Category: Handbook of Nature Study

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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.

Sometimes the books we read have been intentionally picked for nature study, and other times while reading, we come across a nature topic we’d like to learn more about.

Preschool Nature Study Books

Here are some suggestions for enjoying preschool nature study books in your homeschool.

Introduce a Nature Study Topic:


Recently we read the book Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert. It is a cute toddler and preschool counting book that read for fun. It also got my young girls wondering about different types of fish. After reading the book they wanted to see real fish. The only local place that I could think of that had many different types of fish on display was our local pet store (nature study doesn’t always have to happen outdoors!) We observed the fish and ended up purchasing a small tank and 2 guppies so we could continue our observations at home.

Sometimes a book that wasn’t intentionally picked for nature study can be used as a springboard for further nature studies. Of course you can also pick a quality picture book to intentionally introduce a topic.

Supplement a Topic with Nature Activities:


Once we had our tank set up, we printed out our fish nature journal and watched our new pets. To help supplement our observations, I picked up a few non-fiction picture books about fish. Our favorite book was What’s It Like to Be Fish? by Wendy Pfeffer. It was the perfect amount of information for young children. Explore even more Fun Fish Activities for Preschoolers!

How To Study a Nature Topic with Preschoolers:


When we want to go more in-depth, we usually turn to field guides and The Handbook of Nature Study for more information. In order to help my children delve deeper, I will gather various resources and set up a book basket on that topic. This basket is accessible at all times to encourage independent learning and exploration. I might also put in items relating to the study and tools to help them observe on their own (such as binoculars and magnifying glasses.)

A List of Preschool-Age Picture Books To Introduce and Supplement Seasonal Nature Studies:

Preschool Nature Study Books For Any Time of Year:

Summer Preschool Nature Books:

Preschool Nature Study Books for Fall

More: Fall Nature Study Ideas for Preschoolers

Winter Preschool Nature Study

spring preschool nature study books

Spring Preschool Nature Books

MORE: Spring Nature Study: Activities, Books and More For Your Homeschool

More Preschool Nature Study Activities

Enjoy these fun ideas for learning!

Even MORE Favorite Nature Books for Your Homeschool Nature Studies

Toddler and Preschool Nature Study Printables

Do you like the idea of involving young children in nature study but not sure how to start? Do you need a little help being intentional with your nature studies? Nature Study Printables is full of printable tools for you to use to get young children observing and talking about nature!

Preschool Nature Study with Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

Enjoy ALL of our preschool nature studies plus access to the Outdoor Hour Challenges curriculum for the whole family in Homeschool Nature Study Membership. Find out more about our Delightful Preschool Nature Study Plans for Your Homeschool.

Explore Homeschool Nature Study Membership Now!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

By Maureen Spell, a long-time contributor to the Outdoor Hour Challenges. Maureen helps Christian mompreneurs operate their business from a place of joy, purpose, and excellence because they are clear on how their business is serving their family and others. As a homeschool mom, she believes success at home AND business without the mom-guilt, stress and burn-out is possible! Outside of work, she loves having good conversations over a hot chai or GT Gingerberry kombucha and spending time with her husband and seven children. Visit her at MaureenSpell.com

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Living Science Beyond the Books

Every parent hopes their child receives a solid science education. This is the case whether our children are homeschooled or attending a traditional school. Many parents, including myself, know we received very little “real” science education growing up and when it comes time to teaching or supporting science learning in our children, we tend to feel slightly inadequate. This doesn’t need to be the case!

Homeschool moms do not have to fear teaching science class! Try a Living Science Beyond the Books approach to enjoy hands-on learning.

Jeannie Fulbright, Apologia Science Writer, inspired me to think about a living science beyond the books type of education and hands-on experience. To stop putting a time slot on the schedule for “science learning” and to start exploring the world with curiosity. To invite opportunities of discovery regardless of where we are or when it is during the day.

Homeschool moms do not have to fear teaching science class! Try a Living Science Beyond the Books approach to enjoy hands-on learning.

For our family, providing the opportunities for science as part of our every day life has been as easy as opening our back door and doing some exploring together.  Books are a wonderful window to the world but true heartfelt science learning takes place when you learn about things you can see, touch, smell, and hear. You might enjoy some tips from our post: 30 Backyard Family Activities.

Living Science Beyond the Books

Birds in a book are great but birds in your very own feeder are a living and breathing example to learn from. We have found what works best is observation first and then facts. For example, we learned more by trying to identify these feathers…using a feather identification key for the first time, reasoning on which birds we see in our backyard, and then narrowing it down to a few bird choices. We had to learn the different kinds of bird feathers and make careful observations about color and pattern. So much to build on from just this simple feather find from our backyard.


Homeschool Nature Study Members can print this Feather Coloring Page to try and replicate feather patterns. Or find more Bird Activities and Learn About Birds for Preschoolers.

Learning about pollen in a book is interesting but seeing it on a flower, watching a bee covered in it, and then perhaps looking at the flower pollen with a hand lens takes the lesson on pollen to a whole new dimension. Suddenly you care about the pollen…it means something. My son noticed the little yellow specks on flowers in our yard, so we brought them inside for closer inspection…pollen! No wonder the bees are swarming around this plant in our yard!

