Category: Handbook of Nature Study

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Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

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

Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

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.

In the Handbook of Nature Study, the emphasis is learning about your own backyard. At first you may feel as if there is nothing interesting in your own backyard, but I have learned that the more you focus, the more you see.

Nature Study in Ripples – Start in Your Own Yard

Nature study is about training the eye to perceive what you have at hand. Learning to see and then learning to compare are two valuable skills you can develop with nature study. These skills will pop up in other areas of your life. Charlotte Mason wrote that learning to see the beauty in nature was the beginning of becoming more skilled as an artist.

“Nature study cultivates the child’s imagination, since there are so many wonderful and true stories that he may read with his own eyes, which affect his imagination as much as does fairy lore; at the same time nature study cultivates in him a perception and a regard for what is true, and the power to express it.”

Anna Botsford Comstock, see volume 1, pages 68 and 69

The backyard can hold your attention for a long time if you are diligent about looking for a variety of things to observe. Most of us have:

  • plants
  • birds
  • trees
  • rocks
  • insects
  • invertebrates
  • and mammals (that will visit us at least at certain times of the year)

Challenge your family to pick something each week to learn more about. This is a long-term project that you will find such satisfaction in doing together as a family. Each family member can develop their special area of interest. I love flowers and birds. My husband is a tree person. The boys enjoy insects, birds, and the garden. Amanda loves flowers and growing them in her garden. We all enjoy discovering a new critter in the backyard.

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 in Your Neighborhood

Once you have awakened the desire for nature study you can widen out your range and spend time in your neighborhood as part of your nature study time. The circle widens a little and you begin to see your neighborhood street or park as another source of great nature study subjects. Your neighbor may have an interesting tree or you may have access to a pond to look for another whole range of plants and animals. The comparing and contrasting continue as you relate your backyard habitat to this new habitat.

“A twenty minute trip with a picnic lunch can make a day in the country accessible to almost anyone, but why do it just one day? Why not do it lots of days? Or even every nice day?”

Charlotte Mason, volume 1, page 44

Nature Study – 20 Minutes From Home

I think we could easily spend a lifetime learning about all the interesting things in this slightly wider circle of exploration. Charlotte Mason suggests finding places within a twenty minute distance from your home to visit for frequent picnics and outings. The benefits of finding a few places to go regularly for family walks are immeasurable. It takes dedication to pack everyone up in the car and drive a few minutes but once you are on your way, you don’t regret the decision. Really, there is no real need for a car if you can walk to an interesting area in twenty minutes or so. Be curious about your local area and try to seek out a few interesting spots to walk and then rotate visiting them during each season.

The next step is to increase your circle even more….to ripple out even farther than your neighborhood. Perhaps you have a nature center, a state park, or a national park that is within a day trip’s distance. Occasionally it is refreshing to travel a bit to build excitement for a different habitat than you normally have access to for nature study. In our area we have within a few hours travel the Pacific Ocean, temperate rainforests, a conifer forest, oak woodlands, a river delta and wetlands, a bay, an estuary, farmland, sub-alpine trails, a hot springs, and so on. Get out a map and draw a circle around your home town that extends a hundred miles in radius. Look within that radius for places you can visit on a long day’s trip. You might be surprised what you come up with in your own area.

“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.”

Charlotte Mason, volume 1, page 61

Start as close as you can and then work your way farther and farther from your home. Spend as much time as you want in each area perhaps going back several times to a specific place to really get to know it. Experience it during every season.

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.

As your children grow older, you can increase your ripples to include longer road trips or special trips to fascinating habitats.

“Nature does not start out with the classification given in books, but in the end it builds up in the child’s mind a classification which is based on fundamental knowledge; it is a classification like that evolved by the first naturalists, because it is built on careful personal observations of both form and life.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 6

More Simple Ideas for Your Nature Time in Ripples

The idea is a simple one. Think of ripples in a pond. The experiences you have close to home will help you develop skills and knowledge to later compare and contrast with other habitats. Learning about seeds and plants in your backyard will give your child a frame of reference when he goes to learn about seeds in wildflowers, or sequoias, or a cactus. Learning the skill of using binoculars to observe a bird on a tree branch in your yard will train him to use that skill when you are out on a nature hike in a marshland. Learning to sit quietly to see what you can hear in your own backyard will be time well spent for those times that you would like to observe something interesting on a nature outing, perhaps a deer or a squirrel.

So much of our modern life is spent indoors. Our families need the refreshing spirit that comes from being outdoors and under the sky. We can start nature study in a small way in our own yards, but once the ripple is started, you never know where it might take you.

Find 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.

Join Homeschool Nature Study membership for access to year round nature study for all seasons – for the whole family!

first published March 2009

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First Day of Spring: Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas. It hardly seems possible that we are at the beginning of another spring season but here we go! We look forward to another season of encouraging nature study. Have fun and get outdoors with your children!

