Are you homeschooling using the Charlotte Mason method? If you use Ambleside Online as your Charlotte Mason curriculum, you may have wondered if The Handbook of Nature Study here at Homeschool Nature Study fits within the yearly rotations for nature study.
Yes, Homeschool Nature Study and Ambleside Online (AO) can work together! There are years and years worth of nature study ideas that cover so much from the Handbook of Nature Study, on which those who use AO often rely. A search through the archives brings up a multitude of helpful resources. Instead of you having to take the time to dig, though; we’ve done the work for you! This post contains lessons that will go with Term 2 of the Ambleside Online school year, which is weather/climate.
What is Ambleside Online Homeschool Curriculum?
Ambleside Online homeschool is an incredible Charlotte Mason curriculum. Spanning all the grades with a few extra options for lighter years and catch up years, it covers all that Miss Mason would have covered in her schools. Complete with booklists, free ebooks, weekly schedules, online discussion groups, and a huge number of supportive articles, this curriculum is so good and thorough that one would expect it to be very expensive. However, it is free..
Read the full review of Ambleside Online curriculum at The Curriculum Choice!
Homeschool Nature Study With Ambleside Online
Ambleside Online progresses through each school year in three terms:
- Term 1: September – November
- Term 2: January – March
- Term 3: April – June
Families are encouraged to explore Artists, Composers, Plutarch, Shakespeare, Folk Songs, Hymns, and Nature Study together as a group throughout each term.
Ambleside Online Nature Study Resources: Term 2
An important component of nature study and exploration in AO’s current Term 2 is a focus on weather.
Weather and Climate Nature Study Resources
Five Ways to Teach Preschoolers about Weather can be found here.
This lesson has ideas for keeping track of the weather.
How about an Autumn Weather study? Here is a blog post with a whole list of activities and ideas for autumn weather study.
Here and here are winter weather nature study lessons.
Some ideas for different winter weather walks are listed here.
Weather Chart notebook page.
Winter Weather notebook page.
Is the weather too bad to be outside? Here are some ideas for indoor nature study.
By studying weather late fall through winter, there will be so many different patterns in weather to observe! Studying weather can be as simple as laying outside and observing to clouds from your own backyard. . .to keeping elaborate weather records. Keeping weather records can be easily made more simple for younger kids, and more complicated for older kids. Younger students could check and write in the nature notebook daily the date, temperature, and whether it’s sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc. Older students could keep a more elaborate weather chart and include, date, temperature, conditions, barometric pressure, sunrise and sunset, etc.
Beyond that, here are some other simple weather topics you could study/observe: rain, water cycle, fog, freezing fog, snow, ice, clouds and their shapes and names, how temperature fluctuates, and the seasons compared. There is so much that is interesting about weather!
I hope these ideas get you excited to explore the wonders of our ever-changing weather!
More Charlotte Mason Resources for Your Homeschool
Here are more Charlotte Mason homeschool resources to encourage you!
- Charlotte Mason Nature Study For Your Homeschool
- How To Teach Homeschool Nature Study
- The Beauty of Art and Nature Study In Your Homeschool – Chalk Pastel Art
- Beautiful Charlotte mason Picture Book Biography Perfect For Your Homeschool – The Curriculum Choice
- The Charlotte Mason Homeschool Guide – The Curriculum Choice
- Fall Homeschool Nature Study
- The Ultimate Guide to Fall Homeschool Nature Study In Your Own Backyard
- The Homeschool Mom’s Charlotte Mason Summer Nature Study Guide
- The Homeschool Mom’s Fall Charlotte Mason Guide
Winter Nature Studies with the Outdoor Hour Challenges
Our Homeschool Nature Study members have access to endless year round nature studies, including these courses with Handbook of Nature Study references, follow up nature journaling activities, notebook pages and resources to inspire and guide you.
Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!
Amy Law is wife to Jeremy, and mom to three. They homeschool using Charlotte Mason’s principles, and love to spend lots of time in nature! You can often find them hiking the beautiful trails of their beloved Tennessee hills, while Amy attempts to capture the beauty of it all with her camera lens.