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How to Make Your Backyard a Natural Habitat for Wildlife

Here are some simple ways you can make your backyard a natural habitat for wildlife. You will love having the opportunity to have nature come to you in your very own backyard. Involve your whole family in the project and spend some time outdoors!

When we first moved into our house over twenty years ago, the backyard was fairly generic. It had a big weedy lawn, a pine tree, a few fruit trees, blackberries along the fence, and some bushes in the back. The front yard had a magnolia tree and some lawn. Not really very inviting to either humans or animals. It was not a very big yard either and we did not have a lot of money to do big landscape projects at that time.

We didn’t set out to create a natural habitat for wildlife in our yard, but it has turned out that way with some simple ideas in mind. Working on one small area at a time we managed to eventually build up what we have now.

How to Get Started Making Your Backyard a Natural Habitat for Wildlife

Animals and Birds need some basic things in order to consider your backyard an attractive habitat.

  • Food
  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Somewhere to have their young
Here are some simple ways you can make your backyard a natural habitat for wildlife. You will love having nature come to you in your very own backyard.

Food Sources for Your Backyard

Here are some ideas for food sources for wildlife:

  • Wild sources of food in your backyard like blackberries and grasses that produce seeds.
  • You can plant a variety of things to help provide food as well.
  • We have a fig tree, a walnut tree, sunflowers every summer, and flowers whose nectar is attractive to birds and insects like trumpet vine and butterfly bush.
  • A trumpet vine is a favorite of the hummingbirds when it is in bloom. There will three or four all sipping nectar on various sides of the trellis and they are amazing to watch. We also have several types of bird feeders in our yard at varying levels.
  • Platform feeders, hopper feeders, hummingbird feeders, and special finch feeders are filled all year round. We have a suet feeder that we add in the winter.
  • We also have a butterfly/hummingbird garden established with quite a few plants that are attractive to various kinds of butterflies.
  • We have seen Tiger swallowtails already this year and we are hoping to start attracting some Monarchs with the milkweed that we have started in a patch near the back of the garden.
  • We also know that a variety of mammals eat the seed under the feeders. We have seen skunks, voles, and moles. We have seen evidence of other rodents but can’t be sure exactly what else is out there at night.
a water source for your backyard habitat. Here are some simple ways you can make your backyard a natural habitat for wildlife. You will love having nature come to you in your very own backyard.

Water Sources for Your Backyard Nature Study

A water source is essential in attracting wildlife to your backyard natural habitat.

  • We have two bird baths that are available for the birds year round. We also have noticed the birds perched on the potted plants getting water from the base. The birds also enjoy the rainbird sprinklers when they are on and we frequently see blackbirds shaking around in the spray.
  • We have seen little raccoon footprints around the bird bath as well. We know we have at least one raccoon because we have seen him up on our deck at night looking in the back window. Too cute.
watering the garden. Homeschool nature study

Shelter for Wildlife

Here are some ideas for shelter for wildlife in your backyard natural habitat:

  • We have not been successful with having birds nest in our birdhouse, but we have had several birds over the years make nests in our magnolia and sequoia trees.
  • There are also birds that nest in the eave of our neighbors garage right along the fence line. They fly in and out and use our feeders. Believe it or not, the birds fly into the space under the beam. If you click the photo you can see where they go in and out.
  • We have three large areas where we have shrubs for the birds to hide in. These photinia bushes behind the garden provide a great spot for the finches and little birds to perch as they wait their turn at the feeders.
  • These areas are near the feeders and the bird baths and the birds seem to like having the option to fly into the shrub and then check the feeder out before perching to eat a meal. The bushes come alive in the winter when the weather is wet because so many birds take shelter there out of the weather.
  • The back oak tree has bats from time to time and if we come out at night we can see them flying around the backyard eating insects midair.
  • We have a section of our yard that has big river rocks and this is where you will find a variety of insects living underneath and also a shelter for the reptiles in our yard. Yes, we have a couple types of lizards and other reptiles in our yard and the boys love it.
  • The grape vines which we planted last year are providing another spot for the birds to perch plus the added bonus of some seedless grapes for us at the end of the season.
  • Another great place that we know we have provided shelter is within our compost pile. This really could go under the category of food as well since we know that birds and other small creatures forage in the compost for meals.
bird nest - Here are some simple ways you can make your backyard a natural habitat for wildlife. You will love having nature come to you in your very own backyard.

