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Tips, Ideas for Nature Study in high school
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We need help with nature study at the high school level. I’ve searched online but haven’t found anything that would really help or that resonated with me. This is our first attempt at the high school level. We tried it years ago but it didn’t last long. My 3 boys have a hard time getting into it. They are my high schoolers now. I have the Handbook of Nature Study but they haven’t shown interest in it at all. The fact that it’s black and white doesn’t help any of us either.
Anybody out there from the North Eastern part of South Dakota, & do you do nature study? And HOW?
The kids ARE outdoors a lot though. They ride bike or are just outside. My oldest loves to take pictures & has taken some pretty neat pics of clouds, sunsets, apple trees, & even just lately the stars & moon.! I have a son who can tell you the kind of birds even when just hearing their song. I would just like to have the specific Nature Study time where we go out and Journal. They don’t seem to know what to do with it or how & I don’t know how to help or direct them. I bought the Nature study journal SCM sells. I’m not clicking with it.
I’m originally from back east and when we’ve been visiting my parents the kids have found all kinds of things, no matter the season. I think that’s part of MY problem. We have a hard time finding things here in SD. We find things but they react with, “Oh, yeah, that ‘s just a wolf spider.” What do I do? How are we to approach this nature study thing?
Hi there,
We are nowhere near you, Christchurch New Zealand, but something we have tried with good effect is the writing prompts found in one of John Muir Laws books. Once the kids have done a sketch/diagram/dry brush water colour, they then use the prompts I notice … then write down as many observations as possible such as ‘ I notice the wolf spider’s forelegs are longer than the back legs. I notice that there is a lot I hair over the abdomen by not so much near the head ….’ you get the idea.
Next is the I wonder… prompt. I wonder why the hair is longer in the abdomen? I wonder if it’s to do with temperature regulation or camouflage? I wonder what hunting techniques it uses?..’
The last is It reminds me of….. It remjnds me of a a rock just sitting there. The front legs remjnd me of long knitting needles, its front pincers remind me of boxing gloves….
I have found these three questiknsmvery effective in engaging the thinking abilities and leads to personal interest.
By the way, I haven’t looked at a wolf spider so those were wild guesses.
Hope this helps.
Nature study is not just identifying animals, plants, insects, etc. It is about observing and learning the habits of things in nature. So when your boys make comments like, “Oh, yeah. That’s just a wolf spider.” challenge them to learn and record one new thing about the spider’s habits. What does it eat? How does it catch its prey? How is it different from other spiders they have observed? How is it similar? How does it move? What type of habitat does it prefer? How does it defend itself? All of these questions and any others you or they can think of to help learn more about nature is what nature study is all about. Nature study is a life-long pursuit of learning more and more about the nature around you.
The Handbook of Nature Study is a reference book. In it you will find information about a variety of things in nature. You can use it to guide your nature study, but it is most useful for learning more about something you have observed for yourself in nature.
Journaling a Year in Nature was designed to help give you a focus for your nature study on a variety of nature. Going outside and telling your children to “draw what they see” is too open ended for many. Once a week choose any topic in the current season. Observe what you are able to in the time you have allotted for nature study. Allow your children to write, draw, and/or photograph their observations. Remember that nature journals are their own keepsake; they are not to be graded or critiqued in any way.
Thank you both for you replies.
So, the questions…..I think that’s where I could be feeling the lack in myself. I feel that I need a guide( something like the companion guides for Outdoor Secrets etc) to know what to ask or what to have them do & they need to learn to care. So, once we have some questions, the Handbook of Nature Study is for them to go to (or any other books, field guides etc) & find out those answers ? & then do they write the info in their nature journal? Or do they draw the spider, for example, as well? I had to chuckle on the question “What type of habitat do they prefer?” The wolf spider seems to prefer inside our house!! upon when found, they get squashed!
Also, we are coming up to the time of year where we’ll be having about 6 months of winter. The wind blowing, blizzards, drifts that can be 3 feet in our yard, lots of snow, below zero temps, well below zero windchill. I do not go out in that stuff. We can have snow covered ground & blizzards clear into April, Any nature study ideas for then?
I haven’t done any nature study with high schoolers, but I’m in Canada, so I totally understand the 6 months of snow! A few years ago, my kids did nature study as a group and I came up with a list of subjects for winter when we wouldn’t be able to get outside as much. Winter is a good time for focusing on weather (wind, clouds, etc.) topics and astronomy topics (sun, moon, stars, planets). Other ideas: what trees are like in winter, what animals/birds are around in winter, hibernation, snow (obviously). I hope some of those are helpful.
Indoor plants can be a source of nature study, even in winter. Look at what little critters you can find n the soil. Also really noticing winter trees is amazing. Even out your window, focus on the branches and twigs of the same tree throughout the year. It’s incredible just observing the buds on winter twigs. They look so dead, but if you grab a twig and bring it inside to observe you’ll find the lateral buds, terminal buds, leaf scars etc. Perhaps look up winter twigs to get an idea of what to look for. It’s a whole world in itself.
John Muir Laws has a website with some free resources and a YouTube channel with lots of drawing instruction. It would probably appeal to boys.
