The Nature Study Thing

In all my many years of homeschooling--six now--nothing has frustrated me more than my desire to do nature study, and my ineptitude at getting it done. That would be me...standing off to the side, stomping my foot in agitation over what seems like this gigantic hurdle that I can't seem to get over!

I've read all the books--the really, good books, I might add: "Pocketful of Pinecones", "Handbook of Nature Study", "The Charlotte Mason Companion"...

I've faithfully followed the comings and goings of such stalwart nature study champions as Barb (of Harmony Art Mom fame, not to mention the Outdoor Hour Study!) and Melissa of In the Sparrows Nest. For Pete's sake! I remember the day Melissa wrote about completely changing her entire approach to homeschooling after her son had emergency surgery. I was totally enthralled! Now she helps write those great resources for nature study. And here I sit starring out the window! Hey! It's cold out there!

I confess. I grew up in front of the TV. Playing outside was not ever something one did by choice. It was akin to punishment. Well, we don't have TV. My kids do love to play outside. They don't even mind the cold. But I do! And I don't like the heat either (old age?).

But the biggest thing that bugs me is that we live on a new golf course. There is not a tree in sight that is more than 5yrs old. Puny. I've never seen a squirrel in this neighborhood, people! And it's a big neighborhood. Oh! We do have a lake right behind our house. But we are not allowed to go anywhere near it because it's part of the golf course. You can't take walks to it, or explore the vegetation, or critters. Nothing. Just stare at it out the window.

Ok. The flocks of geese do fly over. But flocks of honking geese do seem to lose their appeal after a couple of years.

I did mention the "C" word, right?: critters? Um. I don't like critters. At all. I won't touch ANY of em...ever. The "Ewww" factor is way off the charts for me. And yet. I keep wanting to do this nature study thing.

Heaven help me. I dream of a wooded yard with a babbling creek and the sounds of chirping birds. I have grass. Sigh. I know. I know. Drive to the park! The problems with that are time, discomfort, fear of the unknown and did I mention time? With back problems hiking is not so good. Park benches are not so good. What's that? You hear violins!! Yeah. Me too!

But seriously. I REALLY want to do nature study. I tried to plan it this year. I printed out a bunch of Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenges. So good. And easy. I just can't seem to wrap my head around it to "guide" my children. I have tried the ole "We're going to have nature study, kids! Run outside and observe something. Then come tell Mama all about it!!" Bleck. Oh. Don't get me wrong. They actually didn't mind that at all. But that's not really what I'm wanting for them.

Have you seen Edith Holden's journal?? Oh my! I would seriously love to teach my kids how to do that! Forget them...I'd love to do that!

I guess I correlate nature study with advanced bio-chemistry. NOT in a million years could I tell you anything on THAT topic. That's how I feel about nature. I know nothing. Or pretty close to it. My world is about books!! I read about stuff. I don't dig it up out of the swamp!

How do these nature study people find the stuff they find? It boggles my mind! I guarantee you there is nothing remotely interesting about the stuff in my yard. We dig and find gravel. Regular old new construction, cheap grading, gravel.

And then there's the identification thing. Identification freaks me out! I got a bird guide and we did Jeannie Fulbright's bird book. We loved it. I can't identify a thing apart from brown-headed cowbirds, robins, gold finches and geese. All PRETTY obvious. I have an aunt and uncle who can name every growing thing on the face of the planet! Every weed, flower, tree, plant...EVERYthing. I just do that drooling, starring thing. How do people get that stuff into their heads?!

I really do want to do this! I think this is my third year of trying to get my act together and failing miserably. Either I can't decide what to do, or who to follow, or what topic is interesting and appropriate seasonally... There is almost too much to choose from. Organization is my "thing". Randomness stumps me. For some reason though, I can't give it up. I should be able to do this! I teach my kids math, right?! Surely I can experience a little nature! I know it's more than about the rescue of a few bugs and the gluing of a few leaves in a book. I think it would be so great for the kids, and believe me, after the year we've had, we could use "great".

Christmas break is my next attempt to pull this thing together, get all my acorns in a row (lol) and DO it. So if anyone has conquered the "outdoor" demon, please share how! If anyone wants to hold my hand while we step out into the grassy unknown, let me know that too! Did I mention we have lots of windows to stare out?!!