Natural Habitat: Provide a Place to Raise Young

The trees in our yard are a great place for birds to raise their babies. We just had “flying school” for the Scrub jays in our yard for the babies. They have all flown out on their own now and it was fun to watch. The hummingbirds are all up in a pine tree and a cedar tree that borders the back of our property and although we have never seen them, we know they nest and raise babies there.

We do have our limits thought….the six foot fence all the way around was in response to the mule deer that would come in and devastate a whole vegetable garden in one night. We knew we would be forcing them to go elsewhere for a meal but we live fairly close to a riparian habitat that they can graze and get water from. They still make themselves at home in our unfenced front yard and I hear them on hot summer nights snacking on my roses. I guess they must be hungry. The photo above shows where on the side of the house outside the fenced in area, the deer are still taking shelter here and sleeping. You can see where the grasses and plants are all flattened down from where they lay down and rest.

Last year we had a family of skunks move in under the back deck. I had the boys fill up the crevice with rocks as soon as they moved out. As much as I love wildlife, having a skunk family that near to our house was not pleasant…you can only imagine.

So there are some ideas to get you started with your backyard natural habitat. Take it one section and one idea at a time and soon you will have your own nature study laboratory right outside your back door. It has taken us over twenty years to build up the different aspects but it has been a labor of love. We are continually adding little things to help make the backyard beautiful and also attractive to birds and other animals.

You might be interested in what the National Wildlife Federation says about building a backyard natural habitat.
Create A Wildlife Habitat

You will also like these ideas for Creating Your Backyard Homeschool Nature Study Laboratory.

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

Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

written by Barb June 2009, updated by Tricia February 2022

Here are some simple ways you can make your backyard a natural habitat for wildlife. You will love having nature come to you in your very own backyard.
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Your Backyard Homeschool Nature Study Laboratory

Your backyard truly is homeschool nature study laboratory! We will show you how you already have what you need for building the habit of getting outside with your children.

We are challenging you to begin homeschool nature study with the intention of creating the habit of getting outside with our children every week. There is something exciting about starting nature study with all the possibilities in front of us. Take the opportunity to join us for what could be the start of a grand adventure.

How do you create the habit of getting outside with your children?

Baby steps. We are here to help you with some methods that have been shared over the last decade, guiding hundreds of families to successfully navigate nature study close to home. When establishing a new habit, we have always found it helpful to start small and work on consistency.

Your backyard is a homeschool nature study laboratory! You already have what you need to build the habit of getting outside with your children.

Your Backyard is a Homeschool Nature Study Laboratory

A new habit can be encouraged simply by seeing the benefits of an easy change. Think of your backyard and neighborhood as a nature study laboratory. Change your view of what is right outside your own door. Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Starting with the things closest to home, you’ll soon see how the habit of getting outside each week comes more easily.

What is there to observe in our backyard Homeschool Nature Study Laboratory?

Here are just a few things you have easy access to for backyard homeschool nature study

  • Trees: leaves, bark, twigs, roots, flowers, cones, needles, seeds, pods, nests, birds
  • Patch of weeds: leaves, roots, bugs, flowers
  • Dirt: worms, gravel, stones, seeds, mud, ants, mushrooms, moss
  • Sky: clouds, sun, moon, stars, birds
  • Air: temperature, wind, smells, breath on a cold morning
  • Birds: flying, pecking, eating, chirping, hopping, shapes and colors, beaks, wings, tails, feet
  • Sounds: wind, frogs, rain, leaves, crickets, bees, fly buzzing, mosquitoes
  • Weather: rain, clouds, temperature, snow, ice, dew, wind
  • Flowers (garden or in a pot): petals, pollen, roots, leaves, stem, fragrance, shapes, colors, seeds
Your backyard is a homeschool nature study laboratory! You already have what you need to build the habit of getting outside with your children.

How long does it take? Just 15 minutes!

