Author: Tricia Hodges

These December nature study activities for the Christmas season will help you to slow down and enjoy this month with your children!

As Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, Shirley Vels, shares, “December can be such a busy time. We are often rushed from pillar to post in an effort to fit in every festive activity under the sun so as to make the season ‘magical’ and can come away feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted. All Christmas cheer well and truly drained out of us.” – December Outdoor Mom

Christmas Nature Studies

Enjoy these Christmas nature studies! May you and your loved ones experience an abundance of God’s peace and joy this festive season.

December Outdoor Mom

Here at the Outdoor Mom we are all about refocusing, slowing down, embracing simplicity and intentionally making choices that reflect the true meaning of the season – a celebration of Jesus, a Savior for mankind. The December Outdoor Mom.

Red and Green Nature Hunt

Finding green and red in our homeschool nature study was a wonderful way to blend learning with a celebration of the holiday season! Red and Green Nature Study: The Colors of Winter.

Nativity Nature Craft

coming December 2024!!

Evergreen Clay Plant Print Ornaments

It’s time to bring a little of the outside indoors with these beautiful evergreen clay plant print ornaments!

Twig Tree Ornament Craft

Advent has finally begun, so it’s time to get the Christmas decorations out! Learn how to make these adorable twig tree decorations in our Nature Crafts course. 🎄✨️

Christmas Tree for the Animals

Join us in making these adorable edible Christmas tree decorations to adorn your outdoor trees as well as feed the birds and squirrels this festive season 🎅

Reindeer Nature Study

You can learn about deer in our cattle and deer nature study. Plus, Stef has a fun reindeer printable notebook page for our members to enjoy!

Winter Nature Study Ideas

First Day of Winter Nature Walk

Enjoy these first day of winter nature walk ideas for your homeschool! Getting outside for a walk on the first day of winter may be one of the most refreshing activities you could do with your children.

The temperatures drop and we huddle inside more and more, especially on the shortest day of the year! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside.

Snow Study

In this homeschool snow study there is so much to discover! Included is a field guide to snow, experiments like filtering, guidance from the Handbook of Nature Study and more!

Snowman Bird Feeder

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.

December Outdoor Hour Challenges in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

With four courses, you can have your pick of beautiful outdoor studies to enjoy! Members also get access to special notebooking pages for December:

• The Trinity Snowman Poem and Christmas Card
• Your December World
• December Words and Poem Journal Page
• Extraordinary in the Ordinary Page

More Winter Homeschool Nature Study Resources

Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:

• A Winter Tree Study for Your Homeschool
• Nature Study Crafts for Kids – always a fun thing to do indoors!
• Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool This Winter
• January Nature Studies Perfect for Winter Homeschooling

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

With the changing leaves and beautiful weather upon us, this ultimate list of nature themed books for fall homeschooling is your go-to for the season!

A lovely stack of nature themed books can be great for learning in the fall months. There is so much to get excited about and learn about in nature!

Tips for How to Read a Nature Literature Book

Our founder, Barb McCoy, shares her tips for reading a nature literature book!

• Get comfortable with your child at your side or one on each side, making sure they can see the
• pages.
• Start with the cover of the book and ask them what they see and what they think the book is all about.
• Read the title and then the first few pages, slowly reading the words and allowing time for gazing at the pictures.
• Every few pages pause for your child to tell you something about what you just read (narration). See if they have any questions.
• If it is a short book, finish the book and have your child give their thoughts about the book. Did they have a favorite page or picture? Have them share something they learned about the topic from reading the book.

Let a Nature Book Inspire an Art Lesson

• Use the book’s illustrations as the basis for an art lesson, copying a picture with colored pencils or markers onto paper.
• Leave the book out for the child to look at again and hopefully enjoy a second time. (Make sure if you have little ones around that they can’t get to the book and mar it in some way.)

Tips for Organizing Your Nature Books

• Keep your nature themed books together, perhaps organizing them by topic or by season.
• Complete a Nature Book Report (Members – in Nature Journaling course) if you would like to keep a record of your learning.

Read: A Homeschool Mom’s Best Tips for Organizing Your Nature Library – Using good nature study reference books and literature will be a huge help in nudging along the seeds of a love nature in your child. To help you find what you need when you need it, these are our best tips for organizing your nature library. As the seasons and years pass, they will dig deep into your nature library and become familiar with so many things.

Ultimate List of Nature Themed Books for Fall Homeschooling

The Handbook of Nature Study Book is the Best for Fall Nature Study

The Handbook of Nature Study book by Anna Botsford Comstock is a staple in the Outdoor Hour Challenges we share. This is a wonderful reference guide for you, the homeschool teacher to use. We show you how!

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Handbook of Nature Study – Are you looking for comprehensive, easy to use nature study resources? Have you ever seen The Handbook of Nature Study? Well, it might just be the thing for you! Come check out our reviews and resources for using this as your nature study go to!