First Day of Spring: Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

Inside Preparation Work
1. If you have not read pages 23-24 (How to Use This Book) in the Handbook of Nature Study, please read it now. In addition, read the section on The Field Excursion on page 15. Highlight interesting sections as reminders.
2. Prepare your children for your outdoor time by explaining the purpose. For this challenge, use the ideas from Outdoor Hour Challenge #2—Using Your Words in our FREE Getting Started Homeschool Nature Study Guide which is take a short walk in your yard or neighborhood and then come back inside and record words to describe your experience.

We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas.

Spring Splendor Nature Walk Ideas

Homeschool Nature Study Members: Before beginning this series of challenges, use the Spring Splendor Notebook Page (Challenge on page 8 of your Spring Nature Study Curriculum and notebook page linked there as well) to build enthusiasm for the spring series of nature study. Keep the page in the front of your nature journal as a reminder of the three questions you hope to answer and the three activities you hope to accomplish.

Outdoor Hour Homeschool Nature Study Time

1. Enjoy some time outdoors this week as part of this challenge, including a few minutes of quiet observation if possible. Observe what early spring looks like in your neighborhood. Use all your senses. If you have young children, taking a walk and enjoying the season is the main point. You can work on adding words as your child gains confidence in nature study.
2. Homeschool Nature Study Members: Use the Spring Nature Walk Worksheet notebook page if you want more structure to your time outdoors.
3. Collect an item to sketch into your nature journal, perhaps a leaf or a flower.
4. Advanced Study: Take photos of spring flowers, birds, trees, leaves, or other objects you see during your outdoor time. Try taking photos from different angles and up close.

Follow-Up Activity

1. Use the Spring Splendor notebook page (Homeschool Nature Study Members) or your nature journal to record your time outdoors, including the prompts for descriptive words. You can brainstorm words with your children if they have trouble. Sketch or watercolor your spring scene in your nature journal or onto your notebook page.
2. Advanced Follow-Up: Make a slideshow with the images you took of your spring splendor walk. You can also print the images and include them in your nature journal.
3. Homeschool Nature Study Members: Optional coloring pages: Spring Woods 1 and Spring Woods 2.

We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas.

More Spring Homeschool Nature Study

You might also like these simple ways to study nature in your homeschool!

Outdoor Hour Challenges with Homeschool Nature Study

If you enjoy any of these first day of spring nature study ideas, please share with us! Take a photo, share on social media and tag @outdoorhourchallenge on Instagram and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge – we would love to see and to comment!

John Muir quote

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

Can you believe all of these spring homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study 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!

Find Out More About Nature Study Membership Here!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

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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.

Turtle Nature Study Inside Preparation Work

Learn about pond life, pondweed and a pond habitat with this fun turtle nature study for homeschool. Includes activities for tortoises and microscopic pond life.
  • Read in the Handbook of Nature Study about Turtles on pages 204-209 (Lesson 52). Also read about Pondweed on pages 498-500 (Lesson 130).
  • Homeschool Nature Study Members: Use the Pond Study Cross-section Notebook page in your Pond Course as a way to generate interest for this challenge. You can complete the page during your outdoor time if you would like.
  • Advanced Study: View and read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 400-403 (Lesson 102). Use this information as you make your observations at your local pond. Here is another idea for the field: Guide to Pond Dipping. I also found this excellent resource for identifying things you find when you scoop your pond water: Simple Guide to Small and Microscopic Pond Life.

Pond Homeschool Nature Study Outdoor Hour Time

  • Look for opportunities to spend your outdoor hour time at a pond. Ponds are a center of many nature study opportunities. Let your child lead your pond time (with your careful supervision).
  • Use the ideas from the lessons in the Handbook of Nature Study to observe closely any turtles or pondweed that you find. Make sure to keep an eye out for anything of interest that you can follow up with in the Handbook of Nature Study.
Learn about pond life, pondweed and a pond habitat with this fun turtle nature study for homeschool. Includes activities for tortoises and microscopic pond life.

Turtle and Pond Follow-Up Homeschool Activities

  • Follow-up with any interest that you found during your pond study. Use the Handbook of Nature Study as a reference for any additional subjects that came up. Make a nature journal entry for your turtle or pondweed.
  • Homeschool Nature Study Members: Find a Pond Life Study on page three of your Pond Course and accompanying Pond Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum.
  • Advanced Study: You can research individual turtles for you nature journal. Use this website for more information: Turtles and Tortoises of the United States.
  • Advanced Study: Use the information from the Wetlands/Ponds video and create your own pond life images. You can record any pond dwellers in your nature journal. Ebook Users: There is also an additional notebook page in the ebook to use if you have more to record.