Consistently taking fifteen minutes during your weekly schedule to get outside will be of great benefit in providing interesting things to observe. Even better, take that time when your child is distracted or listless during the homeschool day and seize the opportunity to get outside with them for just a few minutes. Once you see the benefits of allowing this time outside to reset, you’ll begin to see nature study as a refreshing necessity rather than a task that needs to be checked off a list of things to do.

We don’t need to devote a lot of time to nature study during our weekly schedule. Keen observation is the key, not reading lessons, filling in notebooks, or keeping collections. Short walks outdoors along with our children as we encourage observation will do far greater good than any other form of lesson plan.

Favorite Handbook of Nature Study quotes

Can I just send my kids outside on their own?

Children need to grow the habit of looking at things carefully.  In nature study, we can encourage our children to look at things more closely, to really see what is there.  You need to go with your children outdoors at first, walking alongside them or being available nearby. This will alert you to subjects of their interest. Have them describe what they see and perhaps you can ask a few leading questions. Keep it friendly and light.

“The great danger that besets the teacher just beginning nature study is too much teaching, and too many subjects. In my own work I would rather a child spent one term finding out how one spider builds its orb web than that he should study a dozen different species of spiders. If the teacher at the end of the year has opened the child’s mind and heart in two or three directions nature-ward, she has done enough.”

Anna Botsford Comstock

In My Experience

Your backyard homeschool nature study can hold your attention for a long time if you are diligent about looking for a variety of things to observe. Most of us have plants, birds, trees, rocks, insects, invertebrates, and mammals that will visit us at least at certain times of the year. Challenge your family to pick something each week to learn more about. Nature study is a long-term project (or even a lifestyle) that everyone can find satisfaction in doing together as a family.

Each family member can develop their special area of interest. My daughter and I love flowers and birds. My husband is a tree person. The boys enjoy insects, rocks, and mammals of all sorts. Look for your child’s interest and nurture it! I sometimes wouldn’t get involved at all when the kids were looking at something. Quietly observing their interaction with the natural world gave me insight into what we could learn about in the future.

Remember that nature study intensity can come in cycles. There are periods of time or seasons of the year when we devote much energy to getting outside and taking nature walks. The amount of time may fluctuate to fit our family’s circumstances. Although regular outdoor time reaps the most benefits, real life demands we make allowances for breaks and interruptions. But don’t let these breaks stumble you and get back into it as soon as possible, picking up where you left off.

What can homeschool parents do?

To be successful in creating a nature study habit, it’s helpful for parents to be enthusiastic and see for themselves the beauty in the natural world. Start with your passions and then build from there with what you discover about your child’s interests. For example, if your interest is in flowers, spend time in your garden together or visit a nearby garden with your family. Start off looking at flowers and see where that leads. An insect may visit your flowers, or a bird may land nearby. Try to allow for nature study to unfold before you.

They need you to regularly allow time to just be outside during all the seasons. We can all bear fifteen minutes a week of backyard homeschool nature study under even the most uncomfortable circumstances. If you keep in mind that your nature study can be just outside your back door, you’ll be more apt to go out regularly.

Homeschool Nature Study Members Have Great Resources at Your Fingertips

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

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

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

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

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

Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!
Your backyard is a homeschool nature study laboratory! You already have what you need to build the habit of getting outside with your children.
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Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study

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

Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study Inside Preparation Work


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

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

Handbook of Nature Study, page 597

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

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

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

Your Nature Study Outdoor Time


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

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

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

Is it four leaf clover or shamrock?

Clover or Shamrock Follow-Up Activity


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

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

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

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

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

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

Rainy Day? Enjoy A Clover or Shamrock Study Indoors!

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

@AmyLaw on Instagram

More Clover or Shamrock Homeschool Nature Study Ideas

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

St. Patrick’s Day Homeschool Bundle

This St. Patrick’s Day homeschool unit study bundle includes integrated lessons in history, literature, art, nature study, science and more! Find it here!

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Backyard Nature Year Round!

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

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

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

written by Barb July 2009 and updated by Tricia February 2022

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Handbook of Nature Study Review of New Edition

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

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

Handbook of Nature Study Review of New Edition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just in case you want the bottom line…..

