We have spent quite a number of our outdooor hours observing and learning about oaks. We are blessed with many different kinds of oaks right in our own yard so they are constantly a backdrop for many of our studies. Here is a link to one of our entries that shows the variety we have: Oak Tree Study.
“The California Black Oak is strikingly unlike all other deciduous Oaks in the Golden State, for its broad thin leaves are jaggedly lobed, with the veins running out beyond the leaf margins as fine bristles.”
A Natural History of Western Trees.
We have noticed the woodpeckers that enjoy the tall branches, the Scrub jays that frequent the crown, and we are even thinking this is the tree that the bats use for shelter…not sure. It is a truly abundant food source for much of our local wildlife, including bears.
“…it has one admiring friend, the California woodpecker, who finds its acorns, bitter to our palates, exactly to his taste….This handsome redhead devours what he can hold of acorns, and lays up great stores of them, like a squirrel.”
There is always something to learn and to make note of as we revisit even a common tree to our area.
We are looking forward to observing:
The yellow leaves of autumn and then seeing the bare branches.
The dropping of acorns.
Finding a California Black Oak with acorn holes.
In the spring, pink or crimson of the new foliage.
Another successful oak tree study….thanks to our ability to see beyond the ordinary.
Printable notebook page for Extraordinary in the Ordinary.
Funny how we all have had our favorite spring Outdoor Hour Challenges. For me? This dogwood study has been about two years in the making. I have always wanted to have a dogwood tree in our front yard but it wasn’t until we did our massive front yard remodel that I was able to find a dedicated spot for the dogwood tree. We choose one with white blossoms…my favorite.
You can see our front yard transformation here in this post: Removing the Lawn.
We waited last year for it to flower but we only had leaves. This year….ta da! A dozen or so creamy white blossoms to enjoy and now study.
We read in the Handbook of Nature Study about how the flowers have been waiting inside the bracts all winter long, protected and sheltered until conditions were right. I have spent the last month or so going out almost daily to check the branches for any signs of opening. What a gift once we saw the bracts changing!
See the notched bract? This is another thing discussed in the Handbook of Nature Study that I would have never noticed if it wasn’t pointed out to me.
I had to convince Mr. B that the true flowers are the ones at the center and not the big white bracts. We counted the flowers and found there were 25+, some open and some closed.
The Handbook of Nature Study said that this was a perfect lesson to use a hand lens for so we brought ours out and took a deeper look. Amazing! If you haven’t yet done your dogwood study, I highly recommend this activity. You might note it in your ebook to do for next year as well if your dogwoods are no longer blooming.
How fun is this? Don’t the leaves look like a bird? I was busy standing on top of my retaining wall to take photos of the dogwood and looking down on the leaves….it truly looked like a bird!
Now for a few fun images from our evening study. Here is a colorful view of our front yard right now….hubby brought me home a new garden flag for the front stairs. I love it! We did have a swallowtail in the yard a few days ago so it won’t be long now until butterfly time! The Kona dog is taking a rest from helping us weed and water.
I don’t think I shared my new addition to the rock garden. We took a new hike up into the mountains and into an area where you can collect rocks, a true rockhounds paradise. We brought home this big piece of serpentine which is the California State Rock. Isn’t an amazing shade of green? Our rock garden has become its own little micro-habitat with insects and critters living around and under the rocks. In the evenings there is a very loud cricket chorus in our yard. It is a comforting sound and I stand on the deck and listen in the dark and imagine where they all are as they sing.
What a wonderful study! It all started back when we decided to remodel the front yard a few years ago and we put on paper our list of plants and trees we hoped to include. The dogwood came two years ago and this past week we added a California redbud. I am looking forward to seeing it grow and mature…maybe next year it will bloom for us.
I wanted to share some more of the photos from our trip to the desert that we took a few weeks ago. The photo above is from Joshua Tree National Park. The scene is typical of what you will find as you hike along the trails of the park. It has taken me three trips to the desert to begin to develop a love for the animals and plants that live here. In this strange and wonderful landscape, you can find the most beautiful of things if you look carefully enough.
There really are blooming plants here and if you get the chance to get up close, you realize that there are bees and other insects as well as birds that are attracted to the color and fragrance.
I will admit that there are sections of the park that are more rock than anything else. My two boys couldn’t resist a good climb when they saw it.
When you get up close you see all the intricate patterns and designs of the desert plants. I believe this is some kind of cholla cactus.