Beginning Nature Books

We have really been enjoying Jim Arnosky's nature books. He was recommended to us by someone in blogland and though I'd never heard of him, I'm all about a good recommendation!

The illustrations are incredible and the information is just right for us want-to-be learners! We have particularly enjoyed the Crinkleroot books like "I Was Born in a Tree and Raised By Bees". (Daughter really liked how he taught us how to grow our own popcorn!) You can see a sample from one of his books here. (Be sure to click on the word "fish".) Even the so-called toddler level books are wonderfully informative. There are many, many titles available at the library. I know because I tried to check them all out at once and got a little overwhelmed! Here is a complete list of his books. Here are a few of the Crinkleroot books. AND he has coloring pages galore!

Apparently there was a tv show? Not having tv, this was new info for me, but maybe some of you have seen it. Regardless, these books are perfect for our newly discovered Charlotte Mason leanings.

Anyway, just wanted to pass on the recommendation for a great author. You won't be able to help liking these books as much as we do!

Books Impact: Gene Stratton-Porter

I just spent some time looking over the list of books I read this year and a few things struck me. I didn't read nearly as many books as I have in past years. Probably because of my growing family staying up a bit later and thus my personal reading time being shortened. I would like to find more time to read, but then...who wouldn't?!

My list truly serves as a memory of times and events. Books impact our lives! "The All-New Square Foot Gardener" lead to our first ever vegetable garden, which in turn supplied us with many fresh veggies over the summer.

"Created To Be His Help-Meet" was such a fabulous (albeit controversial) book. I cannot even begin to tell you how this book has changed my perspective, my marriage, but mostly my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

But it was one special author that shared most of my year: Gene Stratton-Porter. Never have I come across a stack of books that has meant this much to me from a literary perspective. They are just the most amazing books written by a native of my own state. It's been pretty obvious that her eternal perspective was Biblical. Her characters stir me. I don't say that lightly. Whether we're talking about Little Sister in "Laddie"(I wrote about it here) or Mickey in "Michael O'Halloran"...so different, so sweet and honorable and honest and real!

Her books are about real life. They are about relationships that are awe inspiring. They are about nature and our life amongst it. They are also about God and His Providence in all things. She weaves love, loss, mystery and redemption in a way I've never read, and I've read quite a lot. She champions nature in a pure and Godly way. She tells of history and of science.

Stratton-Porter wrote about nature from a Creationist perspective, too, and her books educate. In "Keeper of the Bees" a small child, Scout, tells a veteran, Jamie, about bees...and about God. It's the most beautifully written pages describing bees, and the evidence of God, that you'll ever read. In the chapter entitled "Because of God" we read,

"First question I ever asked was, 'Why is the bee garden blue?' And I'll have to tell you the answer because you would never guess it in a thousand years. The answer is, 'Because of God.'"

"Yes," said the little Scout. "That's what makes bees so interesting. About half the things you'll have to learn are because of God, and why the bee garden is blue is the very first thing. Now, you listen and I'll tell you the reason."

Scout goes on to teach the grown up about God's perfect design for all living things, and specifically bees. The skeptic is soon awed and the Scout concludes by telling him...

"One time I asked the Bee Master if I couldn't see God and if I couldn't touch Him, how I was going to know that He was here. And he said, 'Because of the hair on a bee.' So that's one of the ways you can know."

At the end of the chapter, the Scout addresses books...and Darwin! Love this!:

"I don't know as I've told you so very well. In there in the library you can find the books like I showed you that tell what people used to think. The books that are the bunk. Then you'll find the books like Lubbock and Swammerdam, which have the wonderful pictures, that will tell you what really happens. Then there are the books like Fabre and Maeterlinck that the Bee Master says are three things at one time. First they are the truth, and next they are poetry, and third they are the evidence of a Master Mind that plans every least little tiny thing. He says the only name for that Master Mind is God. He doesn't see any use in trying to dodge God and side-step Him and call Him 'the Spirit of the Hive' and Instink and Nature and things like that. He says a great scientist, one of the best, almost went crazy trying to do that very thing. His name was Charles Darwin and the Bee Master sayd C.D. would have been a heap bigger Injun if he'd been willing to put God in where He belongs. He says when God does anything 'with such care, and puts so much thought in it, and deals out such splendid justice' as there is in a beehive, that a wise man will just take off his hat and lift his eyes to the sky and very politely he will say, 'Just God.'" (bold mine)

And this book says it was published in 1925--a year after her death.