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

More Handbook of Nature Study Homeschool Help from The Curriculum Choice

The Handbook of Nature Study Book Here at Homeschool Nature Study

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

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

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How to Make Leaf Rubbings for Your Homeschool Nature Study

Taking the time to draw leaves helps you observe the details. For young children, a wonderful starting place for a homeschool leaf nature study is to make leaf rubbings.

When my children were young, autumn walks always included collecting colorful leaves. We might get home with handfuls of leaves in a rainbow of autumn shades. We would talk about the shapes and what tree each leaf came from or which ones were our favorites. Once home, we’d pull out crayons or markers and attempt to draw a few of the leaves on paper to be hung on the refrigerator or given as gifts to grandparents. Nature study was casual and enjoyable.

As they grew older and we would be out during our homeschool day, I would sometimes follow up with a more detailed nature study lesson using the Handbook of Nature Study or our tree field guide. The amount of information we would cover really depended on the children’s interest and my aim. By high school we were more deliberate in our autumn leaf studies using more scientific vocabulary and I expected them to create a more detailed nature journal as part of our more formal science lessons.

Learning about trees, leaves, autumn, and the neighborhood can build over many years and still seem to be just a part of learning about the world we live in and the trees that share the same space.

I love this quote from Anna Botsford Comstock:

“During autumn the attention of the children should be attracted to the leaves by their gorgeous colors. It is well to use this interest to cultivate their knowledge of the forms of leaves of trees; but the teaching of the tree species to the young child should be done quite incidentally and guardedly. If the teacher says to the child bringing a leaf, ‘This is a white-oak leaf,’ the child will soon quite unconsciously learn that leaf by name. Thus, tree study may be begun in the kindergarten or the primary grades.” Anna Botsford-Comstock

Leaf Homeschool Nature Study: How to Make Leaf Rubbings

I have many resources here on my website that will help your family learn about leaves, some for younger students and some for older and more advanced students. I’ve found that taking time to draw leaves makes you observe them closely and see the specific features each tree’s leaves involve.

I highly recommend starting with simple sketching and/or rubbing of leaves with younger children.

  • You can watch my short YouTube video that shares some of my tips for drawing leaves, how to make leaf rubbings, and using a flower press for pressing leaves here: Tips for Drawing Leaves.
  • You may wish to complete the Outdoor Hour Challenge that features collecting leaves. Click over and read how to complete a simple leaf study: Collecting Leaves.
  • Watercolor crayons demonstration – Fall Leaf for the Nature Journal. I created this YouTube video a long time ago that shows how I use watercolor crayons in my nature journal. It makes me want to go gather some leaves and do this again in my nature journal!

  • Making Leaf Prints with Ink: This activity is wonderful for older students to quickly create a leaf nature journal page using ink pads and leaves they collect.
  • Image of the cover 9/15 NL

Now that autumn is here, I’m trying to embrace its beauty. We don’t have much “fall color” here in my part of the world but the little bit we do have will be appreciated and perhaps even make its way into my nature journal.

Members can look in the library for many more printable tree and leaf activities and notebook pages in the Trees course.

Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!
Taking the time to draw leaves helps you observe the details. For young children, a wonderful starting place for a homeschool leaf nature study is to make leaf rubbings.
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Homeschool Nature Study: The Chickadee

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homeschool Nature Study: The Chickadee

Nature Study Lesson Plans for Chickadee Nature Study

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

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

Outdoor Hour Time: 

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

Chickadee Nature Study Homeschool Follow-Up Activity:

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

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

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study membership Now
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Did you enjoy this Outdoor Hour Challenge? Be sure to tag us on Instagram @outdoorhourchallenge and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge so we can see and comment!

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Homeschool Nature Study Pine Trees and Pine Cones

This homeschool nature study has everything you need to start learning about pine trees and pine cones. This Outdoor Hour Challenge is based on the Winter Wednesday curriculum which is available to our members but you can follow along regardless using this post as a bit of a guide. In the Winter Wednesday curriculum you will have access to notebooking pages and a host more ideas and links.

Let’s jump into exploring pine trees and pine cones in nature…

This homeschool nature study has what you need to start learning about pine trees and pine cones. Then head outdoors to gather some cones!