Fearful of Nature?

Homeschool moms do not have to fear teaching science class! Try a Living Science Beyond the Books approach to enjoy hands-on learning.

My youngest son hates spiders. He found a spider on a leaf and we spent some time watching it together. Direct observation of a spider takes the fear away and allows the awe to settle in for such an amazing living creature. Living science beyond the books is the best kind of learning for science. Books are there to support and generate interest! But remember to get outside to observe it.

“Nature study, as far as it goes, is just as large as is science for “grown-ups”. It may deal with the same subject matter and should be characterized by the same accuracy. It simply does not go so far.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study

She supports the idea that beginning with nature study and observation we can build on those ideas and experiences and go farther with more formal science. For a complete picture of how she outlines nature study for families, read the introductory pages of the Handbook of Nature Study (pages 1-24).

“Adults should realize that the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in. Once they experience first-hand the wonder of nature, they will want to make nature observation a life-long habit. All people are supposed to be observers of nature and there’s no excuse for living in a world so full of amazing plants and animals and not be interested in them.”
Charlotte Mason, Volume 1

So, I think we are in good company. We can provide or support science education in our homes if we remember to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Open eyes, open hearts, and then open minds to enjoy living science.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership

Join us for even more homeschool nature studies for all the seasons! With a nature study each week, you will have joyful learning leading all the way through the homeschool year for all your ages!

Not yet a Homeschool Nature Study Member? We’d love for you to join us and take advantage of the numerous studies – already planned out for you, craft ideas, free worksheets, and #outdoorhourchallenge fun! Become a member and bring the love of learning nature and science easily into your home.

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Written by Barb McCoy. Updated and new resources created by Stef Layton.

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7 Tips for a Successful Outdoor Hour Challenge

These 7 tips for a successful outdoor hour challenge will help you and your family establish an easy and fun nature study routine.

These 7 tips for a successful outdoor hour challenge will help you and your family establish an easy and fun nature study routine.

What Is The Outdoor Hour Challenge?

This is a great question! And there is a simple answer. Basically there are three parts:

  • Inside preparation of a nature topic
  • Outdoor time (even 10-15 minutes!) looking for and learning about one or two topics (or whatever you find!)
  • Follow up time nature journaling about your topic

Just how do you get started in homeschool nature study? How do families participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenges? It is so simple to get started and we will show you how. Grab this free Homeschool Nature Study Guide and discover the joys of nature study in your homeschool.

Grab Your FREE Copy of Our Getting Started in the Outdoor Hour Challenges Guide!

7 Tips For A Successful Outdoor Hour Challenge

We spent a little while observing the weather in our own backyard this week! Summer weather always has something interesting going on for sure!

  1. The night before, or the morning of, I check to see what we’ll be studying. I love that I can access everything in the member section by computer or on the go on my phone!
  1. I pre-read the suggested pages in The Handbook of Nature Study. This book was not written to be read aloud word for word; so I try to get an idea of she’s saying before I go over it with my kids. Both of these steps take maybe 5 minutes altogether.
  2. Quickly gather supplies. We try to keep our supplies together in convenient places; so we don’t have to search all over the house for them.
  3. Sit down and go through the assigned pages in The Handbook of Nature Study together. There are usually other activities, such as watching a video, to do as well.
  4. Go outside and do the Outdoor Hour Challenge! This week it was observing the weather! We had beautiful weather to observe, using our senses! This can be as simple as spending 15 minutes in your own backyard, which we did today!
  5. Then, we come back inside and do our nature journaling. . .drawing/making observations on what we saw.
  6. Time for clean up!

Yes, it’s just that simple. 😉

More Tips For Nature Study In Your Homeschool

Here are some practical tips for you to use to get started!

How to Use the Outdoor Hour Challenges for Your Homeschool Family Nature Study – Here are some things to consider for your homeschool family nature study. Every family is different so use these tips to get started with simple and joyful Outdoor Hour Challenges.

5 Getting Started Tips for Your Homeschool Nature Study – What a delight nature study learning is and what joys you will discover outside your back door. We will help you with simple encouragement along the way.

30 Backyard Family Activities You Will Love! These 30 backyard family activities help you have fun outdoors with your children in a way that is easy and fun!

These 7 tips for a successful outdoor hour challenge will help you and your family establish an easy and fun nature study routine.

Support For Your Homeschool Nature Study

We’ve heard from families that they were reluctant to start a nature study plan, but, they found that having a focus each week actually helped them to stay regular at getting outside. It also helped them be better at taking a few minutes to learn about an object they encountered, even if it wasn’t the original aim for getting outdoors.

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

We make it easy with resources you can use at your own pace and on your own schedule. Or, you may choose to follow our annual nature study plans closely and have everything at your fingertips.

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.

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How To Plan a Picnic for Your Homeschool Nature Study

You can plan a simple outdoor picnic with the benefit of homeschool nature study! Even a snack in your backyard will make for a fun time together outdoors. You will be surprised at all you notice while you are outside.