As for what questions to ask, whatever you are curious about. Curiosity is what fuels the observation of nature study. Reference books and the Internet can be used to answer some of the questions, but try to observe what you can on your own. Use the reference materials to learn what you can’t observe. Drawing or photographing what you have observed and/or writing your observations in a journal are part of nature study. Your children can do whichever they prefer. The key is to take the time to observe something you did not already know about whatever you are observing.
There are many options for nature study in snowbound places. As mentioned by others, noticing trees (and bushes) in winter, houseplants, astronomy, and weather are all great options.
Here are some other ideas:
Observe the wolf spiders and other spiders instead of squashing them. 🙂
Get some black cloth and catch some of the snowflakes on it. Carefully place the snowflakes on a cold microscope slide and observe them with a microscope. Compare snowflakes from different months and different types of storms.
Besides houseplants, you can start vegetable and flower seeds for a garden. Observe how they grow. Learn how best to grow them.
Watch nature documentaries.
Get a bird feeder or two and observe the birds. Identify which types of birds come to your feeders and observe their habits. Experiment with different types of seeds and feeders.
Observe any mammals that come to your bird feeders.
Notice the tracks of the birds and animals in the snow.
Thanks everyone for sharing all your ideas.
I’m finding John Muir Laws very helpful – I’m getting the visual of what this can look like & want to show it to my boys. I think it will help them.
Winter is just a lot harder to be inspired to keep up the nature studies. We have lots of sky, lots of wind, lots of wide open places that in just a few months will be covered all in white. Even our yard most often is knee deep in snow.
Karen, your ideas are good….. We’ve had a bird feeder for years. My one son has learned a lot. We’ve learned…. we just don’t express that in journaling. In the past, we’ve had a hawk that would hang around in the late winter months & has snatched more than one bird near our feeder. That was quite distressing to see. And yes, we have a shrub nearby the birds can fly to for shelter. I’m sure there’s plenty yet to learn, but bird watching has gotten a bit……normal, would like to move on, kind of thing, during the winter months.
The children tried one year to catch some snowflakes on a black mitten & tried using a magnifying glass. The snow melted before much could be done. Microscopes, magnifying glasses & such would have to be right handy & we don’t have the space for that to happen. The kids found it hard it catch the flakes as well. We don’t very often get the nice lazy falling snow and will most often be the tiny stuff blowing sideways.
We live in a small town and very rarely get any tracks in our yard other than the neighbors dogs or the cats. Or if there had been any other tracks, the wind blows them over with snow.
I have one houseplant, and to be quite honest, I’m not all that curious about the thing. It was given to me. We did search how to take care of it but it’s not really getting enough light and I don’t have a better place to put it. I don’t have room to grow houseplants or vegetables. I tried vegetables this year but they weren’t getting enough light & I couldn’t do the artificial lighting for lack of space.
They’ve learned what certain clouds are & what kind of weather they are likely to bring…. they’re outdoors a lot & they’ve learned a lot. I find that they already know things when I do find something to point out or more likely, when THEY bring me something & proceed to tell something about it. I know they’re out there & observing. We see lots of stars at night.. They’ve stayed out at night looking at the stars. The boys have taken Astronomy. They can point out the planet(s) & the constellations that are visible.
It just seems a bit much as to how to get it down in writing or drawing. I’m going to be looking more into the resources from John Muir Laws.
Say, I didn’t mean to come across with negative responses to the ideas that were given. I’m sorry if that’s what it sounded like. I was just trying to share what our experiences have been & the seeming hindrances. I really appreciate all the ideas. Everyone has varying circumstances & have to learn how to work with what we’ve got, whether it’s our location, or maybe a mom who has physical problems or low energy & just doesn’t have it to do what she has set up in her mind as the “ideal” nature study. I think some of us have to learn to be curious again. 😮 Another problem I noticed for us is that we only have a small amount of time, like maybe 15- 20 min. We’re just barely getting started when we have to stop. OR maybe that’s not the hindrance that I think it is…… maybe we need a different view. So, that’s where it really helps to get other’s input.
I can’t recommend John Muir Laws enough. I’ve always been intimidated by nature journaling but John Muir Laws is so encouraging! His website http://www.johnmuirlaws.com and book, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling are so helpful. Buy the book for sure! Your high school boys could read this on their own and figure out what to do. It’s not just drawing/painting in a journal, although these things are explained. It’s so much more. He explains how to journal maps, lists, patterns, diagrams and more. Nature study and journaling is a challenge, but then most young men/boys like a challenge. John Muir Laws has a quote in his book where he comes to something he doesn’t know and he says, “Game on!” Love it!
Raines, you are the third person to recommend him.: ) I started watching a couple of his you tube videos & my husband was nearby working on something but was listening & he really got interested & was asking if he could do that( nature drawing) : ) I think it will appeal to our boys as well. I’m really liking what I’ve seen so far. Thanks to you all who have pointed me in his direction!
It may be helpful to you and your boys to see a nature notebook by a student from Charlotte Mason’s school. You can download a free copy at Raising Little Shoots. Scroll to the bottom of the page and there will be a link labeled “Nature Notebook from Charlotte Mason’s House of Education.” That link will take you to another page where you can download the book.
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