This challenge was originally written using the Discover Nature in Winter book which you can grab fairly inexpensively off Amazon in Kindle format. However, I will give you alternatives using the Handbook of Nature Study (this is a link to the free online version if you do not have a copy to hand just yet) too.

Homeschool Nature Study: Pine Trees and Pine Cones

Let’s kick off our studies with a quick Youtube video on pine cones.

Outdoor Hour Challenge for Your Homeschool

1. Read chapter five in Discover Nature in Winter. Once again, this chapter covers more than just cedar trees in its information and activities. As you read the chapter, keep your pen in hand to jot down ideas that come to you as you read the information and the suggested activities.

If you are using the Handbook of Nature Study begin by reading the introductory pages of the pine tree on pages 670-674. Bear this information in mind as you head out for your nature walk. You do not need to bombard your children with information, instead, you will be able to answer their questions and direct their observations.

2. Since this chapter really covers a variety of evergreens, our family will be focusing on our local evergreens as part of this week’s activity. We will be completing two activities to go along with this chapter, one a short term project and one a long term project.

Cone Collection on page 96 (short term)
Tree Community on page 97 (long term)

The Homeschool Pine Cone Collection Activity

For the cone collection, we will be gathering and comparing cones from different evergreens. I love the idea on the top of page 97 to pick a cone and write a description of it in your nature journal. Then you share the description with someone else and they have to figure out which cone you described. Love it!

The Tree Community Activity for Your Homeschool

For the tree community activity, we will be using our backyard sequoia to develop an ongoing list of creatures that use the tree as part of their community. This activity suggests keeping track of when certain birds and animals frequent the tree to see patterns. See page 98 for a sample chart.

Suggested Activities If You Do Not Have A Copy of Discover Nature in Winter

I know that there are homeschool families that are following along without the book but this week’s nature study is one you can complete very easily. Here are some suggestions.

1. Observe and compare the bark of two trees in your yard.
2. Pick a tree you can see from your window and observe any birds or animals that visit over the next week.
3. Collect cones and compare them in your nature journal. See if you can find the seeds inside the cone.

Pine Trees and Pine Cones From the Handbook of Nature Study

Lesson 185 – The Pine – page674-675

  • Find a pine tree on your walk and look at it’s shape. Observations 1 -3 of the lesson will guide you on what to look for
  • Gather up some pine leaves. Observation 4 provides guidance on your observations
  • Collect as many cones as you can to take home. It would be lovely it you could find some closed and some open. Observations 5-6 in the Handbook of Nature Study will give you ideas on what you are looking for.
This homeschool nature study has what you need to start learning about pine trees and pine cones. Then head outdoors to gather some cones!

If you are just getting started in homeschool nature study, be sure to grab our free Getting Started in the Outdoor Challenges Guide!

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

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

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Homeschool Bird Study For Different Learning Styles

This homeschool bird study for different learning styles is a wonderful example of how nature study can benefit any child. It allows you to provide a variety of experiences to tap into their natural learning style and complete a bird study all along the way!

Making Nature Study Easy: Adapt to Your Child’s Interests

Are you struggling with making your nature study meaningful for your family? Have your attempts to begin a nature study plan with your children failed because of their bad attitudes or lack of interest? Do you feel like nature study is just another academic subject that you need to check off your list?

You are not alone. I think many of us have tried to make nature study a regular routine in our homeschooling week but ended up throwing in the towel because it was just too hard to get into a rhythm.

Our Different Homeschool Learning Styles

I’m a mom of four children, one daughter and three sons. I found it impossible to make every study interesting for every child when it came to nature study. As a homeschooling mom, I attempted to educate myself in ways to offer subjects to my children that met their needs and interests, strengths, and skills.

I found nature study to be most successful when you allow your children to make connections that are meaningful and fit their style of learning. I was more successful when I offered a variety of activities to appeal in some way to their personal interests. (You can read more about the concept of addressing the various ways we learn here: Multiple Intelligences.)

This homeschool bird study for different learning styles is a great example of how nature study can benefit any child.