“..by beginning with the child in nature-study we take him to the laboratory of the wood or garden, the roadside or the field, and his materials are the wild flowers or the weeds, or the insects that visit the goldenrod or the bird that sings in the maple tree, or the woodchuck whistling in the pasture.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 21
You can plan a simple outdoor picnic for your homeschool nature study! Even a snack in your backyard will make for a fun time together.
Image by Amy Law

Ideas for How to Plan an Outdoor Picnic

Picnics don’t need to be fancy. Wrap up a sandwich in a cloth napkin, grab a piece of fruit, and some water and you are set. Venture outside even if it is only to your own yard to sit on a blanket and enjoy your lunch. Afterwards you can make time for a short period of nature study.

I love eating outside with my family, especially in the summertime. This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge encourages you to share a meal outside with your children. Keep it simple as far as food selections and location. Even if all you do is put a few things in a bag, grab a blanket, and then spread it all out on your own backyard lawn, I’m sure you and your children will enjoy the fresh air and the time spent outdoors sharing a meal.

Our family looks back fondly on the meals we shared outside in the summertime on our back deck. It made us slow down a bit and take notice of the things that happen outside like clouds floating by, birds chirping, and trees swaying in the breeze. We watched loads of sunsets and I remember a few times being sprinkled on by a passing late afternoon thunderstorm.

Our family eats dinner outside every night from June to September….longer if the weather allows. We have arranged our patio table under a canopy and the citronella candles are always kept nearby. We have a tree that the hummingbirds sip nectar from in the dusk hours and after our meal we sit and observe their dinnertime.

“…When the weather is warm, why not eat breakfast and lunch outside?…Besides the benefit of an added hour or two of fresh air, meals eaten outside are often delightful, and there’s nothing like happiness to convert food and drink into healthy blood and bodies.“

Charlotte Mason, Outdoor Life pg 43

Summer Nature Study Tip

Purchase some inexpensive, unbreakable dinnerware and reusable utensils. Make sure you have a small ice chest and some cooler packs to pop into your freezer. Gather a blanket or camping chairs to leave in your garage for those last minute excursions to the park for a picnic. Make sure to bring your nature journal and some pencils so you can create a nature journal page if the opportunity arises during or after your picnic.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Picnic

1. The challenge is to have a picnic. No need to go far or to even have a picnic table. Food always tastes better outside and if you don’t want to commit to a whole lunch, why not just a snack?

After you eat, sit and listen to the sounds of the spring.

“Given the power of nature to calm and soothe us in our hurried lives, it also would be interesting to study how a family’s connection to nature influences the general quality of family relationships. Speaking from personal experience, my own family’s relationships have been nourished over the years through shared experiences in nature-from sharing our toddler’s wonder upon turning over a rock and discovering a magnificent bug the size of a mouse, to paddling our old canoe down a nearby creek during the children’s school years, to hiking the mountains.”

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

2. After your picnic, spend 10-15 minutes observing your surroundings. Add anything new to your list of items observed in your focus area that you are keeping in your nature journal. Make note of any additional research that needs to be done for things your child is interested in. Make a journal entry if you wish.

This challenge is found in the Getting Started ebook which is included in Homeschool Nature Study membership. The ebook provides the challenge as shown above as well as custom notebook pages for your follow up nature journal if desired.

Homeschool Nature Study Members Have Great Resources at Your Fingertips

Consider working through the first three Outdoor Hour Challenges in the Getting Started ebook. These three challenges can help build your nature study habit. I highly recommend following the suggestions for reading in the Handbook of Nature Study that go along with those challenges. The words expressed in those readings include timeless advice to parents about the value of regular nature study close to home. Make sure to have the printable nature journal pages bookmarked in case your child is ready to create a record of their Outdoor Hour Challenge.

#1 Let’s Get Started
#2 Using Your Words
#3 Now Is The Time To Draw

Get your FREE Getting Started: Nature Study Close to Home (includes these challenges!)

Look for the Outdoor Hour Challenge Planning Pages printable in the Planning Resources course. Use these pages to make a rough plan for your nature study.

If you’re not a member here at Homeschool Nature Study yet, please consider joining to gain the benefit of having a nature study library at your fingertips. There are numerous resources available for you to help create the habit of nature study within your family.

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

by Barbara McCoy, Outdoor Hour Challenges founder

You can plan a simple outdoor picnic for your homeschool nature study! Even a snack in your backyard will make for a fun time together.
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Homeschool Garden Activities for May Nature Studies

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.
Image by Amy Law

Nature Study Encouragement for Your Outdoor Hour Family Time

Before you begin homeschool garden activities, enjoy these ideas for getting outdoors with your family.

Nature Study in Ripples: Simple Ways to Study Nature

Simple Ways to Study Nature – Here are some simple ways to study nature in your homeschool. Start in your own yard then let your discoveries grow out like ripples in a pond.

“Nature study is, despite all discussions and perversions, a study of nature; it consists of simple, truthful observations that may, like beads on a string, finally be threaded upon the understanding and thus held together as a logical and harmonious whole.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 1

99 Homeschool Nature Study Ideas to Get Your Family Outside

Be inspired with 99 homeschool nature study ideas and outdoors sorts of things! Make a list of your own and get outdoors!