Additional links:

Learn about pond life, pondweed and a pond habitat with this fun turtle nature study for homeschool. Includes activities for tortoises and microscopic pond life.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for the Whole Family

Can you believe all of these turtle and pond resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study 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!

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership HERE!

– By Barb July 2012, updated by Tricia March 2022

Learn about pond life, pondweed and a pond habitat with this fun turtle nature study for homeschool. Includes activities for studying microscopic pond life.
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Animal Tracks Nature Hunt: Mammals Homeschool Study

Go on an animals tracks nature hunt for a great mammals homeschool study. Use these nature study lesson plans, suggestions, ideas and resources for identifying animal tracks!

Go on an animals tracks nature hunt for a great mammals homeschool study. Use these nature study lesson plans and resources for identifying animal tracks!

Mammals in Winter

Many mammals are nocturnal and you will rarely spot them to observe up close. Some mammals hibernate in the winter and they are not easily observed either. Many more mammals are just plain shy and rarely show their faces. Reading about them and learning their behaviors will help you find and observe them in the wild if you are diligent. It may not be this week or this year but you will be ready if you do the study ahead of time.

Easy Mammals Homeschool Nature Study Lesson Plans

Any study of mammals can be done with what you have on hand. Do you have a pet dog, cat, mouse, or rat? Do you have a relative or neighbor that has a dog or cat they will let you observe? How about visiting a pet store? Be creative.

For this challenge, you can use the Handbook of Nature Study to pick a mammal to study this winter. You could also choose to use the Discover Nature in Winter book to read about mammals and then use the information there to look for animal tracks during your outdoor time. Either way will give your family a great study of a mammal.


Animal Tracks Nature Hunt Ideas for Your Homeschool

Inside Preparation Work using the Discover Nature in Winter book:
Read chapter nine in Discover Nature in Winter. Mammals in general tend to be shy of humans. In the winter, it is even more difficult to observe mammals. The chapter suggests looking for signs of mammals instead like tracks and scat. Highlight ideas for your family to try this week while you are outdoors and looking for mammals.

how to find animal tracks in a homeschool nature study

Review the chart showing different animal tracks on page 182 and 183. Try sketching some of the tracks into your nature journal as a reference for future outdoor time. In our area, we often come across animal scat as we hike and we are going to familiarize ourselves with the various kinds of scat by studying the illustrations in this chapter.

Without the Discover Nature in Winter book:
You can still look up some animal tracks online using this link: Animal Tracks at Beartracker

Homeschool outdoor hour challenge time with the Handbook of Nature Study

Your Homeschool Outdoor Hour Challenge Time


This week the challenge is to get outdoors and look for signs of animals. You can look for:

  • tracks
  • scat
  • holes
  • scratches
  • hair
  • other things that mammals leave behind

Remember to make your nature study time like an investigation or nature hunt.

Animal Tracks Follow-Up Homeschool Activities:


1. Keep a record of animal tracks you have observed in the snow or mud. Record your findings in your nature journal along with a drawing, the date, the weather, the time of day, and the type of animal if you have identified it at this time. You can use your own blank journal.
2. Compare a dog’s and a cat’s footprints in the snow or mud.
3. Research an animal that hibernates and record what you learn in your nature notebook.

You can also sketch your animal and what its tracks look like.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership Resources For Your Animal Tracks Hunt

Wondering how to start? Grab our FREE Getting Started with Homeschool Nature Study Guide!

Our members will enjoy even more for this animal tracks nature hunt with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Winter Course!

These member resources will also be helpful:

  • Brand NEW Mammals Outdoor Hour Challenge Nature Study lesson post – all about sheep!
  • Mammal Notebook Page
  • Winter Series notebook page

Know you are ready to join us?

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Go on an animals tracks nature hunt for a great mammals homeschool study. Use these nature study lesson plans and resources for identifying animal tracks!

Be sure to take photos of your animal tracks nature hunt time and share them with us! Tag us on social media on Instagram or Facebook and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge – we can’t wait to see!

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Does Homeschool Nature Study Count As Science?

I am often asked if homeschool nature study can substitute for a more formal science program for homeschooling families.

I can’t make a blanket answer in response to everyone but I can perhaps share some quotes, links, and my own reflections on this topic.

I am often asked if homeschool nature study can substitute for a more formal science program for homeschooling families.

Homeschool Nature Study or Science?

