Category: nature study

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150 Homeschool Nature Study Ideas To Get Your Family Outdoors

Be inspired with 150 homeschool nature study ideas and outdoors sorts of things! Make a list of your own and get outdoors!

Be inspired with 150 homeschool nature study ideas and outdoors sorts of things! Make a list of your own and get outdoors!
Photos by Amy Law

My husband and I were inspired by another meme to make up own of our own. We sat under a blanket one cold morning over a winter break and compiled a list of 150 homeschool nature study ideas and random outdoor sorts of things.

It was fun to list 150 things we have done or would like to do. We decided to narrow the list to things to do in the United States so feel free to use our list or come up with one of your own!

We have not done or experienced all the things on the list *yet* but it is fun to think about how we could check some of the items off the list in the future.

We marked our completed homeschool nature study ideas with a star.

150 Homeschool Nature Study Ideas

Outdoor Hour Challenge – 150 Outdoor Sorts of Things to Do – United States Version

1. Make maple syrup.
2. Stand under a redwood/sequoia. *
3. Ski down a mountain. *
4. See a saguaro cactus. *
5. See an alligator in the wild.
6. Find a shell on a beach. *
7. Skip a rock on a lake. *
8. See a sunrise. *
9. Pick an apple from a tree. *
10. Grow a sunflower. *
11. Sleep under the stars in a sleeping bag.*
12. Find the Big Dipper.*
13. Climb a sand dune. *
14. Walk in the rain with or without an umbrella. *
15. Find a fossil.
16. Take a photo of the Grand Canyon. *
17. Go to the lowest point of North America-Badwater, CA *
18. See a raptor fly. *
19. Be able to identify ten birds.*
20. See a mushroom. *

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


21. Visit a tide pool. *
22. Visit a volcano. *
23. Feel an earthquake. *
24. See a tornado.
25. Experience a hurricane.
26. Catch snow on your tongue. *
27. See a deer in the wild. *
28. Touch a dolphin.
29. Go ice skating on a pond.
30. Go fishing. *
31. Go snorkeling.*
32. Whittle a stick. *
33. Gather chicken eggs.
34. Milk a cow or a goat.
35. Ride a horse. *
36. See a moose. *
37. Gather acorns.*
38. Pick berries and eat some.*
39. Watch a lightning storm. *
40. Build a campfire.*
41 Press a flower.*
42. Use binoculars to spot a bird. *
43. Identify five wildflowers. *
44. Take a photo of Half Dome. *
45. Find a piece of obsidian. *
46. See a tumbleweed. *
47. See a wild snake.*
48. Watch a spider spin a web. *
49. Climb a tree. *
50. Get lost on a hike. *
51. Watch ants in a colony. *
52. Hatch a butterfly. *
53. Climb a rock. *
54. See the Continental Divide. *
55. See a ladybug.*
56. See a bear in the wild. *
57. Dig for worms. *
58. Grow a vegetable and then eat it. *
59. See a bat flying. *
60. Feel a sea star. *
61. Swim in the ocean.*
62. See a geyser erupt.*
63. Walk in the fog. *
64. Observe a bee.*
65. Find a bird’s nest. *
66. See a beaver’s den.*
67. Go whale watching. *
68. See a banana slug. *
69. Stand on the edge of a cliff.*

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

70. Blow a dandelion. *
71. Throw a snowball and build a snowman.*
72. Cook an egg on the sidewalk…can you actually do that?
73. See a lightning bug. Or do you call it a firefly?*
74. Visit a cave. *
75. Make a sandcastle. *
76. Hear a cricket. *
77. Catch a frog.
78. Watch for the first star in the evening.*
79. Smell a skunk. *
80. Feel pine sap. *
81. Feed a duck. *
82. Learn to use a compass or GPS.*
83. See a buffalo. *

Find a waterfall!


84. Get wet in a waterfall. *
85. Swim in a lake. *
86. Walk on a log. *
87. Feel moss.*
88. Jump in a pile of leaves. *
89. Fly a kite. *
90. Walk barefoot in the mud. *
91. Hear a sea lion bark. *
92. Hear a coyote. *
93. Pan for gold. *
94. Crack open a nut. *
95. Go snowshoeing. *
96. Feel a cattail. *
97. Smell a pine forest. *
98. Sit under a palm tree.*
99. Walk across a stream on rocks.*

100. Plant a rainbow.*
101. Compare seeds.*
102. Gaze at the northern lights. *
103. Explore the subnivean zone.
104. Create a winter garden. *
105. Watch bald eagles.*
106. Hear an elk. *
107. Take a leaf art nature walk. *
108. Go on a pumpkin field trip. *
109. Read a nature book outdoors. *
110. Hear a woodpecker. *
111. Watch a squirrel gather acorns. *
112. Make a leaf mask. *
113. Plant a bulb. *
114. Explore the seashore.*
115. Gaze at the moon.*

116. Listen for an owl. *
117. Play in a creek. *
118. Watch fish. *
119. Find tadpoles.*
120. Watch hummingbirds.*

Then add these 30 MORE for 150 nature study ideas!

