Nature Studies right in your back yard ~homeschool #atozchallenge

What can you do to learn about nature in your own yard or neighborhood? Do you think you need to haul your kids off on a fancy field trip to a nature museum to learn about nature? Nope.... Just open those blinds, open that door to your own great big beautiful world.

What might you find? Use all of your senses to help your homeschool students learn about their surroundings.

• Trees: leaves, bark, twigs, roots, flowers, cones, needles, seeds, pods, nests, birds
• Patch of weeds: leaves, roots, bugs, flowers perhaps
• Dirt: worms, gravel, stones, seeds, mud
• Sky: clouds, sun, moon, stars
• 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
• My favorite the compost pile , lots of learning in there
• Our little pond is full of frogs and all sorts of activity

 We love our squirrels and birds, we feed them all, let the kids help you fill the feeders and research the best foods for your area of the country. They will quickly learn what the animals in your area like and don't like. We had a little chipmunk last year also that came to drink from our pond.

I so enjoy the antics of those naughty little squirrels

as they hang from any feeder I have in the yard, most of the time they eat their food, then move to the bird feeders. These photos were taken right outside our front door with my zoom lense DSLR Sony camera. Teach your kids to take photos of the wildlife in your area, or to draw pictures in a nature journal they can keep for throughout school. Nature journaling is a great way to keep memories and learn at the same time, plus an art lesson too.

This pair of doves visit yearly and eat all the food that the squirrels drop on the ground from them. The logs seem to have a Ying and Yang symbol or the kids said they looked like continents....lol , we had our trees trimmed and one tree taken down, lots of lessons learned in those old trees.

We love to watch these garden spiders as they weave their webs right outside our sunporch. The spiders are so active at night and catch so many bad bugs. 

List credit to AVirtuousWoman.org

• Preserve Backyard Flowers
• Holly Bloom’s Garden Unit Study
• Dandelion Lapbook and Unit Study
• Wildflower Crown
• Edible Flower Recipes
• Time of Wonder Lapbook
• WhatBird.com
• Cornell’s Bird Coloring Book
• Create Your Own Field Guide
• Recycled Bird Feeder Craft

Book Recommendations:

1. Holly Bloom’s Garden by Sarah Ashman
2. Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guide for Young Naturalists)
3. Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
4. Dandelion by Don Freeman
5. National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Wildflowers

More fabulous Nature Homeschooling ideas and links ~~


Tree Study and Lapbook Here

Introduction to Nature Journaling contribued by Denise Gregson

Nature Study Charlotte Mason Style by Jimmie

Nature Walk Guide Sheets (2-4 years old)

Nature Journal Pages (3-6 years old)

Nature Journal Page (from Crayola)

From Highland Hitchco

Bug Nature Journal Page
Plant Identification Labels

Leaf Identification Labels

Animal Report Form

Winter Scavenger Hunt

Detailed Nature Journal Form (upper elementary+)

credit to http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/03/27/montessori-inspired-bird-unit/

Montessori-Inspired Bird Printables (from my favorite Montessori lady Deb Chitwood)

Bird Printables (available for purchase) from Montessori for Everyone

Bird Printables (available for purchase) from Montessori Helper

Bird Printables (available for purchase) from Montessori Print Shop, including free
Bird Match-Up and Memory Game
Free Bird Materials from Montessori Materials
Free Bird Cards and Songs from Tired, Need Sleep
Free Bird Matching Cards from The Helpful Garden
Free Montessori Cards for the Burgess Bird Book from That Resource Site

Bird (and egg) Posts from Little Wonders’ Days (photo from Parts of a Bird Mini Book and Printable)
Montessori-Inspired Easter Activities – includes lots of Easter egg activities (my roundup post)
Bird Posts from Little Tiger Growing Up
Bird Posts from The Pinay Homeschooler
Bird Posts from Early Education with Antek and Kuba
Bird Posts from Little Acorns
Bird Posts from My Little Princess World
Bird Unit from Refined Metals Academy
Winter Birds from Homeschool Mom

 Bird Unit Study Pinterest Board by Deb Chitwood

Enjoy your nature studies! I gotta go feed my birds

Just Do It! Homeschool Them! #atozchallenge

So you feel the tug on your heart to homeschool you kids? Maybe for several years now you have thought about it, prayed about it, almost started to do it and something held you back.

I am telling you now Just Do It!

You will be blessed and your family bond will grow stronger. It is not an easy road, and you will face days that are frustrating, tearful and gut wrenching. But, joy, laughter and raising lifelong learners will overshadow all the bad days.

I started out trying to resist the direction that God was leading our family's life. For at least 3 years I felt that God was leading me down the homeschool path, but I refused to listen to his call. We tried private Christian schools (2 different ones) and I started to realize, as our 3rd child came along, that paying for an education when I could do the exact same thing at home was just not making much sense.

We embarked on a homeschool journey, taking a leap of faith and trusting God to lead and guide our education. We have been so blessed because we followed God's will for our family.

So if you are feeling that pull, like something is missing from you children's education, maybe some prayerful time with The Lord will lead you down the path you are seeking.

 

 

 

I is for Inspiring... #atozchallenge

How Inspiring to others are you?

As a homeschooling mom that may or may not be a difficult question to answer. You are more inspiring than you think. I once thought that there was nothing inspirational about my life, as a young woman I will admit that my self esteem was low and I thought more of what others thought about me instead. Growing in Christ has helped me to overcome thru many trials and tribulations. Having a strong faith has kept me well planted in Gods word when times have been rough or almost impossible for me to bear. He has taught me that there is nothing I can not do without Him by my side. As the Bible promises, He will not put more on you than you can bear without his help.

Inspiring others is one thing I have learned to do with Gods help, he leads me to those he feels need a smile, that special touch of a nurses hand, or an inspiring blog post here or my other blogs. There is not a weekend that goes by that I don't work my busy weekender shift in the ER and someone comes across my path I know God has put there. It might be a patient that needs to talk or a family member who is scared.

How can you inspire others? First ask for God's guidance, pray about it. He will lead your path.

You are already inspiring your family, being a parent is an inspiration itself. Smile at others you meet, you never know what another person's walk is in life. Do what you do best, whether it be cooking, writing, crafting or talking, use those tools you have to help and inspire others.

Be an inspiration and pass it on, be contagious ....

Enjoy these Inspiring and Lifting Words! I love these.

Have a fabulous day!

Awesome to be a Homeschool Mom #atozchallenge

Being a homeschool mom most days is very challenging, but with all the frustrations and challenges it has to be the most awesome job I have ever had. There are many reasons to homeschool here are just 20.