Nature study and older children

As my children get older, our nature studies are taking on very individualistic paths.  We have gathered many field guides, local and broader in geographic location and put together nature study tools as part of their outside toy bin.  Each of them also have nature books and plenty of pencils & other artist materials.  For the most part, I try to just let them go.  Occassionally I find we’ve been inside too much and I push them out the door, or go for a hike with them.

We also use one of our wider window sills as a “nature table” where they can display their treasured finds.

I don’t know if it is more becuase of those things, or simply just who our children are but…

Our 7, nearly 8 yo is always outside exploring, discovering and looking though field guides.  She draws and writes and tells me about her discoveries.

Our 9 yo mostly has an interest in larger animals (meaning bigger than insects!) and water life, so she spends time, when the interest peaks from time to time, observing and drawing.  Last spring she took the One Small Square Pond book, gathered the supplies and spent many afternoons doing the activities, alone.

Our 11 yo has a strong interest in Botany and does many plant related observations, drawings, experiments.  She is also taking a more productive turn in her interests and planning herb, vegetable and companion flower gardens.

I hope this isn’t too much information.  I was just hoping to share how, as they grown, our kids can take over in their nature studies.

As my kids have gotten older, we’ve moved on to  more of a “study” approach for nature study.  Instead of just observing and doing crafty things, etc, we’ve studied and tracked things.  We track dates of things like bird migrations, blooming times, budding times, temperatures, rainfall, we’ve counted birds, we’ve compared and studied different varieties of wildflower, we’ve raised, counted, tagged butterflies, tagged birds, tested soil and water quality, experimented in the garden, set ourselves birdcalls to learn, tested and tracked different kinds of birdseed and what birds preferred, etc.  What you might do would vary by the ages of your children and the details of your area, but there is a lot to do!  We’ve gotten lots of ideas from Boy Scout merit badge books and stuff.  Plenty of things like this to keep us all busy through teen years and beyond.