“Mrs. Comstock believed that the student found in such a study a fresh, spontaneous interest which was lacking in formal textbook science, and the phenomenal success of her work seems to prove that she was right. Moreover, nature-study as Mrs. Comstock conceived it was an aesthetic experience as well as a discipline. It was an opening of the eyes to the individuality, the ingenuity, the personality of each of the unnoticed lifeforms about us. It meant a broadening of intellectual outlook, an expansion of sympathy, a fuller life.”
Handbook of Nature Study Publisher’s Foreword 1939

I believe in the younger grades that our responsibility as parents is to open the eyes of our children to the world around them, exposing them to real things and real places. I have long said here on this blog that it makes no sense to me to teach our children about the rainforest if they haven’t even learned about the trees and animals in their local habitat. The younger years are the time to get outside and take walks and look at real things up close and form memories and impressions. There is a time for books and textbooks (in limited amounts) but that can come later.

In the younger years, we should be more concerned with creating that direct contact with nature and not the memorizing of facts about things we haven’t encountered in real life. Nature study should include those objects most often seen and encountered during your outdoor time. The flowers, trees, birds, insects, and rocks that are found in your own yard or neighborhood are the perfect start to your nature study experiences. The best way to teach nature study is not by setting out a rigid course of study but to be aware of topics that are all around you and one by one to make observations and to learn as a family.

nature study in the younger years

Homeschool Nature Study in the Younger Years

For instance, you could read about a monarch in a book, noting the illustrations and the scientific facts about this beautiful butterfly. This may soon be forgotten. But, if you are out in your garden or on a nature walk and come across a monarch butterfly that maybe has a tattered wing, your child might just want to know about where it came from and why it has a few ragged edges on its wings. They care about the real butterfly. Their personal experience with this insect will now give the reading about it in a book more meaning. This butterfly now has a story and your child might be more inclined to tell that story in their own words either orally or on paper. The correlation between what they saw in the garden and what they have learned about the monarch may even spur them to act in behalf of that monarch by planting a butterfly garden with milkweed or participate in a citizen science project where they tag monarchs.

“…when he (the teacher) is concerned chiefly with the effects of the lesson upon the development of the child he is probably teaching Nature Study.”

This is so different than teaching science that emphasizes the taking in of a preset number of facts and topics each year. Textbooks were created to conveniently teach the same set of information to a large number of students. This is usually followed by some sort of quiz or test that supposedly measures the learning of these facts and topics. In my homeschooling experience, textbooks actually got in the way of any actual learning. The meaningful learning in science (and nature study) occurred when we formed our own relationships with the material and sought out experiences and books that would feed our interest. There was no need for a test and most of the important things we learned were skills in observation and in building an appreciation for the creation in our world.

spring homeschool nature study

“Nature Study is the creating and the increasing of a loving acquaintance with nature.” Bigelow

“To put the pupil in a sympathetic attitude toward nature for the purpose of increasing the joy of living.” L.H. Bailey

“The educational value of Nature Study lies in its power to add to our capacity of appreciation-our love and enjoyment of all open air objects.” John Burroughs

It would be ideal if all nature study could be spontaneous but that hardly seems practical in our busy homeschooling lives. For ease of scheduling, there must be some provision for getting outside each week (or in a perfect world it would be every day). Aim for three things in your nature study: to really see what you are looking at with direct and accurate observation, understand why the thing is so and what it means, and then to pique an interest in knowing more about the object.

The Educational Value of Nature Study

“Nature Study- It is the intellectual, physical, and moral development by and through purposeful action and reaction upon environment, guided so far as need by, by the teacher.” John Dearness, 1905

Here is an example from this same Google Book:

“Children hunting a lost ball in a meadow adjoining the play-yard discover a ground bird’s nest with four blotched eggs. Their interest is aroused. They describe the nest to the teacher and inquire to what kind of bird it belongs. Unfortunate for them if he is a scientist enough and unpedagogical enough to say at once: It is a bob-o-link’s nest. Better were he a good teacher and no ornithologist, for then he would use their interest to lead to some educational activity which would be far more useful to them that the mere information they seek. But best of all if the teacher knows well both children and birds. In that case he can guide them to discover the answer to their question in an educative way, and in doing so excite them to ask and answer by research many other related questions. He engages their interest at the favorable moment to train them to observe, think, investigate and enjoy. This is Nature Study.”

the Handbook of Nature Study for homeschool

The Handbook of Nature Study is not a textbook. It is not a field guide. It isn’t the sort of book you will start reading from the front and read straight through until the end.

Rather, the Handbook of Nature Study is a reference guide for the parent to use in familiarizing themselves with particular nature study topics. It gives a short narrative for each item and then a “lesson” of sorts that is actually just a great list of ideas for direct observation when you happen upon the object in real life. I have found that the more I read it ahead of time (as in preparing for a particular Outdoor Hour Challenge), the more prepared I am when we finally see a subject during our outdoor time, either in our yard, neighborhood, or on a hike. I can be like the good teacher in the quote above that leads the child to make their own inquiries and connections to discover more about something they found of interest on their nature walk.