Homeschool Bird Study For Different Learning Styles

Here is a specific example of this kind of customized learning for you to think about and adapt to your family with a Homeschool Bird Study For Different Learning Styles:

  • Musical Learner: Enjoys listening to and learning to imitate bird calls. Easily identifies a bird by its call. Writes a song about birds.
  • Verbal-Linguistic: Records a birding experience in a nature journal using words or tells a story about the nature walk. Writes or copies a poem about a bird into their nature journal. Learns the Latin names of birds as well as the common names. Reads the biography of Audubon.
  • Mathematical-Logical: Tallies birds at a feeder. Keeps a running list of birds seen over a period of time in a nature journal. Collects bird feathers and categorizes them into groups. Studies migratory maps and learns where local birds go for the winter. Learns all the state birds. Experiments with different kinds of bird seed to see which ones particular birds like best. Participates in citizen science projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count and Project Feederwatch.
  • Visual-Spatial: Makes a model of a bird from clay. Sketches a bird in their nature journal. Notices the differences between birds: beaks, wing shapes, tail shapes, size. Builds a birdhouse. Designs and builds their own birdfeeder. Constructs a bird blind in order to observe birds.
This homeschool bird study for different learning styles is a great example of how nature study can benefit any child.
  • Kinesthetic: Loves to take a walk and look for birds using binoculars. Climbs a tree to find a bird’s nest or just experience a “bird’s eye” view. Hangs a bird feeder and keeps it full. Plants a bird garden.
  • Interpersonal: Joins a birding group and learns from the more experienced birders about their local area. Volunteers at a bird reserve with a friend. Organizes a field trip to a bird aviary for their co-op.
  • Intrapersonal: Spends quiet time outdoors observing birds, perhaps recording their experiences in their own nature journal that they don’t share with others. Has a pet bird.
  • Naturalist: Enjoys lots of time outdoors looking for birds and learning their life cycles. Learns the names of birds, keeps a bird life list, learns the calls, and keeps a nature journal. Easily remembers the names of birds and their habits. Has a collection of bird’s feathers, bones, and nests.
  • Existential: Learns about endangered species of birds. Spends time contemplating a bird’s life cycle. Keeps a journal of their thoughts about birds and how they fit into the web of life on the earth.

If you’re struggling with deciding what your child’s learning style is, be patient and if all else fails, ask them what they want to do for nature study. You could share some of the ideas in the printable referenced below as a way to introduce new and fresh ideas.

It’s really a case of trial and error until you have it all figured out.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership for All Learning Styles

Specific ideas for adapting nature study are in the printable Multiple Intelligences and Grid Study in the Homeschool Nature Study Membership in the Resources course. Topics covered include mammals, reptiles, wildflowers, astronomy, insects, trees, weather, and invertebrates. This set of pages has ideas for ways to adapt nature study to fit your child’s style of learning.

Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Try applying the principle of this Homeschool Bird Study For Different Learning Styles to any nature study subject. You’re only limited by your imagination.

This homeschool bird study for different learning styles is a great example of how nature study can benefit any child. Printable included.

 

 

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Charlotte Mason Nature Study For Your Homeschool

Just how do you enjoy a Charlotte Mason nature study for your homeschool? Let’s look at some advice from Charlotte Mason herself and apply it in a simple way to our own outdoor times.

Charlotte Mason Nature Study for Your Homeschool

All quotes are from Charlotte Mason (modern English), volume 3

“One afternoon a week, the students in our ‘Practicing School’ [taught by the student teachers at Charlotte Mason’s teacher’s college] go for a ‘nature walk’ with their teacher. They notice things by themselves, and the teacher tells them the name or gives other information only if they ask for it.”

“The teachers are careful not to turn these nature walks into an opportunity to give science lessons, because they want the children’s attention to be focused on their own observations.”

“They’re allowed to notice things with very little direction from the teacher. By doing this, children accumulate a good collection of ‘common knowledge.’ ”

-Charlotte Mason

“Even more important, students learn to know and take pleasure in objects from nature like they do in the familiar faces of friends.”