Now here was something that surprised me and I examined it carefully for some time. Can you see all the different colors of lichen on this rock? There is a moss green, a grey-green, an orange and a soft yellow-green all living right here on the side of this rock. Beautiful.
Many times as we hike along we name the rock formations we see. The boys named this one “Whale Head”.
Not to be confused with “Whale’s Mouth”.
They keep me smiling…..and thinking.
We came across a wash on our hike and the wildflowers were already blooming. There are three different flowers blooming in this photo…two white and the desert sand verbena.
How about a video? (Why does it take so looooong for the videos to load onto Blogger anyway?)
This squirrel was entertaining us with his acrobatics…trying to get that certain pod to eat.
Here is what the squirrel was gathering to eat. This is a palo verde tree.
I took a lot of photos at the Living Desert Museum and I shared a lot of the butterfly and hummingbird photos already but here are a few more of the larger animals we saw that the boys spent a lot of time observing.
The giraffes…there were four of them.
The cheetahs..there were two of them. I love this photo….look at that face!
For some reason I threw our nature journals in my backpack and we took the opportunity in the afternoon to slow down and do some sketching at the museum. It was a great way to remember our time there.
What a great memory.
It was great way to end our stay at the museum. The desert holds so many interesting and surprising creations for us to learn about….a life time of learning just one plant and one bird and one animal at a time.
So whether you venture out in the national park or you stay in town and visit the Living Desert Museum….there is so much to enjoy as a family. Pick your adventure.
These 10 fabulous first day of summer nature study ideas are perfect for weaving in some family time outside together. A valuable part of any summer bucket list and it takes just a little effort on our part!
Summer time brings a more relaxed rhythm to most of our family life. That doesn’t mean we can’t still be including some outdoor nature study time with our children. It can be as simple as taking a walk and asking them to look for three interesting things or to take a picnic lunch outside to eat under your backyard tree.
10 Fabulous First Day of Summer Nature Study Ideas
Here are some fun First Day of Summer nature study ideas for you to keep in mind for next week. Be sure to mark your calendar!
2. First Day of Summer Flower Field Trip: Take a trip to your local garden nursery and let you child pick a plant to add to your backyard garden or patio container garden. After you plant your flower, sketch it into your nature journal along with the name of the flower and the date you planted it. You can combine this activity with thisGarden Flower Nursery Field Trip ideas and printable.
3. Twilight at the Zoo: Many zoos have an evening option during this time of year. Check their calendar of events to see if your zoo has a special event for the first day of summer.
4. First Day of Summer Photo Walk – take a camera outdoors and find some special First Day of Summer subjects, take a photo, print a few out, safely tuck them into your nature journal. You can combine this with the Summer Photo Challenge.
5. First Day of Summer notebook page – done after a nature walk, preferably under a shade tree with some fresh lemonade in hand.
6. Summer Insect Study – As the warm weather brings flowers you might find more insects flying around. It’s a great time to plan a summer insect nature study. There’s such a wealth of knowledge about insects in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Using the lessons along with the Outdoor Hour Challenge will make you confident to tackle an insect nature study this summer. You won’t need to travel far to find an insect to learn about with your children!
7. The Homeschool Mom’s Charlotte Mason Summer Nature Study Guide – “On fine days when it is warm enough to sit out with wraps, why not take tea and breakfast, everything but a hot dinner, be served out of doors? For we are an overwrought generation, running to nerves as a cabbage runs to seed; and every hour spend in the open is a clear gain, tending to the increase of brain power and bodily vigor, and to the lengthening of life itself. They who know what it is to have fevered skin and throbbing brain deliciously soothed by the cool touch of the air are inclined to make a new rule of life, Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.” Charlotte Mason – The Original Homeschool Series.
8. Summer Senses Nature Study – you do not need anything other than your five senses. We are going to take heed of what Charlotte Mason advised and we are going to allow our children to notice things by themselves.
9. Fascinating Fireflies or Moths Study – Fireflies are fascinating! In this study, learn if there is a pattern to the light flashing. Enjoy an up close fireflies and moths summer nature study. Explore even more summer nighttime nature studies!
10. Night Sky and Moon Gazing Activity – Take some time this next week to get outside at night and enjoy a beautiful night sky homeschool nature study. Allow plenty of time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and just enjoy gazing up at the heavens. Use some of these suggestions to get started with some simple night sky observations.
More Summer Nature Studies
Find even more to discover and learn about this summer! Our summer series of Outdoor Hour Challenges included in membership. Explore ponds and lakes, meadows and fields, the seashore, the woodlands and so many beautiful summer topics!