What About Nature Study as Environmental Science?

“…environmental science is the field of science that studies the interactions of the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment and also the relationships and effects of these components with the organisms in the environment.

– Definition on Study.com

You can definitely use your homeschool nature study as part of your homeschooling high school plans, incorporating aspects of environmental science. Here are some examples of how we did this in our own homeschool:

I feel as if I just scratched the surface of this topic in this blog entry. I will leave you with one last important thought from a Nature Study Review pamphlet I found on Google Books (written in the early part of the 20th century):

“So long as the sun shines and the fields are green, we shall need to go to nature for our inspiration and our respite; and our need is the greater with every increasing complexity of our lives.”

 More Entries On this Topic From My Archives

I am often asked if homeschool nature study can substitute for a more formal science program for homeschooling families.

First published November 2016 by Barb and updated by Tricia February 2022.

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Homeschool Ocean Nature Study and Marine Biology Resources

Looking for some help in starting a homeschool ocean nature study or marine biology with your children? Wanting to learn more about tide pools? Looking for help with homeschool lesson plans? Not sure what to do or where to get started?

A homeschool ocean nature study is a fun and exciting family activity. With resources for a marine biology, exploring tidal pools and more!

Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

Psalm 69:34

Ocean Nature Study, Ocean Life, Tide Pools, and Aquariums: A Great Marine Biology Unit Study

I’m going to pull together the ocean nature study resources and materials that I found planning our study of marine biology. My boys used these ideas while homeschooling high school but much of the information is absolutely appropriate for younger students. I invite you to read more about how families can learn about marine life together. Tricia has a resource on Homeschool Marine Biology for Multiple Ages.

With a little effort, you can make a homeschool ocean study a fun and exciting family activity.

I am a huge fan of interest driven learning for life. My boys have had an interest in the ocean since they were very little. Not only were they curious about the typical things like sharks and dolphins, but they also wanted to know more about the things that are often hidden from sight deep under the ocean’s surface. As a homeschooling family, we were able to create opportunities to follow their interests, to feed the curiosity that they had about ocean life.

In high school, we made a more formal study of marine biology. All of their previous experiences with ocean creatures in real life were connected together as we worked through this curriculum. They had memories of so many of the topics from personal and up close observations. There could have been no better way to learn these things.

“One is completely stunned by the incredible resourcefulness of the Creator.”

~Carolus Linnaeus, creator of the modern biology classification system

I love when we can combine our personal interests into our homeschooling plans. Our family thoroughly enjoyed our year focusing on an ocean nature study and marine biology because we made it fit our learning styles. It gave us a legitimate excuse to take trips to the ocean, combining school subjects and pleasure. Sometimes it felt like we were having too much fun to call it “school” but that is the freedom that homeschooling gives us.

A homeschool ocean nature study is a fun and exciting family activity. With resources for a marine biology, exploring tidal pools and more!

Homeschool Marine Biology Lesson Plan

Our family used a textbook as the spine for our ocean nature study and marine biology study. In addition, we used some more specific resources that fit the learning styles of our children including a scientific coloring book, field guides, and an additional activity book.

The books and resources we used are listed below. Please note these are Amazon affiliate links to products I have used, owned, and loved.

We used Exploring Creation with Marine Biology (Tricia’s review) as our basic textbook with our high school age boys. This text is a perfect fit for our family and we enjoyed the topics, the information, and the sequence of learning. Each week we learned something new and interesting that we could draw from on our field trips.

Note: If your children are younger, you could use Apologia’s Exploring Creation: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. (Tricia’s review)

As a supplement we used the Marine Biology Coloring Book for our notebooks. I have one visual spatial learner who learned so much from using this coloring book. It’s so much more than just a coloring book and has high school level information that supplements the text above. I highly recommend using it alongside any marine biology text you choose.

These Outdoor Hour Challenges are a nice complement to your Homeschool Ocean Nature Study:

Tide Pool Life Nature Journal Page Set

Tide pooling is a great family activity for your ocean nature study and can be incorporated into field trips and vacations!

Tide Pool Life Notebook Page Set is included with Homeschool Nature Study membership. This is a larger set (14 new pages) of notebooking pages for you to use to learn more about tide pool life. These pages will fit in nicely with lessons and research of note only tide pools, but also marine biology, invertebrates, the beach, and swimming things.

Handbook of Nature Study Seashore course

Seashore Homeschool Nature Study for Tidal Pools

There are pages for:

  • Barnacle
  • Chiton
  • Clam
  • Crab
  • Hermit Crab
  • Kelp
  • Limpet
  • Mussel
  • Sand Dollar
  • Sea Anemone
  • Sea Cucumber
  • Sea Slug
  • Sea Snail
  • and Sea Urchin

With a little preparation, exploring tide pools can be a great hook for additional ocean nature study. Once we observed something in its natural setting, our boys were eager to identify it and learn more.

