corner of our yard to explore. Sometimes we take our nature notebooks and I have them find ONE thing to draw in their corner of the yard. Sometimes we just take a magnifying glass and see who can find something interesting to look at. It can be so simple, but so meaningful.

4. Study one something from nature in your own yard. Choose a tree, a flower, an animal, a bug…something you can view regularly in your own backyard. Watch it, draw it, look at it in different seasons, describe it, check out a book from the library on it.

5. Bring nature indoors for study. This is another of my favorite nature study ideas! Create a nature table (or corner, or shelf) in your home. Admire the beautiful flowers, rocks, twigs, leaves, and other items with your children. Bring them inside and set them in a place to explore and admire even more! Start a collection with your children. Discuss, admire and examine many different nature items in your home to build observation skills and admiration skills in your children!