Homeschool Garden Activities Perfect for May Nature Studies

“A child who makes a garden, and then becomes intimate with the plants he cultivates, and comes to understand the interrelation of the various forms of life which he finds in his garden, has progressed far in the fundamental knowledge of nature’s ways as well as in a practical knowledge of agriculture.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 20 in the section “Gardening and nature Study”

Here are some great nature study ideas for your May homeschool!

Garden and Wildflower Nature Studies with the Outdoor Hour Challenges

You can enjoy a simple garden and wildflowers homeschool nature study with these resources we have gathered for you to use in your own backyard. It is such a delight to study and learn about a garden and the beauty of wildflowers!

Make a Wagon Garden

For this particular garden, I have a rusty old Red Flyer wagon that has wheels that no longer turn…How to Make a Wagon Garden.

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.

World Turtle Day Nature Activities

Turtle Nature Study for Your Homeschool – Learn about pond life, pondweed and a pond habitat with this fun turtle nature study for your homeschool. Includes activities for learning about tortoises and microscopic pond life too.

Mammals: Goat Nature Study

This goat homeschool nature study is packed with fun from fainting goats to advanced mammal studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool! Here’s a peek at what you can expect to enjoy in this Outdoor Hour Challenge for Homeschool Nature Study members.

earthworm nature study

Earthworms Invertebrates Nature Study

This earthworm homeschool nature study is packed with great learning for all ages and even includes advanced invertebrate studies!

Butterfly Nature Study: How to Make a Butterfly Puddle

Over the years, I’ve observed butterflies along hiking trails in the muddy edges. There will sometimes be 10 or 12 butterflies sitting on the mud slowly opening and closing their wings. This behavior fascinated me! After a little research on the internet, I discovered that butterflies are attracted to mud puddles for not only the moisture but the minerals and salts that are present in the mud. Learn How to Make a Butterfly Puddle!

great sunflower project

Homeschool Garden Activities: The Great Sunflower Project

What is the Great Sunflower Project? This is a citizen science activity that you can participate in with your children. If you can grow a sunflower (or selected other flowers), you can join the project with just a few minutes invested later this summer.

Beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace Wildflower Nature Study

Our family made great memories together one year while noticing and studying Queen Anne’s lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne’s lace nature study for your homeschool and see what you notice in each season too!

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.

Charlotte Mason Nature Study: Simple Ideas for Wildflowers

These timeless Charlotte Mason nature study ideas are as relevant today as when they were written and I’m forever grateful for the encouragement these gave me when I was a new homeschooler.

Gathering Things for Your Nature Table

Unsure of what a nature table is exactly? Here is a simple definition with some ideas and tips. These will help you begin the habit of gathering things for your homeschool nature table during your Outdoor Hour Challenge time.

plan an outdoor picnic for your homeschool

Plan a Picnic

You can plan a simple outdoor picnic with the benefit of homeschool nature study! Even a snack in your backyard will make for a fun time together outdoors. You will be surprised at all you notice while you are outside.

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.

The Ultimate Guide to National Parks Nature Study

Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!

More Homeschool Garden Learning

Gardening in Your Homeschool – As the plant world comes alive again in springtime, what better way to teach our children about nature, food, hands-on history, and practical skills than by gardening? Whether we do a formal study or make gardening a purely hands-on project, our children will learn with a homeschool garden. 

Get Them Gardening! Fun Garden Books for Kids – As spring starts to roll in, we turn our thoughts to finally getting outside and enjoying the nice weather. Along with this comes budding trees and growing plants, and gardening both for food and flowers. This collection of garden books for kids will help you include gardening in your homeschool.

Mother’s Day Garden activities – Paint some garden flowers for a lovely Mother’s Day gift!

12 Delightful Farm Activities for Kids – These 12 delightful farm art activities for kids include fluffy baby chicks, a tractor, a barn, ducklings, a lamb, a cow, a piglet and even the chicken life cycle. Such fun learning for your homeschool!

Out of School and Into Nature

More Nature Study Ideas for Your May Homeschool

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.

3 Tips for Nature Journaling When You Think You Can’t Sketch – Here is some encouragement for you with 3 tips for nature journaling when you think you can’t sketch. My personal nature journal is a source of great joy and it gives me such pleasure to create pages that record my observations and memories of a particular day, excursion, or season.

How Nature Study Enriches Your High School Biology in Your Homeschool – Just how to include homeschool nature study as part of high school biology? Here you will find a break down of nature study suggestions and accompanying resources for each module of your homeschool biology lessons. I really think it depends on the family and how much nature study you have time to fit in with your high school age children.

You might also like to explore some May Homeschool Celebrations.

Homeschool Nature Study membership calendar activities
Our May Homeschool Nature Study membership calendar is FILLED with fun garden activities and MORE!

Garden Activities in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

Enjoy all of these and more in homeschool nature study membership:

  • Garden Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum
  • Herbs Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum (annual members)
  • Flower and Gardening Activities and Notebook Pages
  • Learning leaf parts
  • Poppies and buttercups
  • Ferns
  • Looking for pollen
  • Pressing flowers
  • How to draw flowers
  • Learning flower parts and dissection of flowers
  • The garden snail
  • Garden Seed Ideas
Homeschool Nature Study May Nature Craft - Nature Coronation Crown. Victoria Vels shares, "May's nature craft has landed for our lovely members and we're feeling rather patriotic with these stunning Nature Coronation Crowns, just in time for the crowning of King Charles II."