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these summer 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!
My husband and I were inspired by anothermeme 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. *
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.*
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. *
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.*
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!
Learn about this mighty bird with a bald eagle study for kids that includes nature study, journaling and nature craft activities plus hands on art ideas.
Bald Eagle as National Symbol of the United States and America’s National Bird
The Bald Eagle is National Emblem of the United States of America and has been since 1782. The eagle has been considered a symbol of strength since Roman legions used this bird as their symbol. After its adoption as the national emblem, the eagle then was added to government documents, flags, buildings and more. The eagle is part of the Great Seal of the United States as well as the seal of the President of the United States. That seal is also on the one dollar bill.
The bald eagle bird spent time on the endangered list starting in 1978. Its numbers recovered and the bald eagle was removed from the list in 2007.
Bald Eagle Study for Kids
Bald eagles build nests with large sticks. They usually choose to build their nest at the top of a lone tree or on a rock in a very high place. This gives the eagle a great view for hunting.
Why is this bird of prey called a bald eagle? A bald eagle is actually not bald. But the white feathers on its head make it distinct and gives this majestic bird its name.
Enjoy a video all about bald eagles for kids.
Bald Eagle Nature Study for Kids and Other Birds of Prey
Though The Handbook of Nature Study does not include the eagle, we can use so many of the suggestions for other bird of prey.
Use your favorite bird field guide to study the range and habits of the bald eagle.
If you have the opportunity to observe eagles near your home, plan a time to! If not, there are many bird observations and backyard bird activities you can enjoy during your outdoor hour.
Members can follow the Study on the Hawk with detailed observations as well as advanced studies.
Amy Law shared these wonderful resources on birds of prey! “My husband has been a falconer for years; so this week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge on hawks is a special one to our family. Through the years, my husband has had a few different kinds of birds of prey. . . Red Tail, Harris Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Gyr Falcon, and a Kestrel. They’re amazing to watch close up, but also so amazing to watch in their natural habitat as well!”
Here are five tips to help you find and study hawks or other birds of prey this week!
1. Birds of prey can be found everywhere. . .in the woods, in fields, along roadsides. It’s not uncommon to find a nest in a neighborhood these days.
2. You can often find Red Tails sitting on the top of utility poles along the roads or up in the tallest tree around. They sit up high, while they’re looking for small animals for food. 3. Kestrels are often seen sitting on telephone wires or on wire fences. These tiny birds of prey are so cute!
4. Especially in winter, look for the birds’ silhouette in tall trees. Their colors will often blend in, but the silhouette is still there.
5. For close up study, often a nature center will have a bird of prey that has been injured and can’t live in the wild anymore. Also, zoos, of course!
Most of all, enjoy studying these beautiful birds together!.
Eagle Nature Journaling and Art Lesson
Our sister site has an eagle nest art lesson that Nana shared in her Forest Nature course in You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse membership.
Bird Nature Study Activities in Homeschool Nature Study Membership
You can enjoy these resources in Homeschool Nature Study membership:
Bird Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum
All About Birds Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum
Feather Coloring Page
Bird Feet Observations
Bird Life Cycle
and much more!
More Bird Homeschool Studies
For your resident ornithologists, besides this bald eagle study for kids, we have even more fun to explore!
Learn More About Outdoor Hour Challenges with The Handbook of Nature Study
Our Homeschool Nature Study members have access to endless year round nature studies, Handbook of Nature Study references, follow up nature journaling activities, notebook pages and resources to inspire and guide you.
The humble book basket is a simple idea that provides powerful opportunities for learning in your homeschool life. Gathering seasonal or themed nature study books into a basket takes a few minutes of preparation but it can provide hours of enjoyment for your family.
How To Use a Book Basket with Nature Study: Three Ways a Book Basket Facilitates Learning
Just how can a simple book basket spur on homeschool learning? A book basket:
A Book Basket introduces and allows familiarity to nature study topics
Make sure to read or page through any picture books in the basket at the beginning of the month. Demonstrate how to use field guides (or learn how to use them together with your children).
Reference: If you choose books that fit into your monthly nature study themes, you can refer to the books in the basket as needed to support or go more in-depth as you work through your weekly topics.
A Nature Book Basket Allows for Independent Learning
Leaving the basket out at a level accessible to your children will allow them to study the books on their own during their free time.