30 Backyard Family Activities! These 30 backyard family activities help you have fun outdoors with your children in a way that is easy and fun! Ever get the “Mom, I’m bored” line from your kids? Boredom is often the gateway to greater use of the child’s imagination, and saying “I’m bored” in our house usually receives the answer, of “go play outside. . . build a fort, climb a tree, watch a bug. . . or something like that.” Two hours later, that kid will come back in and say, “Mom, come see what I built/did/saw!” And, it’s usually pretty fantastic.

What would you add to the list?

More Resources For Homeschool Nature Study

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

Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get Outdoors!

first published January 2009 by Barb

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How to Create a Winter Garden with Shelter for Wildlife

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

Planning ahead when you are finishing your autumn garden clean-up gives your winter garden a chance to provide the shelter your neighborhood creatures need to survive the cold and wet conditions of the season. Shelter from the wind, rain, snow, ice, and predators is a vital part of any winter garden plan.

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

It is just a matter of knowing which plants to prune back and which ones can be left as they are. We have learned by trial and error mostly.

The Heavenly bamboo along the front of our house is not only colorful this time of year with the leaves turning reddish and the berries ripening to a brilliant orange-red but it is a source of shelter for birds and insects. I have seen the Ruby-crowned kinglet gathering spiderwebs from these bushes.

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

“Moss, grass, lichen, bark strips, twigs, rootlets, needles, and spider webs comprise its outer walls, and feathers, plant down, and hair form a soft lining.”

Audubon website says of the kinglet’s nest

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

We leaves some of the grasses and weeds for the birds and other animals to use as food and shelter.


They don’t look very appetizing but the birds think these are tasty little treats….blackberries left on the vine just behind our bird feeding station. The finches, sparrows, titmouse, and towhees all shelter on and under these vines. I also saw fox scat just by these vines last week so I think they might be gleaning a few berries as well (as evidenced in the scat).


The coneflowers are another favorite in the winter flower garden. I cut them way back but leave some of the seed heads for the birds to glean from.


We also have learned that some of the weeds in our yard are best left to over-winter. These mullein plants will shoot up a stalk next spring and then flower all summer. The hummingbirds and finches will use them as a steady part of their diet. We leave those in the garden.


I harvested about thirty pounds of walnuts this year for our enjoyment. I will spend many a winter evening hour cracking nuts for our family and to share with friends. Some of those friends will have feathers and fur. I leave quite a few of the nuts for the squirrels and Scrub jays to use for their winter meals. When I note that all the nuts are up off the ground, I will regularly set some out of my store cupboard in various parts of the yard. They always disappear.

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

Lavender along the front wall is once place I trim but not all the way back. It looks sort of wild but it does provide shelter all winter long for birds and nectar for the hummingbirds and bees. Yes, we have bees and hummingbirds in the winter who frequent this section of the garden. It amazes me every time I see the birds hovering over those small little flowers but they must be gathering some food or they wouldn’t come back.

I also love leaving this section of lavender because when the sun hits those plants it produces a sweet smell that reminds me that summer will come again. It can’t all be about the animals, birds, and insects!

How to Create Winter Shelter Habitats in Your Backyard Garden

Winter gardening for wildlife allows our family to help sustain our local animal community during the long cold winter months when they are looking for their basic needs of food, water, and shelter.

One of the vital components of a winter garden for wildlife is to create sheltering spots. This often means leaving a little “messiness” in your winter garden. With just a little effort and planning, you can be rewarded with daily visits from the birds and other animals who enjoy your winter garden.

Here are some ideas for you to use in your own winter garden oasis for sheltering spots:

  • bushes
  • rocks
  • trees
  • arbor
  • leaf piles
Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

Leaf and Stick Shelter for Birds, Insects and Mammals

Spreading fallen leaves over your flower beds makes a place for birds to forage and other creatures to over-winter. I have observed the towhees and the juncos picking through the leaves looking for something to eat. We even add in a few of the smaller fallen branches to the pile which give additional spots for birds to perch and land under the feeder. If you have access to a few logs, making a log pile would be another option for a variety of creatures to use as shelter.