To say I'm hooked on this author would be an understatement. Each story has captured me and moved me to laughter and tears. These are books to own! To read again and again and to pass down. These are books you only loan out to your nearest and dearest for fear they'll disappear. These books go in the "grab in case of fire" pile!

The hunt for many of these books published around the turn of the century, is just now starting to get fierce. The most popular (of course) were easy to find, many still be published by Indiana University Press. But they are mostly the titles she wrote about Indiana, while living in Indiana. Surprisingly, I found a couple of goodies at the library: Birds of the Bible (a nature book). I glanced through it and it's amazing! FULL of scripture. I look forward to reading through it. I also found "The Magic Garden" which is next on my list.

Stratton-Porter spent the last part of her tragically shortened life in California and it was there that a dear friend found another title for me, "My Father's Daughter". I'm reading it now and though it is excellent again, here she deals with a stronger than usual topic--bigotry. I look forward to seeing how she resolves the issue with her characters.

Here's the list I've read in my order of preference:
1. Laddie
2. Keeper of the Bees
3. Girl of the Limberlost
4. The Harvester
5. Michael O'Halloran
6. Freckles
7. My Father's Daughter

You want to read these books! You really do.

PS. They actually made paper dolls of Gene Stratton-Porter!

The Owl Encounter

This morning we were reading (imagine that!) Jim Arnosky's "All About Owls" (great books by him, by the way!) and I remembered something that happened a whole year ago and I NEVER TOLD YOU! This is too good not to share, but at the time, the only pictures were on my husband's phone. This morning I asked him if he would email them to me, which he did.

What you are about to see is incredible! Especially if you've never seen a real owl up close. You see, my husband grew up out in the country where his mother still lives. Lots of open spaces and old fencing. One night last December, husband was out there with his brother and his mom told him she heard screaming all night long the night before. She thought it was an owl, but was so amazed at the screaming and how long it screamed. Husband and BIL went out to investigate and found this Great Horned Owl stuck in a fence...dead.

You can see the size of this beautiful creature and imagine how sick we all were to realize it had been stuck in that fence, dying all night. There wasn't a mark on it.

Isn't it amazing how alive he still looks?! The colors were just amazing.

Whooo's looking at you! Sorry...couldn't resist! :)

So BIL wrapped him up and put him in the freezer and started making calls. You see, when you live in a TINY town out in the boondocks, you KNOW people! So he called a sheriff friend who said that it couldn't be avoided, the DNR would have to be called in. So, after much prayer and hoping that we'd be able to have him stuffed and mounted, we called the DNR. They immediately came and confiscated him. BOO HOO! We were so sad. They are protected (of course) and apparently there is a huge waiting list of schools wanting such a speciman. WE'RE a not huge school wanting him!!! Drat!

So there you have it. The owl encounter.

Well, it's ridiculously cold out and everything's covered in ice. These pictures inspired some art, so here's what we got:

So here's daughter's drawing. She had been particularly interested in the claws when we read, so she drew them with special care.

And here's son's. He's really improving (drawing has never been his strong suit, or even his interest--but that is changing!).

AND THEN! We used our Paper Toys links to make this beauty!

Leaf Collecting

We are currently going through the Exploring Creation Through Botany book by Jeannie Fulbright. This is our third book in the series and so far is tying with the Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, as our favorite. We love 'em!

So Tuesday, we headed south to my home town for leaf collecting. It just didn't seem right to make our collection from any leaves other than from the same trees that I made my own leaf collection many...many years ago. Especially, with it being relatively close by.



The kids really enjoyed looking for different leaves, but didn't care for the fact that some were unreachable--wayyy up in the sky. We had a brief encounter with a snake crawling over son's foot and a few spider sightings that gave us the willies. We played in the creek--just a bit--and ended up at the playground.