Coronation Crown Nature Craft for Annual Homeschool Nature Study Members

Victoria Vels shares, “May’s nature craft has landed for our lovely members and we’re feeling rather patriotic with these stunning Nature Coronation Crowns, just in time for the crowning of King Charles II.”

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!

The Outdoor Mom in May

Outdoor Mom Encouragement for Annual Homeschool Nature Study Members

The Outdoor Mom in May Helps Us Refocus

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to attend your own business and work with your hands –

1 Thessalonians 4:11

It reminds me to re-focus my goals and ambitions so that they align with God’s will rather than my own, often more worldly, ambitions.

This verse grounds me. When I put this verse into action in practical ways in my everyday life I find that life slows down and I have enough head space to allow my thoughts to centre on what is important.

The May Outdoor Mom includes:

  • Choosing a journaling spot
  • 10 (!) May nature prompts for outdoors, for journaling and for either the seashore or mountains
  • Ideas for working with your hands
  • Six ideas for making the ordinary extraordinary – including planting a kitchen garden!
Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

These homeschool garden activities are perfect for your May nature studies. Includes outdoor activities and gardening tips for kids.

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.

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Insect Nature Study For Kids: How to Identify an Insect

Even if you or your children are squirmy about insects, there is so much to discover and learn! In this insect nature study, learn how to identify an insect with simple steps!

This engaging insect nature study for kids includes step by step instructions on how to simply identify an insect.

“Insects are among the most interesting and available of all living creatures for nature study. The lives of many of them afford more interesting stories than are found in fairy lore; many of them show exquisite colors; and, most important of all, they are small and are, therefore, easily confined for observation.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 294
This engaging insect nature study for kids includes step by step instructions on how to simply identify an insect.

I am finding this to be the case in our everyday life…there are insects everywhere. The caterpillar above we found on our hike yesterday. The more we looked, the more we found.

This engaging insect nature study for kids includes step by step instructions on how to simply identify an insect.

Rain beetle: Although she looks dead, she really wasn’t. She kept flipping over on her back and wiggling and stretching her legs. Today was a first. I actually looked closely at a very ugly beetle. Yes, I am becoming an insect gal. I know this for sure because my daughter and her friend Shyloh brought me home a very large, very alive beetle creature. I had asked all my family to bring home any interesting insects they find and had even given them each a ziploc sandwich bag to bring them home in. Yesterday was the first time someone brought me an insect treasure. They said they couldn’t bear to put it into a baggie so they used a small plastic container from my daughter’s lunch box. She said there were hundreds of the beetles so she felt like she could bring one to us to study

How to Identify an Insect

At first I was disgusted by this creature but after taking her out of the container and looking carefully, I once again found the beauty in the design of the Creator. Now all that was left to do was to discover what sort of beetle this insect was.

This engaging insect nature study for kids includes step by step instructions on how to simply identify an insect.


Steps To Identify An Insect


1. I pulled out my field guide but could not see any beetles that looked like this one.

2.So it was off to the internet and we started by looking up “beetle, california” on Google. I am finding that if I Google something and then look at the images it takes me far less time to identify a creature.

3.Once you find an image that looks like your insect, click on the link associated with that image. The majority of the time this is enough to get you pointed in the right direction.

Insect Nature Study For Kids

Here’s what I learned about this little female insect: Rain beetle or P. puncticollis (more on classification at BugGuide.net)and can be found in California woodlands. The male is approximately 1″ and the female can be slightly larger at 1 3/4″. The males have wings but the females do not. They range in color from reddish-brown to black. The underside is covered in hairy bristles.

The interesting thing about this beetle is that it makes a sudden appearance after a soaking rain….hence the name Rain beetle. We had a really good rain all the night before so I think this is probably why we were able to see this amazing creature. The life cycle of the Rain beetle is very long. The larvae, who feed on roots of live trees and bushes of oaks and conifers, take up to as much as 10-12 years to mature but once they become adults the males wait for the first rains to bring them out for their mating flight and the females dig a tunnel to the surface to wait for the males to find them. Here is the fascinating part:The conditions that trigger the males and females to emerge are so stringent that this may only happen in a population for a single day in a given year. This made the finding of this insect all the more precious since it is a rare event.

This engaging insect nature study for kids includes step by step instructions on how to simply identify an insect.

This is the head of the beetle and if you look closely you can see her little “horns”. The males fly slowly over the area, low to the ground, looking for the females who although rarely leave their underground burrow, wait at the burrow’s entrance for the arrival of the males. She puts off a pheromone that attracts the males. After mating the female closes off the entrance to her burrow and lays her eggs. These mature the following spring.

rain beetle up close

I love this photo that shows her leg parts.

Wow, so much to learn. I have a new appreciation for the study of insects after learning that this was not just an ugly bug. It has a whole life story to learn and now I can share it with others.

“When it is properly taught, the child is unconscious of mental effort or that he is suffering the act of teaching.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 6

I did all this research and it hardly felt like any effort at all. I will be striving to make our nature study so that it is interesting and feels not like work but like refreshment.