Rock Shelter for insects and invertebrates @HBNatureStudy

Rock Shelter for Insects and Invertebrates

Our rock patches are the perfect place for overwintering creatures to hide in and under. I know there are insects of some kind living in these rocks….I have seen beetles. I also have observed that the Western scrub jays and robins poke around in these rocks which leads me to believe there are some tasty morsels in the rocks for them to enjoy.

large rock shelter mammals invertebrates @HBNatureStudy

Larger Rocks for Shelter for Mammals and Invertebrates

Larger rocks allow for creatures to shelter from the winter temperatures and conditions. They seem to find all the nooks and crannies to squeeze into and to use as protection. I have even seen a few lizards out here on the big rocks…not my favorite creatures but still very awesome to see.

Vine Shelter for birds and insects @HBNatureStudy

Vines for Shelter for Birds and Insects

Although we do prune back the trumpet vines and climbing rose twice a year, we leave it to grow over the winter to allow the birds to perch and shelter. Our main backyard bird feeder is just to the left of the edge of this photo and the birds will use these vines as landing spots on their way to and from the feeder. I have also seen the birds huddled inside the vines when the wind is howling away…they seem all snug tucked up inside. The littler birds escape the larger birds by getting up inside the vines…many layers of shelter going on in this spot of the yard.

Dried plant stem shelter for insects @HBNatureStudy

Dried Plant Stems for Winter Shelter for Insects

Leaving dry plant stems in the garden leaves a place for insects and spiders to shelter. I read somewhere that there are insects that will crawl into the hollow stems for shelter through the winter. I have not seen this yet but my eyes are on the alert!

Shrubs shelter for birds mammals and insects @HBNatureStudy

Winter Shelter Ideas: Shrubs and Bushes for Birds, Mammals and Insects

The shrubs and bushes in our yard provide the best protection from the rain and snow. I often will see birds tucked up inside the limbs of the bushes in our yard even in the hardest downpours. There are several spots in the lavender bushes that look like the image above where the birds have created a little hiding spot.

Do you have any additional ideas for winter garden shelter for wildlife? 

You may be interested in reading this additional backyard habitat entry: How to Make Your Backyard a Natural Habitat for Wildlife

Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.

More Garden and Habitat Learning with Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

With a nature study calendar for every day of the year, nature curriculum topics to match the learning in your homeschool and the help you need as a homeschool mom, we truly do help make it easy and effective.

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership HERE!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get Outdoors!

by Barb McCoy, founder of The Outdoor Hour Challenges

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Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study: The Homeschool Mom’s Guide

This comprehensive guide to Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study includes activities and resources for family learning.

As August gives way to September and summer slowly slips away to allow autumn to wrap us up in its brilliant display of color, mother turns her attention to planning her fall homeschool.

Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study

In our Charlotte Mason homeschools, autumn is a time of fresh starts, fresh plans and new hope for the forthcoming year.

This comprehensive guide to Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study includes activities and resources for family learning.

As the season shifts and the days begin to draw in, it seems natural to start our plans by considering our fall nature studies. Nature study intertwines beautifully with other areas of study such as art appreciation, poetry, geography and science. It also gifts the humble homemaker ample opportunity and inspiration to cultivate an atmosphere of coziness within her home(school).

Apples, cider, crisp leaves, corn mazes, frost and cold air are all part of the season and simply beg to be explored, studied and brought indoors!

Activities For Fall Nature Study In Your Homeschool

Tree and Leaf Studies Perfect for Fall

I think we all agree that you simply cannot embrace all that fall is without planning a seasonal tree and leaf study. Autumn days are filled with colored leaves, falling leaves, raking leaves, and jumping into great big piles of fallen leaves. Have a look at some of our wonderful tree and leaf studies from our archives and from our own personal blogs:

This comprehensive guide to Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study includes activities and resources for family learning.

Downloadable Resources

Pumpkins and Apples for Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study

As the pumpkins ripen in the fields and the apples in the orchards, local farmers open up their farms to the public providing the perfect opportunity to plan a ‘pumpkin and apple homeschool’ week. Enjoy a trip out to the farm and pick out a few pumpkins and basket of apples. Then come home and bake a pumpkin or apple pie and enjoy reading some seasonal read-aloud books as you learn more about these delightful seasonal fruits.

This comprehensive guide to Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study includes activities and resources for family learning.

Fall Fungi

“In times of old, not only was it believed that toads sat on them (toadstools), but that fairies danced upon them and used them for umbrellas. The poisonous qualities of some species made them also a natural ingredient of the witch’s cauldron. But science, in these days, brings revelation concerning these mysterious plants which are far more wonderful than the web which superstition wove about them in the days of yore.”

Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study, page 714
This comprehensive guide to Fall Charlotte Mason Nature Study includes activities and resources for family learning.

As can be seen from the excerpt from the Handbook of Nature Study that we have long held the view that mushrooms are rather mysterious, enchanting and quite fascinating. We can also agree that most of us regard mushrooms and toadstools with suspicion and caution, and for good reason. There are many poisonous mushrooms out there, and some of them are deadly. Names such as ‘death cap’, ‘destroying angel’ and ‘funeral bell’, warn us to steer clear!

One of our favourite fall activities in our homeschool is to go on a fungus spotting walk through out local woodlands. There is something quite atmospheric and wonderful about walking through a woodland in autumn all wrapped up in our hand knits and kicking through fallen leaves as we hunt for fungi and mushrooms.

Here are a few posts to get you started as well as some lovely free downloadable spotter sheets for you to take with you.

plant pot mushrooms nature craft

Downloadable resources

Keeping a Nature Journal This Fall

We all know that Charlotte Mason encouraged her students to keep a Nature Notebook or Nature Diary. These notebooks were inscribed with fine prose and illustrated in delicate watercolours.

According to Charlotte’s recommendations, all illustrations should include captions: the Latin name of the specimen, it it’s available, as well as the familiar name. A flower and bird list can be kept at the back of the Notebook, as well as other lists which may interest the individual child such as fungi, insects, trees etc.

These notebooks should be considered a part of a living education where the child’s relationship with nature can be expressed within its pages. Try to avoid criticism, unless it is to give helpful suggestions.

Anna Botsford Comstock said of notebooks, “of whatever quality, are precious beyond price to their owners. And why not? For the represent what cannot be bought or sold – personal experience in the happy world of outdoors.”

The Nature Notebook is a way for our children (and us) to connect better with nature and to learn its patterns. If you have not dipped your toes into the world of nature journaling, I would encourage you to dive in this fall. You do not need to invest in expensive art supplies, just grab a blank notebook, some pencils and get out there. You can purchase an inexpensive field watercolor set of paints in the coming weeks but for now I would encourage you to just take the leap and do a quick sketch of what you can see before you. Don’t judge your drawing, you are not an artist yet. You are a scientist, simply recording what you see in this moment of time.

Here are some helpful links for your adventure in nature journaling.

Below are some additional Charlotte Mason resources for your homeschool. We hope that you have a wonderful fall season of exploring and learning outdoors.

Additional Charlotte Mason Resources For Your Homeschool

Endless Access to Outdoor Hour Curriculum in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

We are sure that this fall Charlotte Mason nature study guide will keep you very busy however, we would encourage you to join the Homeschool Nature Study membership. With our membership you will have Homeschool Nature Study resources at your fingertips and can incorporate nature study at your family’s own pace.

You can choose guided or independent nature study with the membership monthly calendar prompts and printables.

We have monthly, quarterly and annual homeschool nature study memberships and you will enjoy endless access to everything including our exclusive Nature Craft Course, Nature Journaling Course and The Outdoor Mom Course!

Be Inspired. Be Encouraged. Get Outdoors!

Join the Homeschool Nature Study membership Now
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Seashore Activities And Worksheets For Kids

A trip to the beach can be a fun family time experience. When you add a few purposeful seashore observations, the trip can transform into beautiful long lasting memories. One summer we headed to the beach in Naples Florida. It wasn’t long snorkeling before many starfish suddenly started to make themselves known to us. A few of these creatures even swimming right into my husband’s gloved-hand. The boys were absolutely thrilled and it’s a memory they still bring up almost 10 years later.

That evening we discovered there are over 2,000 different species of starfish! All because we were on the look to discover something unique and different. I’m not against building sand castles and even taking a nap in the shade. I am pro-nap! But when we went on these excursions with purpose, eyes open, ready to observe the world around us – it made such a difference!

seashore field trip

Seashore Observations for Nature Study Activities

Here are a few helpful tips to turn a beach trip into a Nature Study.

