Description
Spring Nature Study and More like our Nature Study, Nature Journals, and Poetry Through the Year book, uses nature to introduce more formal scientific study topics and areas. So to use an old saying, “You can have your cake (Charlotte Mason style nature study) and eat it too (study more traditional science topics).
If you’re like me, you like the idea of bringing your kids out into nature, enjoying the current season and appreciating the little things in your surroundings. However, you might be concerned about covering science as an academic subject.
The Spring Nature Study and More has been taken out of our year long study and made into its own ebook for those of you who want to pick and choose which season you want to study at a time and wish to purchase something at a lower cost to you than our Nature Study, Nature Journals, and Poetry Through the Year ebook.
Spring Nature Study and More is a 91 page e-book in our series of Nature Study and More E-books. These books are for children in all grades kindergarten to the eighth grade level, with some activities and suggestions to include everyone in your family.
This nature study has you observing the spring season during the months of March, April, and May. (Each season has the 3 months listed that they cover and all have the same features listed below.) Through a natural introduction into science through nature, this study introduces children into different areas of biology, physics, and chemistry. There are several suggested topics to observe each month.
Just like our larger ebook, this ebook includes:
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Each Month has poetry and quotes that have to do with that month or topics within that monthThere are different topics and a different number of topics depending on the natural events during that season or month.
For Spring, you’ll find the following topics for the months of March, April, and May –
- Plants plant life cycle, grafting and propagation, George Washington Carver
- Fungi spores, mold, yeast
- Birds in Spring, birds’ attributes and adaptations, feeders and houses, flight and
aerodynamics, John James Audubon - Vernal Equinox, aurora borealis, spring scavenger hunt, earth’s tilt toward the sun
- Animals in Spring, life cycles, farm animals, chickens, animal behavior, classification
- Vernal Pond, frogs/salamanders/insect metamorphosis, surface tension, Concave and convex lenses
- Weather – Wind, Weather forecasting, weather station, Clouds, Tornadoes Beaufort wind scale, wind energy
- Fish-Freshwater life cycles, hatcheries, fish farming, aquariums, anatomy/physiology
- Flowers, life cycle, parts, edible flowers
- Caterpillars & life cycle, metamorphosis, habits, Butterflies and adaptations, butterfly gardens, Monarch migration
Within each topic you will find:
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Pertinent poetry and quotes
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Suggested Living Book list
- Nature Walk and Post-walk Activities
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Questions with which to engage your children in conversation about the topic of study during the walk
- Scientific Connections that naturally draw your child into an extended study of biology, physics, or chemistry that is connected to your nature study topic
Each Scientific Connection has
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Suggested Living Books list (if books are available on the topic)
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Suggested Activities and Experiments
Some of these are described in the book, others are websites or books of experiments.
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The Last Major Section of the book is Nature Journaling
Here you will find Recommended Nature Journal and Drawing book suggestions and websites. You will also find Suggested Sources for Nature Journaling pages and Sample Nature Journal pages within this book to get you started right away.
So, you can see that you CAN do a weekly nature study and still tie it into a more formal study of the traditional scientific areas and have the best of both worlds.
Read Reviews of this book here:
It has been receiving resounding positive reviews. Please click on the links below to read what other homeschool users have to say.
Here is what one homeschool mom from Australia who blogs on her “Aussie Pumpkin Patch” has to say:
“The book is awesome!…The book not only has fantastic ideas for nature walks and study but also ideas on questions you could ask before, during, or after the walks. … I really can’t wait to take some of these ideas out and use them with the kids.”
more from Kendra at Aussie Pumpkin Patch
Here is another review from a reviewer for Currclick.com. Scroll down the page after the description of our book and you will find a written review from a member of the Heart of the Matter Team. Here’s a little of what she had to say:
“WOW! That was my first impression! For $14.95, “Using Nature Study, Nature Journal and Nature Through the Year” is a great purchase. It is massive in size (over 200 pages) and deep in scope.”
Click here to read more of this review.
Christen commented on this blog:
A fellow homeschoolers recommended your 2012 Election notebook and I was absolutely thrilled to find these unit studies that you’ve written as well.
They are RIGHT on the nose, exactly what I’ve been looking for, for almost a year! I teach in our homeschool coop and although my children are 4 and 2 I love that I can use these even now with them and not just in the coop! A lot of the questions while on a nature walk are the same as what I do naturally. I am looking forward to getting more in depth and embracing both of my children’s curiosity and having the perfect tool to help me stay focused and organized in my teaching about the seasons.
Thank you also for making them so affordable! We don’t have a lot of wiggle room at all so it’s nice to have the option of purchasing individual seasons, but it’s SO cost effective to get it all at once and I was shocked at how affordable it was. Thank you so much!
We’re excited homeschoolers have found our book so enjoyable and useful in their science and nature study! Now is the time to get outside and bring your learning back to nature!
Please let us know how you like the ebook after your purchase. We are eager to hear your thoughts! If you know anyone else that may be interested please share our website. Thanks!