Get your FREE Getting Started: Nature Study Close to Home (includes three challenges!)

If you’re not a member here at Homeschool Nature Study yet, please consider joining to gain the benefit of having a nature study library at your fingertips. There are numerous resources available for you to help create the habit of nature study within your family.

Find Out More About the Outdoor Hour Challenges with Homeschool Nature Study HERE!
Handbook of Nature Study for your homeschool

by Barb McCoy, founder of the Outdoor Hour Challenges

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Summer Nature Study: Learn And Have Fun When It’s Hot Outside

Here are some tips for enjoying summer nature study when it’s hot outside. I live where it gets really hot outside in the summer. We have had just a taste of the heat so far this year but it has been enough to remind me just how hot it can be in the sun in the afternoon.

I want to encourage those that have emailed me lately telling me that it is too hot to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenges right now in their part of the world. I sat and thought about how we can accomplish the Outdoor Hour even when the temperatures and humidity get up to the point where staying outdoors is unpleasant and potentially dangerous.

Homeschool Family Tips for Enjoying Summer Nature Study

Here are homeschool family tips for enjoying summer nature study (what we do in our family).

We try to get outside early in the day when there is still a little shade. We take a few minutes first thing to take a walk around the garden to pull a few weeds, make sure the watering system is working, harvest any goodies that are ripe, and enjoy the progress of the garden.

This gives us an opportunity to watch birds, look for worms, see butterflies, look at spider’s webs, watch ants, pick up some acorns, feel the cool breeze, look at signs of nocturnal visitors, and so many other everyday sorts of nature study.

Other than working in the garden, we many times take a short walk just around the perimeter of our property just looking for anything interesting. Ten or fifteen minutes is usually all that takes. Do we sometimes get hot? Yes we do but then we come inside and get something to drink and take a little time looking up anything we found interesting online or in a book while it is fresh in our minds. It might be a feather we found or an interesting rock. It could be a new flower blooming or a spider we don’t know the name of. Here is a quote from a newer participant in the Outdoor Hour and what she wrote on her blog.

“I have noticed in our studies that if we wait, nature will come to us.”

Paula, from Wakefield Academy

I love that and it is so true. It is the little things that come your way during your everyday business and travels that enrich your nature study.

It really isn’t about the big field trips or the nature study classes, it is the day to day, ho-hum stuff that is fascinating. The house fly that you look at with the hand lens, the ants crawling on your front step, the bird gathering twigs for a nest outside your window, the things we so many times fail to notice.

Nature Study When It’s Hot Outside

Here are some simple tips for summer nature study:

Have a Focus for Your Nature Study

I think in the heat of summer you just need to plan and have a focus for your nature study. You may want to focus your Outdoor Hour Challenges on garden flowers. Each challenge can literally be completed by taking a ten to fifteen minute period of time outside. You do not need to travel to a nature study area or spend a half-day or a whole day outside. For instance, challenge #17 was to look at leaves. My son and I went out and found about ten different leaves to look at and we were only outside about five minutes. We brought the leaves inside and we looked at them and then he drew them in his nature journal in the comfort of the cool indoors. You really only needed to find one leaf and bring it in to look at….tops outdoor time would be five minutes and that is still doable in hot weather.

Involve Water in Your Nature Study

I find that if I involve water in some aspect of our outdoor time the children and I enjoy it more. Watering the grass or watering with a watering can can provide just the touch of coolness to our time even if the temperatures are soaring. How about a squirt bottle to cool off with as you take a few minutes in your yard or neighborhood exploring?

Have a Cool Snack

The promise of a cool snack at the end of a short period outside is always a great way to keep spirits up as you have your outdoor time. We keep popsicles and Go-Gurts in the freezer for a refreshing snack in the shade after we have made our observations.

Remember That Your Children Are Developing Their Senses

The other aspect of nature study is that we are really training our children to see the differences in their world in each season. So many children today are raised in houses heated and cooled to a comfortable temperature year round. Our cars and the grocery stores are temperature controlled as well. Our kids need to feel the hot air of summer and the cold air of winter. It is part of growing up and experiencing our world and developing their senses.

I think that until we recognize that our children need outdoor time in nature close to their own homes, we do not make it a priority or think that it is worth while. Richard Louv in his book, Last Child in The Woods has a chapter titled “A Life of Senses: Nature vs. the Know-It-All State of Mind”. He makes some excellent points. Here is just one quote.

“Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and, therefore,
for learning and creativity.”

More Ideas for Your Summer Homeschool

You might also like these fun ways to enjoy summer homeschool nature study:

Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership for New Outdoor Hour Challenges Each Week!

Do you think this will help those that are hesitant to have nature study in the summer? I hope everyone that has a willingness to try will now not use the heat (or cold) as a reason to procrastinate nature study and participating in the Outdoor Hour Challenges any longer.

The best tips for enjoying summer nature study, even when it's hot outside.

By Outdoor Hour Challenges founder, Barbara McCoy

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Beautiful Easter Nature Studies For Kids

With signs of spring upon us, enjoy these beautiful Easter nature studies for kids. A fun and hands-on way to celebrate the resurrection story.

