Nature Study-A Must Read

I know I may give website links and freebies quite often, but seriously....this is SERIOUS! It will revolutionize your home education...especially if you want to or dream about incorporating nature study!

Here is a link to "The Outdoor Hour". It is not an hour, but she challenges us to do nature study 15-20 min./week...her ideas truly make it fun and easy. You can subscribe to her blog get challenge updates to your e-mail automatically.

Before you read further...read the link above...she puts her heart into this and you will find yourself wanting to actually do nature study!!!!

Don't you dare read further...open it up NOW!!!!!! (I'm saying this in a loving way!!) Read the blog post link above first, then read what else I have to say below!

She gives you/your children an outdoor challenge and if you don't have that habitat/enviornment often she gives accompanying video for you/your children to watch. She also has past challenges in an e-book for purchase....otherwise you can find them free on her site! We are doing them FREE! We also own the Handbook of Nature Study (a book) by Anna Comstock from 1911; which she recommends you own...you can also view the entire book for free in various formats at http://www.archive.org/details/handbookofnature002506mbp. (I bought the book a long time ago and use it occassionally, but didn't know exactly how to incorporate it fully...until we started using this website and her challenges!)


You could then have the kids/you use the forms available on her site to fill-in with the challenge! Some assistance will be needed for those that can't read and/or write, however. Plenty of drawing room! We incorporate nature study...but have always struggled to maintain it and to insure our nature journal pages are friendly and "capabilities" appropriate. I THINK WE HAVE FINALLY FOUND IT!

So often we come home with rocks, sticks, dead insects, etc...and we just toss them out! Now the kids have a method to record and remember all the treasures they bring home! Very cute.

Of coarse the forms they fill out are placed into their Nature Journal binder in sheet protectors...all for safe keeps!