Take School Outside

Spring is a beautiful time: everything seems fresh and new, the greens appear more vibrant than at other times, and there is so much to observe.

At the same time, spring is a difficult time to concentrate on school: the outdoors are calling, the mind has already shifted to next year's books, and fatigue after a long year (and winter) of school has set in.

Why not take these two situations and combine them into one beautiful solution: 

Take school outside

Now, I'm not talking about bringing your books and doing Math at the picnic table, or Dictation under the budding maple tree. No. What I'm suggesting is to take advantage of this fabulous season and spend time on Nature Study.  

In my home, this is one area that gets sadly neglected during the winter months. But come spring, even my reclusive, hibernating self is antsy to get outdoors! So now is when I turn to the Handbook of Nature Study blog and get some fresh ideas for incorporating Nature Study and Anna Botsford Comstock's fantastic book Handbook of Nature Study(which is also available free online) into our days.

Barb has redesigned her blog to make it more user friendly, and has recently begun a series of spring Outdoor Hour Challenges. Why not take a look and see if there's something there that piques your interest?

Winter Nature Study

It's not too late to ramp up your winter nature study time!

Barb (Harmony Art Mom) has a series of winter outdoor hour challenges that are easy to use, easy to do. Don't let the snow and cold keep you from nature study (say I while I'm tucked nicely inside a cozy home)! It only takes a few minutes a week to open your eyes and heart to the Creator's wonderful details. Barb makes it easy to incorporate Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, and to make these times more than simple observation.

Check out her winter series! Barb only started this series in early January, so you won't even feel behind if you start now. The first one is Cattails in Winter. Then comes Winter Tree Study. And the last one to date is today's: Winter Sky and Stars. (I think my family will start with the trees, then we'll do the sky and stars. I'd enjoy talking to you at the next meeting if you tried one of them, too.)

Let the Child Choose the Material

Barb at Handbook of Nature Study has a new post with a thought provoking quotation from Liberty H. Bailey's book The Nature-Study Idea.

I hope you'll give some thought to how this looks in your CM home school, and would love to see your comments either here or at Barb's blog.

Using the Handbook of Nature Study

Barb at the Handbook of Nature Study blog, has just posted an excellent piece on Nature Study in Home Education and making use of Anna Botsford Comstock's wonderful resource, Handbook of Nature Study.

Fall is a great time of year to give nature study a try if you haven't already been doing it, and a wonderful season to explore more deeply if nature study is part of your family's identity already.

Comstock's book is full of narrative descriptions of plants, animals, and insects, but did you know that she even has chapters on soil, minerals, and climate?

You can find Handbook of Nature Study through most home education retailers, on Amazon, and, for those of you who want to take a look but aren't ready to buy, you can get a free download of entire book from Internet Archive, including the diagrams and illustrations!

Combining High School Biology and Nature Study

Barb at Handbook of Nature Study has a new post offering suggestions for working both Nature Study and Biology into a High School year. She shows one option of using Nature Study as the core, the other using a HS Biology curriculum as the core (in this case, Apologia).