  1. Go with an intention. Are you looking for shells? Animals? Crab hunting? Trash pick up? Have a purpose, but also be flexible. There were days when the boys only wanted to find a sand dollar. That’s a big ask on the east coast of Florida. Maybe instead of a specific shell, decide on a size or color. Maybe something living inside the shells.
  2. Set Perimeters. The beach is a big place. Square off an area to observe. You can even assign each student a square area (usually drawn by my big toe), to dig, notice, and report any findings.
  3. Use Back Up Help (curriculum!). It’s always helpful to have some back-up help with curriculum, field guides, books, etc. When we were using Apologia’s Swimming Creatures – there was always a purpose to go to the seashore.
  4. Observe with Eyes Only. As pretty as some things are at the seashore, not everything should be touched. We learned this the hard way one trip when my youngest decided to step on a “squishy” jellyfish. As for that old myth, it’s a myth. Only rubbing alcohol got the sting out of those poor piggies.
  5. Visit the Aquarium. Your local Aquarium offers vast amounts of seashore information! From plants, bugs, and animals you might not even notice at first glance. It’s great to see them at the aquarium and then be on the hunt for them in the wild!
  6. Visit Different Seashores! We lived in Florida for 30 years, the east coast is much different than the west coast. I can also say upon our travels: Florida beaches are different from Cape Cod beaches. Florida beaches are much different from Costa Rica beaches. And Florida beaches definitely do not offer the monkey business like a Thailand beach!

Please pick up your trash – whichever beach you visit! The monkeys in Phuket are now becoming aggressive. We watched a group steal a woman’s bag off her back and rip open a can of Pringles.

Nature Study Member Worksheets: Ocean Study

We love to offer helpful free downloads to add to your nature studies. Here are a few new resources for your Seashore and Ocean Study.

Members can head over to their dashboard to print the SeaShells Coloring Page, Ocean Animals Matching Page, and older students can use the Ocean FoodChain Worksheet.

Ocean and Shell Nature Craft Activities

We are loving this cute Ocean Nature Craft. A great craft when learning about the Ocean Biome.

Ocean Biome Nature Craft

Seashell Nature Craft

Hot, summer weather means the bugs are all out busy pollinating, so let’s create some seashell watering stands to help cool them down. This craft only needs a few supplies and a little supervision for the little ones but overall it is an unbelievably simple craft to make. So head down to the beach and hunt for mussels and other pretty shells and let’s get crafting!

Perfect to go with the Seashells Coloring Page! Members, log in and head to your Nature Crafts course!

Create some seashell nature crafts with watering stands! This craft only needs a few supplies and a little supervision for the little ones but overall it is an unbelievably simple craft to make. So head down to the beach and hunt for mussels and other pretty shells and let’s get crafting!

Homeschool Nature Study Membership

It’s a great time to join Homeschool Nature Study! We offer a multitude of science activities, hands-on learning ideas, seasonal nature studies, crafts, free resources for all ages – join the #outdoorhourchallenge community and enhance your homeschool science lessons!

Stef Layton Bio

Stef started homeschooling her boys in 2008. She quickly adopted a hands-on learning homeschool style and graduated her oldest tactile learner in 2021. Stef started the Hands-On Learning column in Homeschooling Today magazine. The Laytons currently reside in the foothills of Colorado where Stef also teaches yoga. The family loves to hike trails, stand-up paddle board, and chase sunsets. Stef shares travel and homeschool tips on IG at @LaytonAdventures.

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Nature Study And High School Science: A Complete Guide

It is often the case that once our homeschooled children reach their teens, nature study is pushed aside. Perhaps we think that because our children are now in high school, learning should be more textbook based. But the opposite is true!

Don’t believe me?

This article has quotes from the Royal Geographical Society on the importance of field work in higher learning – that goes way above high school learning!

In fact, there are academic journals and papers written about the importance of learning in the field. You can see for yourself right here.

Highs School Science Doesn’t Have To Be All Textbooks

Here’s a thought for you.

If hands-on, experiential learning is no longer appropriate for our teens, then why are there lab work classes in high school?

Why do natural scientists and great wildlife film makers, and academic researches still head out into the field to observe nature?

Why do environmental and marine scientists still gather specimens, conduct experiments or spend months at a time out in nature studying the behaviour of all manner of animals?

The problem is not the continuation of nature studies in your homeschool. The problem is the manner in which it is presented.

Learning directly from nature and the environment is a primary source of learning. It’s observational, it’s experiential, it’s how esteemed naturalists and scientists still discover and learn.

Are you convinced yet?

The good news for you, for your children, and your homeschools is that:

You do not have to stop nature study lessons and your outdoor hour time just because you have hit high school! You just need to change the delivery.

On the contrary, please continue to spend this precious time learning outdoors because it is valuable and it is deemed necessary by many learned academics and naturalists.

Nature study in high school is one of the most perfect ‘labs’ available for experiencing and understanding high school science concepts so I urge to to dive deeper into your nature studies rather than dropping them out of your homeschools.

Studies Show Hands-on, Experiential Learning is More Effective

Many years ago, J. Dewey (1938) recognised the close connection between learning and experience. The question of how to efficiently bridge the gap is still occupying the attention of educational psychologists and researchers. (Kolb, 1984: Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning an development; Reigeluth & Carr-Chellman, 2009: Instructional-design theories and models: Building a common knowledge base – vol iii; and J.Roberts, 2018: The possibilities and limitations of experiential learning research in higher education).

