NATURE WALK

I would suggest looking at a few things so that you can find what best suits you! Sounds like you have some lovely things nearby!

Barb’s Outdoor Challenges on her blog

Simply Charlotte Mason’s suggestions in the curriculum guide

An article by Catherin Levison

And of course there are wonderful books like Keeping a Nature Journal and Pocket Full of Pinecones!

Have FUN!

Melissa

As an easy start, one thing to do is to challenge each person to notice three “new” things. By “new” things, I mean things you haven’t noticed before. Even if you’ve been to the park many times, you can find three things you haven’t noticed before. On a next visit, you look for those three same things again to notice any changes, and then also look for three new things, and so on for each visit.

To further the challenge, pick one of the three things and draw it, learn its name, learn something about it. Each person can pick their own things or you could do it as a family – either way works. Build up a notebook of what you learn about the things in your park.

When I first started learning wild plants, I gave myself the goal to learn one or two new plants per season. Once I started learning a few new plants, I found that I could learn more quickly and easily, but at first just sticking to one or two plants really helped me recognize them and get to know them. I drew them, learned their names, recognized their habitat, got to know their history, etc.

Haiku writing in nature is a fun and easy way to get started, too. As you walk along, pick a place to stop every now and then. Everyone writes a haiku and then shares with each other. Or, stop along your walk and play “I spy” to get into the habit of noticing what is around you.

Have fun!