Suggestions for Getting Started with a Nature Book Basket
Use the ideas included in the Outdoor Hour Challenges to spark topics for your basket each month (current topics). There are suggestions for a bird, mammal, flower, and tree to focus your study on each month.
There is usually a link to a list of books and other materials to use during your circle time or to have on your nature shelf or in your Book Basket.
Tips for a Successful Book Basket
The trick to making a successful and interesting Book Basket is to rotate the books periodically, keeping it fresh for your children.
Don’t overload your basket since it can lead to a large mess! Keep the number of books appropriate to the ages of your children and train them to put the books back when they are finished.
Even if you don’t keep your books in a basket, featured books gathered each month and kept on a prominent shelf or placed on a coffee table might entice your children to take a look at some point during the month.
For older students, putting the books on a shelf may work better.
Extended Nature Study Activity: Narration or Nature Journaling
Ask your child to narrate back a main point after reading any book from your Book Basket. Use that point as a written narration in your nature journal and have your child illustrate the point.
More Learning Inspired by Nature Books
From book lists to nature study references, we have a variety of resources to inspire your learning:
A Homeschool Mom’s Best Tips for Organizing Your Nature Library – Using good nature study reference books and literature will be a huge help in nudging along the seeds of a love nature in your child. To help you find what you need when you need it, these are our best tips for organizing your nature library. As the seasons and years pass, they will dig deep into your nature library and become familiar with so many things.
The Ultimate List of Preschool Nature Study Books – While nothing beats experiencing nature first-hand, preschool nature study books are a vital component of our preschool nature studies. We have used both fiction and non-fiction books to introduce a topic, supplement a topic and study a topic in-depth.
The Best Winter Nature Books for Cozy Homeschooling – These are the best winter nature books for cozy homeschooling days. Includes winter nature study suggestions you can do through your window – or for a quick and refreshing outdoor time.
A Summer Nature Themed Book List for Easy Learning – Over the years, our family has built a nature themed library of our favorite and most useful resources. There are picture books featuring the natural world, fiction with a nature theme, and non-fiction reference and activity filled books. Even now with my children all grown and on their own, I use this nature library for my own benefit and enjoyment.
Fall Homeschool Nature Books List – With the changing leaves and beautiful weather upon us, this ultimate list of nature themed books for fall homeschooling is your go-to for the season!
Learn More About Outdoor Hour Challenges with The Handbook of Nature Study
Our Homeschool Nature Study members have access to endless year round nature studies, Handbook of Nature Study references, follow up nature journaling activities, notebook pages and resources to inspire and guide you.
Do you wonder what animals, birds and insects do in the winter? This hibernation winter nature study helps answer those questions and features a hibernating or migrating printable!
Mammals in general tend to be shy of humans. In the winter, it is even more difficult to observe mammals. Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy, suggests the following:
1. Read chapter nine in Discover Nature in Winter. 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.
2. Our family is going to review the chart showing different animal tracks on page 182 and 183. We might try sketching some of the tracks into our 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.
For families wanting to participate that do not have the Discover Winter in Nature book, I will list a few simple nature study ideas that you can try with your family.
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.
Compare a dog’s and a cat’s footprints in the snow or mud.
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.
More Winter Activities for Your Homeschool
There are still so many nature studies to enjoy in winter!
A fun Hibernating or Migrating sorting study and printable by Stef Layton!
…Most of the birds have gone south because of the cold, and also because their food is gone; the frogs, turtles, and toads are going to sleep all winter down in the mud or earth below the frost; the caterpillars are waiting in their cocoons for the warm spring sunshine; most of the other insects have laid their eggs for the next season, while a few of them have crawled into warm places to wait; the squirrels have gathered a store of nuts, and will soon be asleep in the old tree-trunks; the cats dogs, horses, and cows have grown a fresh coat of hair and fur. Nothing is forgotten; each is ready in its own best way.”Nature Study by Months
These December nature study activities for the Christmas season will help you to slow down and enjoy this month with your children!
As Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, Shirley Vels, shares, “December can be such a busy time. We are often rushed from pillar to post in an effort to fit in every festive activity under the sun so as to make the season ‘magical’ and can come away feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted. All Christmas cheer well and truly drained out of us.” – December Outdoor Mom
Christmas Nature Studies
Enjoy these Christmas nature studies! May you and your loved ones experience an abundance of God’s peace and joy this festive season.
December Outdoor Mom
Here at the Outdoor Mom we are all about refocusing, slowing down, embracing simplicity and intentionally making choices that reflect the true meaning of the season – a celebration of Jesus, a Savior for mankind. The December Outdoor Mom.