I am currently finishing off my Masters degree in Pro Bono legal work – and it is entirely examined on reflections of hands-on legal work undertaken in law clinics.

Lawyers, medical professionals and many others have the textbooks but they also spend a great portion of their education getting hands-on experience and putting their head knowledge into practice. They move from the abstract to the concrete by actually DOING.

If educational psychologists and researchers recognise the value and spend hundreds of thousands of hours researching the importance of experiential learning – we really have every reason to keep up our hands-on nature studies throughout the high school years in our homeschools don’t you think?

Incorporating Nature Study Into High School Science

Okay, so we have now established that we have every reason (backed by those far more cerebral people) to continue our nature studies in our homeschools as we move into the high school years.

But HOW do we go from our carefree romps in nature to being a bit more purposful about it all?

Teenagers need to have a different sort of follow-up to their nature observations, something a bit more than just their nature journals – although don’t give this up!

They need to be more connected to their nature study by finding patterns and relationships between past experiences and new ones. Take what they already know and build on it with new observations so as to develop a real interest in knowing more.

Key: Teens need to find the answers to their own questions and then express those answers in a way that makes sense to them.

There are three steps to nature study success with teens. You should aim for these in your nature studies

  1. Observation – encourage them to really see what they are looking at with direct and accurate observation.
  2. Reasoning – understand why the thing is so and what it means.
  3. Expression – their observations and reasonings should pique an interest in knowing more about the object.

Here is a real-life illustration of nature study with teens from Barb, the founder of Outdoor Hour Challenges:

My two boys and I regularly made visits to my dad’s pond together.  When younger, they would go right to the business of scooping up water and critters and talking in excited voices about what they were finding. But once they reached the teen years, I noticed a different atmosphere, an attitude of “we’ve been here and done that”. I tried to remind myself that this was their normal teenage reaction to just about everything. They rarely appeared to be too excited on the outside. More often than not, they would later on relate the whole experience in a more favorable light to their dad or one of their siblings. Apparently, the outside of a teenager doesn’t accurately reflect the inside at all times.

So if you have older children and they appear to not be interested at first, don’t give up. It may be that they just aren’t showing it outwardly but inside the experiences are deeply affecting them. Don’t give up on the habit of nature study with your teens.

Barb McCoy – Founder of the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Enhancing a Nature Walk with Teens

Digital Photography: A love of the natural world does not come automatically for all children and sometimes we need to find a way to hook them into getting outdoors. Most of our children have a lot of screen time each week. Rarely are they without a device that has a camera function. Take advantage of this tool in enhancing your time outdoors!

Although there are advantages to taking a walk “unplugged”, there are distinct benefits to allowing your teens to take photos as part of their nature study time.

  • It slows them down.
  • Helps them focus and really see an object.
  • Everyday things in their own backyard can now be captured and viewed.
  • They can see the beauty.
  • They make their own connections.
  • Perfect for our teens…they are comfortable with the technology and love to share with their friends.

Nature Study and Studying Biology

Tricia, owner and editor of Homeschool Nature Study has given us a wonderful example of how her family’s Apologia biology studies complimented their homeschool nature studies.

Her family’s experience beautifully illustrates, in a very practical way, how you could approach high school biology in your homeschool. She has shared a full account in both these posts:

But to briefly summarize, you could take one of two approaches to homeschool nature study with high school biology. I must just say at this point that this same approach can be used with any of the Apologia science textbooks – or whatever textbook you use in your homeschool.

  1. You can choose to start with the Homeschool Nature Study challenges and supplement them with a text; or
  2. You can start with the text and supplement it with nature study.

Now, here is the hands-on exciting bit for your planning dear homeschool mama!

Go over to Tricia’s post How Nature Study Enriches High School Biology In Your Homeschool. You will see that she has matched up the Outdoor Hour Challenges with the textbooks chapters.

Not only that but she has added in supplementary books and biographies for you to use!

If you are using Apologia Biology in your homeschool this year, you now have a wonderful lesson plan for the entire course which includes the nature study challenges that you have loved and used in your homeschools!

More Resources for Nature Study In Your Homeschool

We are fortunate here at Homeschool Nature Study to have homeschool moms who have successfully traveled the high school homeschool road through all subjects including science and nature. All of these families have continued to use nature study and field work as a useful tool alongside their textbooks in their homeschools.