-Charlotte Mason

Nature Study in Your Own Backyard

I have certainly given my share of “science lessons” during our nature walks and nature time. I am getting better about letting the children direct me to what they are curious about. I see the wisdom in allowing them to explore and learn in a way that makes sense to them, but I can be available to assist them with questions they might have. I am pretty comfortable with telling them that I don’t know the answer to their question and then find someone or some resource that does have the answer.

“The nature walk shouldn’t be used as a chance to dispense miscellaneous tidbits of scientific facts.”

-Charlotte Mason

These principles are the same whether your nature study takes place in your backyard, on the trail, or during some other nature study outing. As the parent, you set the mood. If you quietly observe your children, you will see what they are drawn to learn more about without much effort.

Try it the next time you are having your outdoor time.

Photo by Amy Law

Charlotte Mason Style Exam Questions for Homeschool High School

Several of the courses included in Homeschool Nature Study membership include Charlotte Mason style exam questions for advanced students. Author Barb McCoy says, “This series has proved to be a huge success in our family, helping to bring nature study up to a level for my teens. Also, I saw families with large age ranges of children completing the challenges together, each on their own level and enjoying it.”

You can feel free to pick and choose which questions you will give your homeschool high school student according to their interest and abilities.

You can successfully continue nature study with your teenagers. They may need some encouragement to make the study their own by adjusting your subjects, your methods of follow-up, and your attitude towards what nature study should look like.

More Resources for Charlotte Mason Nature Study Time

Besides our free Getting Started in the Outdoor Hour Challenges download, we invite you to enjoy these wonderful nature resources.

You will find hundreds of Charlotte Mason style homeschool nature studies plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges in our Homeschool Nature Study membership.

Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!
How do you enjoy a Charlotte Mason nature study for your homeschool? Look at advice from Charlotte Mason herself and apply it to outdoor times.
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Homeschool Nature Study: Winter Sky Constellations

This week’s homeschool nature study outdoor hour challenge looks upward towards the stars, yes, it’s time to learn about the winter sky constellations!

Homeschool Nature Study Winter Sky Constellations: Outdoor Hour Challenge

1. Read chapter three in Discover Nature in WinterWinter stargazing is something that our family has always wanted to do but we have never taken the initiative to get out and do so. Now we have the perfect excuse. Read the chapter with a view to picking some winter stars to learn about and observe as a family. Start with the North Star or Orion’s belt if you are not sure what you are doing yet.

“Unlike owls and other nocturnal creatures, our eyes are not well designed for seeing in the dark. After leaving a lighted building at night, it takes about thirty minutes for our eyes to become adjusted to the lower light levels.”

The Handbook of Nature Study, page 37

Allow plenty of time for your eyes to adjust and to take in the night sky.
2. Our family decided to make sure we can find these four constellations in the winter sky:

  • Big Dipper (North Star as well) page 44
  • Ursa Major page 45
  • Cassiopeia page 47
  • Orion (using Orion’s belt) page 49

We do not have a telescope but we use our eyes and sometimes our binoculars to view the night sky. We also plan to bundle up to keep warm and then go inside afterwards for some hot cocoa or apple cider.

3. If you can’t fit in some nighttime stargazing for winter sky constellations, how about some sunset observations? You could also look for the moon as well as stars and write about it in your nature journal. Being able to name a star or constellation is a great skill but it can be just as satisfying to spend some time contemplating the universe while gazing at the stars.

For those families that do not have the book to work from, please join us by going outside at night and observing the winter sky. Try to pick a cloudless night where you can observe plenty of stars. Observing the moon in the winter is a great nature study experience as well. Keep it simple and give it a try.

Homeschool Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge Winter Sky Constellations

Winter Sky Resource For Your Homeschool

This website has a wealth of materials to help you map the winter sky!

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

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study membership Now
An image showing the full collection of Nature Study courses

Connect With Our Homeschool Community On Social Media

Did you enjoy this Outdoor Hour Challenge? Be sure to tag us on Instagram @outdoorhourchallenge and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge so we can see and comment!

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

Join the Homeschool Nature Study membership Now
An image showing the full collection of Nature Study courses

Connect With Our Homeschool Community On Social Media

Did you enjoy this Outdoor Hour Challenge? Be sure to tag us on Instagram @outdoorhourchallenge and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge so we can see and comment!