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Nature Study – Where to Start?
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Hello ladies! I am daydreaming about a laid back approach to science! So naturally, I am thinking of nature studies. There is no other forum I would like to inquire concerning the study of nature. Where do I start? I have a nature experiment book and a few other books dealing with the topic. Is a nature study basically going outdoors and collecting leaves, bark, observing animals, etc.? What else do we need to do? We have gone outdoors and sketched birds we found. I live in South Texas so there is not too much to be seen here! There aren’t a variety of trees, plants, or animals for that matter here. Most nature books we own discuss trees such as, hickory, elm, willow, or oak. We don’t have those here. Although we do have a type of oak tree only it has smaller leaves and a different looking acorn. Can someone help me get started? Thank you!
Marsha
Sure, I’ll help you get started! Then I’ll bet Michelle will chime in and give some great ideas because she is full of them (great ideas, that is!) and loves nature study.
Anyway, we’re still bare-boning it on nature study because there are so many of us and I have not had the ability to pay very close attention to our supplies in this area. However, I don’t think that has diminished our enjoyment at all! So, you could get a few things together like a sketch book, magnifying glass, a couple of identification books, and a few plastic bags. Binoculars are good, too, if you have them. That would be the basics. Also have a plan of where you’ll put the stuff the children want to keep when you get home.
When you go outside, ya’ll could note the date, where you are, and weather. You can have them sketch something – anything. You could just sit quietly. You could walk and chitchat… If you have your own book, it will be a good encouragement to them to get started (though it sounds like you are already started with bird sketches). At a young age, children interact with nature through collecting more than through sketching and researching, so that is what my little ones do.
On days when you cannot get outside you can say, “I wonder if we can find some nature in our own home.” Then let them charge around looking for a spider, a bug, the cat, a houseplant, the kitchen table if it’s wood… If they find something alarming like a cockroach or a termite, then you can say, “I wonder why people don’t like these in their homes?”
I will share a poem that I made up when my first child, a sweet little fellow, started delighting in crushing bugs when he went outside: “He’s not in your house, he’s not on you, God gave him a job that he’s got to do.” I am now quoting that to child number eight that likes to dance on ants as well.
What I have found is that it’s more the consistency of getting out and letting the children interact with nature rather than the ‘assignment’ that gets them excited about creation. As they see you excited and asking questions they will do the same. And sometimes you can be helpful because you will see details that they might miss and will be able to find something where they think there is nothing. As for the books you have, I would use them periodically also.
Your baby is so cute! The little fellow is growing! I am embarrassed that I have forgotten his name, though, I’m sorry. Does he like nature walks?
Blessings,
Cindy
Oh, Marsha, you are in great luck! You live in a special ecosystem. I think you will find a PLETHORA of Texas and even South Texas-specific field guides for everything imaginable from bushes and cacti to butterflies and snakes. You will get to see species I will probably never see in the wild! A great blessing! I would start asking for those special field guides for Christmas or something–start one place, maybe. What do you want to learn about first? Birds, trees, whatever–there’s a Texas guide for it. Then, you can in the meantime use an online service like enature.com You can search on enature specifically by area. For example, doing an advanced search for Texas, brushland, and acorn-producing, I got a list of 17 trees that appear in that habitat in Texas. You may be in a grassland, shoreline, or desert environment and need to do that instead, but still, this is a good cheap place to start. If you see something that catches your interest, then draw it, pick up a leaf and an acorn, take a photo, write a description, then tell the children you all are going on a “treasure hunt” to see what its name is. Fun!
OK. That takes care of worry about your specific environment.
So now. How to start? I have done nature study every which way, including marching the children out and making them draw something, to giving specific assignments, and some of this will certainly depend on your individual children, but here is a list of things we found that did NOT work well, and things that we found DID work well.
NOT EFFECTIVE–having nature study time be our only time outside. If I am not taking care to have the children spend lots of time out of doors, then all they want to do is play when we DO go out.
NOT EFFECTIVE—being TOO specific for assignments. “Here’s a flower, everybody draw it!” does NOT work at my house–it elicits grumbling instead.
NOT EFFECTIVE–rushing the children. “Hurry up, I want to get home before dark/to start supper/because I want to vacuum” are real observation-killers.
WORKS FOR US–making nature study just one part of our outdoor time. Being consistent to get out there often, even if it is just for a short time. Taking the time to notice something and letting the children fully engage once they do find something–even if I have other things to do. Having a focus to look for, NOT a specific assignment. For example, this fall we are studying trees. We try everywhere we go to notice the trees and, for us right now, the changing leaves. That does NOT mean that we ignore the migrating birds, or neglect to crawl across the park following that nifty caterpillar, but in the absence of something else interesting, we have something to direct our attention to. Did you know that many trees’ leaf-changing patterns are different? Some begin turning color top down, some inside out, some randomly on the same branches! Cool!
The number one thing I think that affects my children is MY attitude. If I am happy on our walks, always saying “Oh, hey, look at that! Isn’t that cool? I wonder what that is? I never noticed that before. Why do you think it is doing that?” then it is kind of contagious; the kids start doing it too. If, on the other hand, I am uptight, looking at my watch every few minutes, and pre-occupied, so are they.
OK. Good starter places. Have you yet seen this terrific blog?
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ You could choose from all her past year’s “nature challenges” and pull what will work for you, or just pick a spot and go forward, or follow the seasons from it.
Here are some other online places with good ideas:
http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexNatureStudies.html
If you end up picking a general area to focus on, let me know and I can find some more links to you. I don’t want to overwhelm you with 100 links. 🙂
You know, my kids are getting older and nature study is changing for us, and that’s mostly good, but I almost envy (if that wasn’t such a bad word!) those of you with young kids just starting out on this wonderful thing! You have SO MUCH GOOD ahead of you!
You ladies are so full of wonderful advice. THANK YOU!!! This is an area that I fail in every week. I am just thankful that my boys love to play outside and explore even if I dont.
So much good info to work with! I will check out those websites in depth when I have some time. I so appreciate all the encouragement and suggestions I get from you all. Everyone is kind. Thanks. Oh, my baby’s name is Joshua. We call him Josh. He is nearly 4 months now. WOW! Time is going fast.
Marsha
I was so good about Nature Study last year, but we have been slacking this year. What made it so successful last year was that we went for a walk every day last year for about half an hour after lunch. I did what Michelle suggested–I didn’t make them journal every day and I didn’t tell them what to journal about. I let them collect things that they discovered, and I let them choose what to draw. I pointed out things I wanted them to notice, and most days we took the same route so they could see changes easily. I think sometimes we make it harder on ourselves by overthinking what needs to be done. My kids just loved spending the time outdoors each day and discovering new things and enjoying those that were the same.
HTH, Faith 🙂
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