We have collated some high school specific nature and science posts and resources from the archives of all out websites (Curriculum Choice, Homeschool Nature Study and Your Best Homeschool). We pray that these will be a blessing to you and an encouragment to keep up your nature studies in the changing face of your homeschools.

Charlotte Mason Exam Questions for homeschooling high school - Wondering how your high school homeschooler can continue nature study in a way that is compatible with high school science?

From the Archives

Apolgia Biology Curriculum Reviews

The Big Question:

We pray that this article gives those of you who are moving into your high school years the courage to stick with nature studies in your homeschool and to continue to experience the joy and blessing of hands-on, experiential learning.

Handbook of Nature Study high school studies

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

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

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

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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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The Importance Of Studying Natural History

Why is the study of natural history so important? How can you incorporate it into your day to day learning?

Why is the study of natural history is so important? How can you incorporate it into your day to day learning.

photo by Amy Law

Is Natural History Important?

Every now and then I come across an article online that captures my interest. As I read the article linked below I realized how important what we are doing here on the Handbook of Nature Study is to our young children and families. Much to my great surprise, I found a section in the later part of the article that references Anna Botsford Comstock and her work with natural history and teaching.

Science And Natural History

I invite you to click over and read through this article…noting that as parents we can fill the gap and stoke the fires of a more traditional biology course. Adding in some natural history to your more academic and microbiology studies will give it more depth and context. Find a way to expose your young biology students to the natural world in an attempt to cover the material in high school (and earlier!) since they will not get that opportunity once they go onto college.

Read Natural History is Dying

Natural History Important @handbookofnaturestudy

An Overview Of Natural History Is Dying

Some of my notes and quotes from the article:

Natural history by and large is no longer taught to biology majors, much less high school students.

“Further, exposure of students at all levels to natural history is diminishing. As we saw in the graph at the top of this post, all colleges and universities surveyed in the 1950s required at least some natural history courses for a biology degree – a median of 2.25. Today, most colleges have no natural history requirements for a biology degree, and the slim section devoted to natural history in the center of most textbooks has shrunk 40 percent and is usually skipped anyway, as I’m sure those of you with biology degrees earned in the last 20 years can attest.”

Using the suggestions from the Handbook of Nature Study and the Outdoor Hour Challenge provides help to parents in offering what is lacking in today’s science courses.

“Comstock’s book stressed the importance of kid-on-critter time. But increasingly, in the classrooms and museum exhibits that I’ve seen or visited, still images or interactive games are considered adequate substitutes. They are not.”

We can share our love for nature and make a difference in our child’s outlook towards the natural world.

“When kids do not grow up around natural history, they become adults who are not only ignorant of natural history, but who do not care about nature and view it as disposable and unimportant. “Ecological ignorance breeds indifference,” as Pyle put it. “What we know, we may choose to care for. What we fail to recognize, we certainly won’t.”

We can make those simple but powerful memories happen for our children.

“To love Earth, you have to fall in love with Earth. And that can’t happen indoors, eyes glued to a screen. You have to watch the bee gathering nectar from the blue bonnet; you have to smell and touch the sap (and discover it is now impossible to remove from your fingers) weeping from the tree; you have to smell the citrussy cinnamonny gym-socky aroma of the matsutake fresh from the pine duff.”

Use the resources here on our website and in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to introduce your child to the birds, plants, reptiles, insects, and other forms of life around them. Take it one subject at a time and make sure to get outside each week!

Why is the study of natural history is so important? How can you incorporate it into your day to day learning in your homeschool?

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

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

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Written by Barb and updated by Tricia

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October Nature Study Activities For Children Of All Ages

October can often be the most mild and inviting time to be outdoors! The mornings are cool, the sunshine abundant, and the afternoons offer the perfect invitation to take a walk crunching the leaves under the foot. I hope your month is full of sunshine and outdoor walks too with these engaging October nature studies.

October Nature Study Activities

October can often be the most mild and inviting time to be outdoors! The mornings are cool, the sunshine abundant, and the afternoons offer the perfect invitation to take a walk crunching the leaves under the foot. I hope your month is full of sunshine and nature walks too.

photo by Amy Law

Outdoor Nature Study Plans with the Outdoor Hour Challenges

  • Autumn Favorites Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum
  • Autumn Curriculum
  • Fall leaf study grid
  • Signs of autumn study
  • Under the fallen leaves autumn fun
  • Fall color walk with printable color cards
  • Swallows and swifts and learning about bird migration
  • Goose

  • Turkeys
  • Horses
  • Salmon and trout
  • Seasonal tree study
  • Apples and how they grow
  • How to start a field notebook
  • Autumn weather and changes in your own backyard

The October Outdoor Mom

Anne reveled in the world of color about her. What is this? “Oh Marilla”, she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it”?