Enjoy a sweet, Christmas Nativity Nature Craft! Victoria shares, “The festive season is finally upon us so it’s the perfect time to create this Christmas nativity nature craft.
So get outside to collect some pine cones, then settle down with a big hot chocolate and some classic Christmas music to see you through this festive craft.”
Advent has finally begun, so it’s time to get the Christmas decorations out! Learn how to make these adorable twig tree decorations in our Nature Crafts course. 🎄✨️
Christmas Tree for the Animals
Join us in making these adorable edible Christmas tree decorations to adorn your outdoor trees as well as feed the birds and squirrels this festive season 🎅
The temperatures drop and we huddle inside more and more, especially on the shortest day of the year! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside.
Snow Study
In this homeschool snow study there is so much to discover! Included is a field guide to snow, experiments like filtering, guidance from the Handbook of Nature Study and more!
Snowman Bird Feeder
Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.
December Outdoor Hour Challenges in Homeschool Nature Study Membership
With four courses, you can have your pick of beautiful outdoor studies to enjoy! Members also get access to special notebooking pages for December:
Are you homeschooling using the Charlotte Mason method? If you use Ambleside Online as your Charlotte Mason curriculum, you may have wondered if The Handbook of Nature Study here at Homeschool Nature Study fits within the yearly rotations for nature study.
Yes, Homeschool Nature Study and Ambleside Online (AO) can work together! There are years and years worth of nature study ideas that cover so much from the Handbook of Nature Study, on which those who use AO often rely. A search through the archives brings up a multitude of helpful resources. Instead of you having to take the time to dig, though; we’ve done the work for you! This post contains lessons that will go with Term 2 of the Ambleside Online 2024-2025 school year, which is weather/climate.
What is Ambleside Online Homeschool Curriculum?
Ambleside Online homeschool is an incredible Charlotte Mason curriculum. Spanning all the grades with a few extra options for lighter years and catch up years, it covers all that Miss Mason would have covered in her schools. Complete with booklists, free ebooks, weekly schedules, online discussion groups, and a huge number of supportive articles, this curriculum is so good and thorough that one would expect it to be very expensive. However, it is free..
Ambleside Online progresses through each school year in three terms:
Term 1: September – November
Term 2: January – March
Term 3: April – June
Families are encouraged to explore Artists, Composers, Plutarch, Shakespeare, Folk Songs, Hymns, and Nature Study together as a group throughout each term.
Ambleside Online Nature Study Resources: Term 2
An important component of nature study and exploration in AO’s current Term 2 is a focus on weather.
Weather and Climate Nature Study Resources
Five Ways to Teach Preschoolers about Weather can be found here.
This lesson has ideas for keeping track of the weather.
How about an Autumn Weather study? Here is a blog post with a whole list of activities and ideas for autumn weather study.
Here and here are winter weather nature study lessons.
Some ideas for different winter weather walks are listed here.
Is the weather too bad to be outside? Here are some ideas for indoor nature study.
By studying weather late fall through winter, there will be so many different patterns in weather to observe! Studying weather can be as simple as laying outside and observing to clouds from your own backyard. . .to keeping elaborate weather records. Keeping weather records can be easily made more simple for younger kids, and more complicated for older kids. Younger students could check and write in the nature notebook daily the date, temperature, and whether it’s sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc. Older students could keep a more elaborate weather chart and include, date, temperature, conditions, barometric pressure, sunrise and sunset, etc.
Beyond that, here are some other simple weather topics you could study/observe: rain, water cycle, fog, freezing fog, snow, ice, clouds and their shapes and names, how temperature fluctuates, and the seasons compared. There is so much that is interesting about weather!
I hope these ideas get you excited to explore the wonders of our ever-changing weather!
More Charlotte Mason Resources for Your Homeschool
Here are more Charlotte Mason homeschool resources to encourage you!
Winter Nature Studies with the Outdoor Hour Challenges
Our Homeschool Nature Study members have access to endless year round nature studies, including these courses with Handbook of Nature Study references, follow up nature journaling activities, notebook pages and resources to inspire and guide you.
Amy Law is wife to Jeremy, and mom to three. They homeschool using Charlotte Mason’s principles, and love to spend lots of time in nature! You can often find them hiking the beautiful trails of their beloved Tennessee hills, while Amy attempts to capture the beauty of it all with her camera lens.