With signs of spring upon us, enjoy these beautiful Easter nature studies for kids. A fun and hands-on way to celebrate the resurrection story.
Photo by Amy Law

Beautiful Easter Nature Studies For Kids

Why not spend these weeks leading up to Easter with some joyful activities which point to The Savior?

With signs of spring upon us, enjoy these beautiful Easter nature studies for kids. A fun and hands-on way to celebrate the resurrection story.
Lenten Countdown Calendar by Nature Illustrator, Victoria Vels

Lovely Lent Countdown Printable

Begin with a lovely reminder of the Lenten season. Countdown to Resurrection morning with this member printable calendar complete with nature prompts by our Nature Illustrator and Crafts Editor, Victoria Vels.

With signs of spring upon us, enjoy these beautiful Easter nature studies for kids. A fun and hands-on way to celebrate the resurrection story.
Photo by Amy Law

Easter Lily Nature Study for Your Outdoor Hour Challenge

Outdoor Hour hostess, Shirley Vels, shares, “during the Easter season, churches and homes are adorned with gorgeous, fragrant Easter lilies. But why? Why have these flowers become synonymous with Easter?”

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Luke 12: 27

Also grow a mini egg shell garden and learn about seed germination! Make an edible Easter lily dessert and make paper lilies too. All available now in your Spring Course in Homeschool Nature Study membership.

Make a Resurrection Terrarium - Homeschool Nature Study Nature Crafts

Easter Craft – Make a Resurrection Garden

Just some simple supplies but plenty of discussion can happen while making it. Victoria is leading our members in creating your very own Resurrection Garden for her continuing Nature Crafts series.

Paint an Easter lily
Draw Your Way Through the Resurrection Story

Easter Lily Art Lesson

What a beautiful symbol of the Easter season – the lily! Enjoy this art lesson from our sister site, You ARE an ARTiST, included in the Easter Lily Nature Study in membership.

Julie shares, “Easter seems to come up suddenly. Maybe it’s because Easter weekend moves around the calendar, or maybe because it is preceded by Lent which is more solemn.

I decided I wanted to spend as much time anticipating the Resurrection with my children as we did the Incarnation. Both are beautiful events in our faith. Both bring a sense of wonder and awe. The Resurrection is special because it shows “God with us,” and God victorious for us!” Draw Your Way Through the Resurrection Story

Begin with a lovely reminder of the Lenten season. Countdown to Resurrection morning with this member printable calendar complete with nature prompts by our Nature Illustrator and Crafts Editor, Victoria Vels.

More Spring and Easter Activities for Your Homeschool

Here are even more spring and Easter activities for your homeschool:

Easter and Spring Nature Studies in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

Join us for even more homeschool nature studies this spring! With a new nature study each week plus a nature study calendar with daily prompts, you will have joyful learning leading all the way to summer!

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!
With signs of spring upon us, enjoy these beautiful Easter nature studies for kids. A fun and hands-on way to celebrate the resurrection story.

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.

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Tips for Tackling Difficult Nature Study Topics

All homeschooling moms have them: homeschool topics that we don’t feel confident to teach. Here are some tips for tackling difficult nature study topics.

All homeschooling moms have them: topics that we don’t feel confident to teach. Here are tips for tackling difficult nature study topics.
Photos by Amy Law

Building the Habit of Tackling Difficult Nature Study Subjects In Our Homeschools

Tackling the difficult topics found in nature study can be a stumbling block for many moms. Most of us find it easy to be interested in and to learn about topics like birds and butterflies alongside our children. But, what about things like spiders, fungus, or rocks? Are we as eager to study those things commonly found in nature? I’ve suffered from this lack of interest in tackling difficult topics in nature study with my children.

Reasons We May View Topics as Difficult

Let’s face it. Most of us are not “experts” in nature study. These things were not covered in our educational years. So many times, when we’re faced with introducing our children to nature study, we feel unqualified.

We lack knowledge in the area under study.

“But she should not let lack of knowledge be a wet blanket thrown over her pupils’ interest. She should say frankly, ‘I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing.’”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 3

We lack personal interest in a topic.

It’s our attitude about a topic that can either encourage or discourage our children in their pursuing the study of a topic. If you are disgusted by spiders, they will probably take on your attitude. Honestly, I found studying snakes one of the most difficult things to do with my children so I would continually put it off until a future date.

Resources may not be readily available.

At some point, we come across something during our nature study time that is not in the Handbook of Nature Study. It may be a local wildflower or a migrating bird. Whatever the topic, we lack the knowledge or resources to easily study it with our children. We realize we need to do more research in our study. It seems like too much work.

All homeschooling moms have them: topics that we don’t feel confident to teach. Here are tips for tackling difficult nature study topics.
by Amy Law

Ideas to Help with Difficult Nature Study Subjects

Start with the Handbook of Nature Study lessons for a topic.

Build Up Knowledge

If you need additional information, try the children’s section at your public library for books that talk about the topic. Search for videos on YouTube if you want some help making a topic less intimidating. (Note: The Outdoor Hour Challenges (OHC) will usually have all these ideas in the lesson so make sure to look up your topic to see if there is an OHC on the website that you may be able to use.)

