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Deck The Halls As You Put The Spotlight On The Beautiful Holly
Holly adds lots of Christmas color and cheer to this time of year, which makes it a perfect subject to look at during the winter months. We are lucky enough to have a holly in our front yard, so we...
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Is It The Perfect Christmas Tree? {The Amazing Pine}
Every year, many of us welcome pine trees into our homes in the form of Christmas trees. These ornamented trees have been a part of holiday traditions all over the world and date back from the...
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What Is Nature Study?
Nature study is a style of educating that searches for the principles of science in nature. It became a popular educational movement in the early 20th century and it is currently regaining popularity...
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Careful, Kowalski, You Need To Know This About Penguins First
My kids love the Penguins of Madagascar on Netflix – the antics of those birds crack us all up! And so when we visited an aquarium on a recent field trip, we had to spend quite a bit of time observing...
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The Secret Life of the Gentle and Useful Cow
Don’t you love the way cows look at you? It’s so gentle and calming! We used to live near a cow field and although the smell wasn’t so great when the wind was blowing the right direction – we did...
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The Most Common Bird You See – The Robin
The first bird I learned to identify was the robin, so although it is not my favorite – that spot belongs to the tufted titmouse – it does hold a special place in my heart. These orange-breasted birds...
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Impromptu Nature Study
In our neck of the woods, the weather is finally turning more spring-like, so we have been spending quite a bit more time outdoors. This has provided us with several opportunities for impromptu nature...
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A Mushroom Only A Mother Could Love – The Stinkhorn
It “hatches.” It smells like death. Some have a questionable shape. What’s not to love about stinkhorn mushrooms? Stinkhorn mushrooms like to grow on rotting organic matter, so you typically find them...
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Have You Seen These Amazing Aquatic Mammals? Bottlenose Dolphins
Now, I realize that the likelihood of you having dolphins in your backyard to observe is about as likely as you penguins. But, chances are high that you kids love bottlenose dolphins, thanks to movies...
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Snowdrops – when You See These, You Know Spring Is Almost Here!
Ahh, spring is in the air. There’s a warm breeze blowing, birds chirping, and snowdrops dotting the ground! But don’t get lulled into a false sense of the season – old man winter can still rear his...
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3 Simple ways to include nature study into your week
Now that you understand the differences between formal nature study and informal nature study. But a question still lingers – how do you include nature study into your week? Is it the centerpiece? Or...
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The Charming Crocus – Find it in Siberia and Your Backyard
When we lived in Virginia, the sight of crocus blooms popping up in our yard meant that spring was close at hand. I think that is the reason why the crocus remains one of my favorite spring bulbs! But...
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The Iconic Daffodil – A Dazzling Sign That Spring Is Replacing Winter
Nothing says, “Hello, it’s spring!” like the daffodil! The sunny blooms seem to smile up at you from the ground left barren from the cold winter. These spring flowers typically grow in bunches, like...
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The Hyacinth – Feast Your Noses on a Mediterranean Native This Spring
The hyacinth tends to be the lesser known beauty of the typical spring blooms, but if you have ever smelled one . . . ahh, the scent of pure loveliness. It’s enough to make you want to dig them all up...
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The Iris – A Symbol of Royalty and Subject of Ancient Art
The iris was one of my mom’s favorite flowers and to this day, I can’t see one of these blooms without thinking of her. These showy purple, blue, yellow, orange, or white flowers have served as the...
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Is nature study enough for homeschool science? Your {not so} definitive answer
I am often asked – is nature study enough for our homeschool science plans or do we need to add more hands-on science? And I typically answer: Yes, nature study is enough. And, no, nature study is not...
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On Look up in the Sky Day, learn about the amazing constellations
What? You have never heard of Look up in the Sky Day? Well, neither had I until I made it a point to learn about strange holidays this year. Apparently Look up in the Sky Day is celebrated every April...
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It Mimics A Hawk And Serves As A Mascot – The Beautiful Blue Jay
The sound of the blue jay calling takes me back to my grandmother’s backyard. I can remember hearing them cry out a warning as we would run through her grass paths and hide behind the massive live...
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What do you get when Google and Charlotte Mason collide? Digital Nature Study!
OK Google, meet Ms. Charlotte Mason’s ideas on learning science through nature. Then, let’s modernize them for today’s world. And now we have . . . {cue drumroll} . . . digital nature study. Seriously,...
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The fungus that resembles a vintage shade umbrella – the parasol mushroom
The parasol mushroom looks a bit like a button mushroom when it first pops out from the ground in late summer or early fall, but the cap quickly spreads out to resemble the vintage shade umbrella...
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