Anne of Green Gables

Your Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, Shirley Vels, shares lovely prompts just for mom in The Outdoor Mom course for annual members: I’m sure most of us resonate with Anne and her love for October. There is no doubt in my mind that October is my favourite time of the year!

The smell of woodsmoke in the air, the gentle mists that gather each morning as the sun pops its face over the horizon, the chill that makes soft clouds form as you speak, the splendour of the autumnal trees and the golden light that seems unique to this time of the year filtering through the golden tree tops and painting beautiful dappled shadows on the ground is all simply quite heavenly!

Autumn Fern Nature Journal Entry

Nature Journaling Video on Ferns: Nature Crafts

Your nature illustrator, Victoria Vels, shares a beautiful fern nature journal entry. Follow along as she shares her process in a step-by-step video in the Nature Crafts course for annual Homeschool Nature Study members. Autumn is here with all its vibrant colour changes, so it’s time to document the beauty with this fern themed autumn nature journal entry. Follow along with me as I create this autumnal spread, experimenting with colours and painting techniques. Gather up your specimens, literature and facts and lets get started!

Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenges for Pumpkins and Apples

All the apples and pumpkins for nature study fun! When the air turns cooler and the leaves start to change color, it is always fun to learn more about apples and pumpkins! Enjoy this ultimate guide of fun apple and pumpkin nature study ideas for your homeschool.

New for Homeschool Nature Study members: apple printables, apple observations, apple taste test plus visiting a pumpkin farm and more!

Fall Leaf Study

There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week! Go on a fall leaf tour!

Fall Color for Preschoolers

A really great thing about fall is that it is a great time to get outdoors with the kids and explore nature. With that being said, here are some great fall nature study ideas for toddlers and preschoolers that I hope you (and your little ones) will enjoy.

Autumn Outdoor Hour Curriculum

More Fall Nature Study for Your Homeschool

Homeschool Nature Study Activities for Every Month of the Year!

Check out all we have for our members for each month:

October can often be the most mild and inviting time to be outdoors! The mornings are cool, the sunshine abundant, and the afternoons offer the perfect invitation to take a walk crunching the leaves under the foot. I hope your month is full of sunshine and nature walks too.

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

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

Explore Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

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

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Delightful Preschool Nature Study Plans for Your Homeschool

Enjoy relaxed preschool nature study plans for your homeschool with nature table suggestions, simple nature study activities, field trip ideas, images to print, coloring pages, and so much more. What a privilege to introduce children to the glorious world God created!

Have children eager to be outside? You can think of the earliest years outdoors with your children as the way to grow a love and curiosity about the natural world. This habit develops gradually over their childhood. The earlier you start building a habit of nature study in your family, the easier it will be to encourage children to be engaged in nature study.

Don’t miss the free sample of preschool curriculum, below!

Delightful Preschool Nature Study Plans for Your Homeschool

Delightful Preschool Nature Study Plans for Your Homeschool

Preschool nature ideas for each month of the year include:

  • an animal, bird, flower and tree of the month – that is four nature studies each month!
  • nature table suggestions and items for free play
  • image cards
  • monthly activities
  • library books suggestions
  • casual monthly nature study
  • preschool hands on activities for active learning: singing drawing, tasting

“..the mother must not miss this opportunity of being outdoors to train the children to have seeing eyes, hearing ears and seeds of truth deposited into their minds to grow and blossom on their own in the secret chambers of their imaginations.”

Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 45

These Outdoor Nature Study Plans Can Be Used Family Style

Most of these nature study plans point to existing Outdoor Hour Challenges in our membership. The new Preschool course includes nature studies plus the plans refer to spring, summer, autumn and winter topics.

These are studies the whole family can explore! So these preschool plans are a great place for the whole family to start with.

48 Outdoor Hour Challenges!

But what if there is a rainy day and you can’t get outdoors? The activities in our Preschool Nature Study Plans will give you new ideas for fun learning.

Sample a Month of Nature Study Plans For Preschool

Try a free sample of the preschool nature study plans included in Homeschool Nature Study Membership. This sample includes a month of nature study plans! Get your copy in the form, below:

Get Your Preschool Nature Study Curriculum Sample!

Subscribe to get your free Preschool Nature Study Curriculum Sample for Homeschool.

    We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Preschool Nature Study Curriculum Included in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

    Our Preschool Nature Study Curriculum is the newest addition to the Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are even more resources coming to members in the coming months!

    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 Today!

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

    You might also like:

    This Nature Study curriculum written by founder, Barbara McCoy. Additional resources by Tricia. 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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    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!

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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.