How Do I Teach Nature Study? Day 2: Stop, Look, and Listen

I used to think that those of us who lived in the suburbs could never have as rich a nature study as those who were surrounded by miles of undeveloped land. (And just forget about it if you lived in the city!) Then something happened that changed my mind. I was on the TOS Crew review team and one of the books I received was Over Our Heads in Wonder. It is a simple little science book that points to God’s majesty through His creation. During one of the lessons, we went outside and watched the sky. An amazing thing happened. We started hearing the different birds perched in the trees. We noticed some little beetles running through the grass. We watch the circus performance of the zany squirrels. All because we were STILL and QUIET.

How often do we miss the beauty of God because we don’t slow down long enough to see it?

We decided to try it out the next time we went to our neighborhood park. We discovered intricate spiderwebs on the railings, beautiful bird feathers on the ground, and a turtle soaking up the sun. We collected interesting rocks. Warrior Boy picked a few pine needles to make tea, because he had seen it done on one of the survival shows.

Myrtle the Turtle – the mailman gave her to us after finding her in the street. We kept her until winter and released her at the city park. She was so happy!

And the wonderful thing about nature? It is always changing. Each time we venture out, there is something new to discover and explore.

Try a few of these ideas with your kiddos:

make a backyard field guide

discover life inside a pinecone

cloud identification guide

play backyard bingo

go on a dice walk

shake a tree and see what falls out

observe a tree through all four seasons

hunt for squirrels with Project Squirrel

become a bird sleuth with Project FeederWatch

watch for migrating Monarchs

Have some fun with the things you find:

20 ways to get arty outdoors

singing cicada craft

make nature paintbrushes

learn how to whistle an acorn cap

deconstruct a flower

paint with dandelions

Create a little nature corner in your house to display all or your treasures. Your kids will continue to enjoy them, and it adds a natural beauty to your home. We like to record some of our discoveries through notebooking. Stay tuned for more ideas!!

~*~ Will YOU share your wonderful ideas with us, pretty please? ~*~

{ See all of the days in this series }

Job 12