Books for September and October Fall Activities

September might be devoted to apples and fall leaves; October to pumpkins, harvest and Halloween; and November to hibernation, early winter and Thanksgiving.

Ox-Cart Man Activities for Your Homeschool – These Ox-Cart Man activities are sure to bring this great book to life! Take a trip back to the 1800s with a New England farmer in the Ox-Cart Man. In a time when you wove your own clothes, whittled your own broom, and split your own shingles, this lyrical story takes you on a journey through the changing seasons.

Favorite Fall Books for Your Homeschool – books just for fun, for learning and for nature study

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World – with a free art lesson! And more apple art lessons as well.

Pumpkin Books to Celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving – This is a collection of pumpkin books to celebrate both Halloween and Thanksgiving. Spooky books, jack-o-lantern books, pumpkin patch books, recipe books and more!

Nature Authors to Look Up at Your Library

• Lois Ehlert
• Eve Bunting
• Joyce Sidman
• Eric Carle
• Diane Siebert
• Diana Hutts Aston
• Jim Arnosky
• Jean Craighead George

Picture Books in Nature Study: A Parent’s Guide – Picture books in nature study work well for all ages. This guide has everything you need to get started.

Favorite Nature Titles for November:

• In November by Cynthia Rylant (Jill Kastner)
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall (Barbara Cooney)
• Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky
• Giving Thanks by Jonathan London (Gregory Manchess)
• Autumn Harvest by Alvin Tresselt (Roger Duvoisin)
• Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming
• Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith
• The Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen

More Nature Themed Books for Your Homeschool

Rooted in Wonder: A Nature Study Resource Review – Have you seen this book yet? If not, you probably should. For all nature-loving families and families who are interested in starting nature study, this is a must-read. Eryn has taken love of God, His creation, and nature study and blended them together in a way that is truly beautiful. And, speaking of beautiful, the inside and outside of this book are designed so beautifully! It is a treat for the eyes, as well as the mind.

Favorite Nature Books for Your Homeschool Nature Studies – Nature study is one of things I adored when my children were younger. As soon as the weather broke here in NY we would be outside with notebooks, nature books, cameras, binoculars, magnifying glasses, and more! We enjoyed exploring nature trails, and gardening in our yard, drawing birds and flowers and creating nature poetry. As the years rolled on, our collection of nature books grew.

Beautiful Picture Book Biography of Charlotte Mason – This lovely Charlotte Mason picture book biography tells the story of Miss Mason, painting a picture of the time she lived, her knowledge of how children learn and her passion for children to love learning.

The Ultimate List of Preschool Nature Study Books – While nothing beats experiencing nature first-hand, preschool nature study books are a vital component of our preschool nature studies. We have used both fiction and non-fiction books to introduce a topic, supplement a topic and study a topic in-depth.

Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story – Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.

Last Child in the Woods – we love this book for general encouragement on nature study

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Fun Fall Outdoor Learning

You will find hundreds of homeschool nature studies plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Using good nature study reference books and literature will be a huge help in nudging along the seeds of a love nature in your child. To help you find what you need when you need it, these are our best tips for organizing your nature library. As the seasons and years pass, they will dig deep into your nature library and become familiar with so many things.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Creating a love of beauty in nature is something that develops over time with encouragement and nurturing. Each of us has a way of looking at things and learning to see an object in nature through someone else’s eyes will expand your own vision.

Photo by Amy Law

Tips for Organizing Your Nature Library

As you add to your library, you may wish to incorporate some of these ideas that have stood the test of time in my own nature library. I have more nature books than the average person, first because I love them all and second because I support my nature challenges with great information found in books.

Divide Nature Books into Categories on the Shelves and Then Try to Group Books by Topic

Field Guides

I love having a variety of guides all lined up on one shelf…or now it is actually two shelves.

Reference Books

These are books that are a little more scholarly and provide meaty information about a topic for nature journal pages. I have my Handbook of Nature Study on this shelf because it is a ‘go to” book for me.

Children’s Literature

I am a big collector of nature-related children’s literature. I try to group the literature by topic: garden, insects, ocean, etc.

Travel Guides and Hiking Books

These are used over and over as we explore different areas of the world both near by and far from home.

Coloring Books

I have quite a collection of coloring books that my children have used over the years and I still use as a basis for drawing in my own nature journal.

Series of Books

When there is a series of books from an author, I group them together so I can find them easily. Books in this category include the One Small Square series, the Discover Nature series, and the Golden Guides.

The Outdoor Hour Challenges Bring The Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool!

For even more homeschool nature study ideas for all seasons, join us in Homeschool Nature Study membership! You’ll receive new ideas each and every week that require little or no prep – all bringing the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

by Barb McCoy, founder of the Outdoor Hour Challenges.