Listed below are some of our many family tide pooling adventures.

Additional Homeschool Marine Biology Resources

I kept these resources on our nature shelf during our ocean nature study of marine biology. They were used often as we created nature journal pages after our beach and tide pool experiences.

Golden Guide Seashore Life

Seaside Naturalist

Seashore – Northern and Central California

101 Questions About the Seashore

marine biology aquarium field trips

Homeschool Nature Study Ocean Field Trips: Aquariums and Snorkeling

  • Oregon Coast Aquarium – We visited this museum just a few weeks ago and it was fantastic! The aquarium displays are gorgeous…a mixture of art and natural beauty. I printed out the field trip packet and we all completed the pages as we visited the aquarium.
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium – This is the premier aquarium on the California coast. We love the setting and the layout of this aquarium. The “backstage” programs are well worth the effort of planning ahead.
  • Then we introduced the boys to snorkeling while on a trip to Hawaii. This added a new dimension to their personal experience with fish of the coral reef. It was exciting for them to swim with the fishes! Read about it here: Hawaiian Fish in My Nature Journal.

Hands On Homeschool Lessons for the Seashore

Our sister website, You ARE an ARTiST, has many ocean and seashore art lessons that go well with any marine biology study, including a whole section of sharks!

  • Starfish
  • Sand Castle
  • Sea Turtle
  • Crab
  • Clown Fish
  • Sand Bucket
  • Jellyfish
  • Night Shark
  • Undersea World

Our Homeschool Nature Study members enjoy a sand castle art lesson in their Seashore course!

More Homeschool Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenges for the Whole Family

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!

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Take advantage of the opportunity, especially in high school, to feed your child’s passions. We never regretted our decision to include a formal study of marine biology into our sons’ teen years.

You never know where your study will take you!

If you have any resources you have used in your study of marine biology, feel free to leave me a comment sharing the titles or ideas.

A homeschool ocean nature study is a fun and exciting family activity. With resources for a marine biology, exploring tidal pools and more!
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Rock Cycle Activities For Middle And High School Homeschool Nature Study

An introduction to geology with rock cycle activities for middle and high school. This is a great homeschool nature study and a simple way to explore rocks as a nature study in your own backyard!

An introduction to geology with rock cycle activities for middle and high school. A great way to explore rocks as a backyard homeschool nature study!

Rock Study of Granite and Other Igneous Rocks

Note To the Parent: There is a lot of great information in this study, far more than can be covered in a week. Use this study as an introduction to geology as it relates to nature study in your own backyard or neighborhood. Read the information in the Handbook of Nature Study and share any facts or ideas with your child that make sense to you. Keep it simple.

Rock Cycle Activities, Nature Study Lesson Plans and Inside Prep Work For Your Homeschool:

  • Read the Handbook of Nature Study pages 743-750 (Introduction to Rocks and Minerals and Lessons 209—210).
  • For this challenge, concentrate on Lesson 209– Granite. You can also observe other igneous rocks: basalt, obsidian, and pumice.
  • View the images and the videos in the Additional Links section below.
  • Advanced study: Interactive Rock Cycle—This is a great overview of the rock cycle and identifying rocks.
Hunt for rocks during your homeschool nature study outdoor hour challenge time.

Outdoor Hour Time:

  • Go exploring for rocks. Bring along a collecting box or bag and see if you can find some rocks, particularly granite or other igneous rocks. Remember what you read in the Handbook of Nature Study and the images you viewed in your preparation.
  • Collect some samples to bring inside to look at closely. Make sure to take a photo for your Rock Photo Scavenger Hunt notebook page.
An introduction to geology with rock cycle activities for middle and high school. A great way to explore rocks as a backyard homeschool nature study!

Follow-Up Rock Cycle Activities For Your Homeschool:

  • Choose one of the rocks you collected outdoors and look at it closely using a hand lens. If you collected some granite, can you distinguish the various components? Record your observations in your nature journal.
  • Advanced study: Diagram and describe the rock cycle in your nature journal.
  • Advanced study: Use your observation skills and record your information in your nature journal. Use a rock identification key to identify your igneous rock.
Homeschool nature study rocks - with handbook of nature study outdoor hour challenge curriculum

Rock Nature Study in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

Find rock cycle activities and rock homeschool nature study resources in Homeschool Nature Study Membership! Included in membership:

  • Rocks Big Grid – filled with nature study prompts for weeks of rock study!
  • Rocks notebooking pages for: pyrite, obsidian, coal, chalk, hematite, pumice, zinc, talc, geode, amethyst, flint, coral and sponge.
  • Rock Photo Hunt prompts and notebooking page
  • Under a Rock notebooking page
  • Plus 25+ courses and an interactive monthly calendar filled with nature study prompts and new nature study lessons.
Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!
An introduction to geology with rock cycle activities for middle and high school. A great way to explore rocks as a backyard homeschool nature study!
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Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study

Enjoy a clover or shamrock homeschool nature study this spring and learn about this abundant ground cover you likely have in your own backyard.

Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study Inside Preparation Work


1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 591-598. These pages cover three sections in the Handbook of Nature Study but are closely related. I encourage you to read all the pages even if you do not think you have the particular clover in your area. Use your highlighter to mark sections you found interesting and that at some point you want to share with your children in the follow-up activity.

“The clover head is made up of many little flowers; each one has a tubular calyx with five delicate points and a little stalk to hold it up into the world. In shape, the corolla is much like that of the sweet pea, and each secretes nectar at its base. The outside blossoms open first; and as soon as they are open, the honey bees, which eagerly visit white clover wherever it is growing, begin at once their work of gathering nectar and carrying pollen…”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 597

This video will give you a good idea of how bees move from clover to clover.

You can do an internet search for each of these kinds of clover so you and your children will know what you are looking for during your Outdoor Hour time this week. I use Google Images. You may wish to preview any searches.

Enjoy a clover or shamrock homeschool nature study this spring and learn about this abundant ground cover you likely have in your backyard.

Your Nature Study Outdoor Time


2. Your outdoor time this week can be spent in your yard or at a near-by park. Look for areas of lawn or pastures that may include clover. You may find clover at the edges of trails as well so keep your eyes out as you have your outdoor time this week.

3. Another subject for your outdoor hour time could be the honeybee. The relationship between clover and honeybees is a beneficial one and if you can observe bees in the clover you have witnessed a great partnership.

4. Pollen can be a topic for your outdoor hour time if you don’t find clover or honeybees.

Is it four leaf clover or shamrock?

Clover or Shamrock Follow-Up Activity


5. After your outdoor time, make sure to discuss with your children what interested them from shamrock homeschool nature study this week. They may be more interested in learning about something they observed and our job as parents is to help them answer their questions. Use the Handbook of Nature Study by looking up the topic in the index or the table of contents. You can also look on the Handbook of Nature Study blog and see if we have covered the topic in a previous Outdoor Hour Challenge.

In the Handbook of Nature Study, on page 593, there is a section on nodules. The nodules will be found as little “swellings” on the roots of clover. These nodules have an important job which is explained in the Handbook of Nature Study on the same page. Make sure to read this section to yourself so when you have your follow-up activity you will be prepared to talk about nodules.

5. On page 594 in the lesson, #3 suggests that you take up the clover plant and look at its roots. This would make a great addition to your nature journal. Sketch the whole clover plant and then perhaps one of the flowers.

Spring is slowly raising its sleepy head and St. Patrick’s day is on the horizon, so let’s create a Clover Shamrock Nature Journal Entry. A shamrock is just a type of clover but it has become known as the symbol of Ireland.

Homeschool Nature Study members can enjoy a Video Shamrock Journal Lesson with nature illustrator, Victoria Vels!

6. On page 598 in the lesson, #5 suggests that you tie a string around a clover head that has not yet blossomed. This way you can observe the same flower over a period of several days. You could record each day’s observations in your nature journal either in words or as a sketch.

Rainy Day? Enjoy A Clover or Shamrock Study Indoors!

Amy Law shares, “Rainy day by you, too? It doesn’t have to keep you from nature study! In honor of Saint Patrick’s day, we decided to do the nature study lesson on Shamrocks! We dashed through the raindrops to grab some clover, spent time learning more about this important plant, watched a video of a bee in clover, and did a chalk Pastel lesson with Nana! (All with the nature study calendar!) What a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon.”

@AmyLaw on Instagram

More Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study Ideas

Here are some optional activities for you to enjoy in your homeschool.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Backyard Nature Year Round!

There are so many benefits to joining. You will access our full range of curriculum, our interactive learning calendar as well as a brand new homeschool nature study challenge post each week!

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Please do tag us in your Outdoor Hour Time photographs on Instagram. We would love to see how your family is learning about the shamrocks in your homeschool.

Enjoy a clover or shamrock homeschool nature study this spring and learn about this abundant ground cover you likely have in your backyard.

written by Barb July 2009 and updated by Tricia February 2022

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Handbook of Nature Study Review of New Edition

Looking for a Handbook of Nature Study review? Wondering about the new edition of the Handbook of Nature Study by Living Book Press? Here is my full review and what I recommend for homeschool nature study families.

Here is a Handbook of Nature Study review of the new edition by Living Book Press with honest recommendations for homeschool nature study families.