Example from our nature study:

Rain Beetle – How to Identify a New Insect: I found that the closer I looked at this insect, the more beauty I found in its design and features. It taught me that sometimes if we just take time to learn more about a topic, the more interesting it becomes.

Develop Interest Over Time

If you introduce a topic and it falls flat, nothing says you can’t move onto something else. Sometimes you just need to let some time pass before you find a hook for a particular nature study topic. This is especially the case when you’re studying a subject that you haven’t encountered in person. We all get more excited about something new we see and experience with our own eyes!

“No teacher is expected to teach all the lessons in this book. A wide range of subjects is given, so that congenial choices may be made.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 24

Study a Variety of Nature Study Subjects

There is no end to the variety of nature study subjects available to you. You could easily stick to topics you are passionate about for a long time. Eventually, you may develop a desire to tackle some of the less attractive topics with your children. Give it time.

“Usually, the reason for this lack of interest is the limited range of subjects used for nature study lessons. Often the teacher insists upon flowers as the lesson subject, when toads or snakes would prove the key to the door of the child’s interest.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 6

Find a Group That Can Support Your Study

Ask around your community or look at local social media to find a group or event that will help you get excited about a nature study topic. Ask at a local nature center. Put the word out in your homeschooling community. Find a mentor for a topic that your child is interested in learning more about and you have no interest in tackling. There is no shame in finding help for difficult topics.

My Homeschool Mom Experience with Tackling Diffucult Nature Study Topics

One year we studied rocks and I took the kids to the local rock and mineral show at our fairgrounds. Talk about the perfect place to find a mentor in this area! Most of the participants were eager to share their knowledge and even invited the kids to join their rockhounding group. I was able to get suggestions for places to go look for rocks to collect and for books that we could add to our nature library.

More Ways to Include Nature Study in Your Homeschool

Here are a few more ideas you might enjoy:

All homeschooling moms have them: topics that we don’t feel confident to teach. Here are tips for tackling difficult nature study topics.
by Amy Law

Homeschool Nature Study Membership

All of the materials in Homeschool Nature Study Membership are going to give you support and direction in offering a simple study of difficult nature topics. Because we each have our individual likes and dislikes, it’s hard for me to point to just one resource for you to use in your study.

Join Homeschool Nature Study for a NEW Nature Study Every Week!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

written by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barbara McCoy

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Project Based Homeschool Nature Study: Keeping a Calendar of Firsts

Keeping a perpetual calendar of nature firsts is a wonderful long-term nature study project for families. It’s a simple way to learn the cycle of life in your world, noting the nature firsts that catch your attention each year. Comparing the dates of the firsts in nature will give you a more accurate telling of the passage of time.

Keeping a perpetual calendar of nature firsts is a wonderful long-term nature study project for families. It’s a simple way to learn the cycle of life in your world, noting the nature firsts that catch your attention each year. Comparing the dates of the firsts in nature will give you a more accurate telling of the passage of time.

Keeping a Calendar of Nature Firsts

Calendars: It’s a great idea to have children keep a calendar to record when and where they saw the first oak leaf, the first tadpole, the first primrose, the first ripe blackberries. Then next year they can pull out the calendar and know when to anticipate seeing these things again, and they can note new discoveries. Imagine how this will add enthusiasm for daily walks and nature hikes! A day won’t go by when something isn’t seen to excite them.

Charlotte Mason-in modern English
calendar of firsts nature study

Download Your Free Calendar Page

(Note that members have this printable in your Planning Resources course in Homeschool Nature Study membership!)

Get Your Nature Study Calendar Page!

Subscribe to get your free nature study calendar page.

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    You can use a calendar page for each month with the list of days down the side or a more traditional grid style calendar where you fill in the boxes as you go. Whichever way you choose will work if you just remember to weekly take a minute or two to note any nature firsts you observed. Make sure to record the date (including year), time, and or location of your observation.

    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    Nature Study Items To Look For Each Year

    • First elk
    • First ground squirrels
    • First snow
    • First robin, junco, swallow, hummingbird
    • Last leaves on the aspen (Yes, you can keep track of “lasts” as well.)
    • First campfire of the season
    • First fire in the wood stove
    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    More Nature Study Firsts for You to Observe in Your Homeschool

    • First bee seen
    • Frogs chirping– first day heard
    • First mosquito bite
    • First skunk smell
    • First trillium or other wildflower blooming
    • First acorns on the ground
    • First green grass
    • First tulips blooming
    • First day warm enough for shorts and t-shirts
    • First freezing temperatures
    • First snowfall

    As you can see from the list, you are not limited to any one season or any one area for your firsts. Challenge your children to come up with some nature firsts of their own.

    A calendar of firsts can be kept by the entire family or by each individual child. The observations can be listed in words and/or pictures!

    The beauty of this project is that it can be started at any time and can be completed over many years with no guilt if you forget to record something for a period of time. If that happens, just pick up where you left off.

    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    More Ways to Include Nature Study in Your Homeschool

    Here are a few more ideas you might enjoy:

    Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

    Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership – with a NEW Nature Study Each Week!

    Written by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy in 2015. Updated by Tricia 2022.