Handbook of Nature Study Review of New Edition

I recently wrote a review of the new Living Book Press edition of the Handbook of Nature Study.

I’ve used the Handbook of Nature Study for decades. To say that I love this book, would be an understatement. It has taken me on the journey of a lifetime and sparked my love and passion for all things found in the natural world. When I learned there was a new version of this classic book with full color images, I was excited.

Living Books Press has created a seven volume series of paperback books that take the original content of the Handbook of Nature Study written by Anna Botsford Comstock and updated the black and white images with full color images for every topic in the book.

I recently wrote a thorough review of this series over on The Curriculum Choice

You can read that review here: Living Books Press – Handbook of Nature Study.

I would love for you to click over and read that review.

Here is a Handbook of Nature Study review of the new edition by Living Book Press with honest recommendations for homeschool nature study families.

Just in case you want the bottom line…..

  • I don’t recommend these volumes for my Outdoor Hour Challenge families. The price is what holds me back from giving them a thumbs up. At almost $100 for all the volumes, the investment is just not worth the benefits of having smaller books and colored images.
  • I would rather you purchase the version recommended for years here on the Handbook of Nature Study blog (cost is less than $30). Then, take the additional money and purchase some field guides to have as a supplement to the Handbook of Nature Study.
Review of The Handbook of Nature Study at The Curriculum Choice.

More Handbook of Nature Study Homeschool Help from The Curriculum Choice

The Handbook of Nature Study Book Here at Homeschool Nature Study

Which edition of the Handbook of Nature Study do you use? Where do you find The Handbook of Nature Study book?

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, HERE!

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Homeschool Nature Study: The Chickadee

This homeschool nature study will have you looking at winter birds and in particular the sweet little chickadee.

I consider this particular challenge as a personal lesson/revelation that nature knows no borders. You see when we first started using the Outdoor Hour Challenge and this little bird popped up as the focus of our weekly studies I was disappointed. I live in the UK and we have different birds to those of you in the States. I didn’t think that we would be able to follow along and it was so early on in our nature study days that I did not have the confidence to just find something else on our walk.

As I was gazing out of the dining room window at our bird feeder pondering on my dilemma, who should come along but a coal tit!

They are no stranger to our feeders along with their cousins the great tit, blue tit and those sweet mouse-like birds, the long-tailed tit.

The coal tit looks remarkably similar to the chickadee. After a bit of investigating I discovered that the American Chickadee and the British tits are all in the same genus. Yes, we may live across the pond and have wildlife that is unique to each country but there are similarities and connections.

From that challenge on if it was focussed on an animal or plant unique to the States, I would simply see if we had something similar and go with that. So please be encouraged to do the same whatever country you live in.

Homeschool Nature Study: The Chickadee

Nature Study Lesson Plans for Chickadee Nature Study

Here are some inside preparation ideas for your chickadee nature study:

  1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 68-69 (Lesson 14).
  2. Highlight a few of the questions in the lesson to use during your outdoor time.
  3. Check your bird field guide, using the index to look for chickadees in your area. Share the images with your children.
  4. Younger Children: Read Burgess Bird Book Ch. 37 online or listen to an MP3 recording to hear the chickadee story.
  5. YouTube: Chickadee Documentary and What Do Chickadees Eat? 

Outdoor Hour Time: 

  1. Use some of your outdoor time this week to look for backyard birds. Chickadees should be present during the winter season and are often found at backyard feeders. Remember the questions from the Handbook of Nature Study lesson and gently guide your children to observe the chickadee to find the answers. Chickadees are often seen with nuthatches and downy woodpeckers and are attracted to feeders that offer suet and black oil sunflower seeds.
  2. In areas that do not have chickadees, observe another feeder bird and their habits. Do they sit on the feeder or under the feeder? Which kinds of food do they like? What do they sound like? How big are they? How many of them are at the feeder?

Chickadee Nature Study Homeschool Follow-Up Activity:

  1. Follow-up your outdoor time by pulling out your bird field guide to identify and/or confirm any bird observations. If you saw a chickadee, have your child describe the bird with as much detail as possible. If they have trouble remembering, bring up an image on the computer to help them along.
  2. If desired, allow time for a nature journal entry. Ebook users: Complete a Chickadee notebook page (regular or advanced) or a Winter Feeder Bird notebook page entry to capture the memory of your time outdoors. There is an optional coloring page included in the ebook.
  3. Advanced follow-up: Read Distinguishing Chickadees. Read about Tricky Chickadees (Black-capped and Carolina). Compare two chickadees (notebook page included in the ebook).
Homeschool Nature Study: The Chickadee

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Nature Study Curriculum and Year Round Support

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Join the Homeschool Nature Study membership Now
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