Overall, mission accomplished. I have to say, the nature hike thing is not always as easy as some make it seem. I tried to coax the children into sharing observations and deep thinking, but they weren't having any of that. Charlotte Mason would have flunked me. But, hey! We were there, so that's what matters most. I do wish we had more areas like that to explore closer to home. Living in urban madness, we are somewhat limited.

The next morning, the children enjoyed pressing and gluing their leaves into a book. Son did an admirable job labeling the type of leaf; edge and all, and even tried to identify the type of tree through a Fandex guide. This was a bit more difficult, but he gave it a great effort. Daughter was equally thrilled with the gluing/pressing process and no doubt will be picking leaves off things for her "collection" from now on!

Just Thinking: How I Decide To Add Something To Our Week

I am very analytical by my God-made nature. I must start with the details of a problem and work up to the solution--piece by piece. The smaller the pieces to start with, the easier the going. Often the process is not a thrill, nor is it automatic. What goes on in my head can't always come out on paper. This is one reason I love lists, but apart from making them and collecting them, I don't "use" them. I really spend a lot of time thinking things through. And processing. I'm processing now.

It has been often a source of frustration to see and hear, and be so passionate about so many things "homeschooling". Good ideas and wonderful opportunities really are a dime a dozen, but can I do them all? Some say they will not allow themselves to be pulled into that. They feel it is a trap that is too discouraging. That may be so, to a point.

I suppose in my own head, I look at these things different. The first thing that happens when I hear an idea is an emotional reaction. Either I love it, or hate it. Next, I decide if that is something I would want to do with my children. After that it's, "can I do this with my children?" And then, of course it's, "shall I do this with my children?"

My most recent "process" of the brain has me asking new questions: "Did God put this opportunity here for us?" or, more thought provokingly, "Does this agree with our Biblical teaching philosophy and our desire to seek God's will in our lives and learning?" I'm also asking myself if it's a once in a life-time chance--a "season" that I will not be able to get back. If there is no negative, or objection, I find myself asking if the opportunity is "foundational", a "building block", or "experiential".

A foundational opportunity might be teaching phonograms. You can't very well move on in "life" without it. A building block would be grammar. It's great to be a fabulous writer with all your punctuation right, but in the grand scheme of things will it make or break you--or more importantly, will it affect who you are in Christ? While learning to read would (you couldn't read His word on your own), the grammar would not necessarily.

The last thing is experiential. Many things come along in homeschooling that fall under this category. That's one of the reasons we do it, correct? We can give our kids so many experiences in learning that ps kids don't get--that WE never got. Here's the rub, however.

I've got this great opportunity. I'll use nature study as an example. I'm attracted to the idea like bees on honey! There are lots of reasons to like it.

It shows us God's design, His creation, His very nature.
It epitomizes health and happiness.
There is nothing "bad" about it.
"I" never got to do it.
The artistic elements are appealing
It's a God-thing, not a world-thing.

But then there's the arguments:

I haven't an idea how to do it, or wouldn't be good at it.
I don't have time, or I can't do it all.
I'd have to give something else up.
I don't live by a forest and stream with walking trails, or on a farm.
I live in a fenced in suburban yard with no trees, no parks, no nothing.

For me, nature study falls under experiential. Is it important to life? Many would argue no. But for some reason, and I'd like to think it's a "God" reason, I think it might be. Would being outside in God's creation affect my kid's character? Draw them closer to the Lord? Teach them something incredible? All things I ponder. And the biggie, "Do I believe God really provides all that we need to do a task which He has given us to accomplish?" If it's really an opportunity put before us from the Lord, will he not provide the bugs, dirt, plants, paths, weather, TIME, leading, etc.?

And what will I give up? I've prayerfully decided to put aside grammar, for a season of nature study. The experiential is trumping the building block--this time. If you look again at the arguments for and against, you might notice what I noticed when I just wrote them. The arguments against are "I" centered. The arguments for are more "God" centered. Not all, but enough to be obvious to me who wants God and eternal things as a focus. Is nature study an eternal thing? A lot more than basketball, or video games. It's definitely a God thing! He made it, didn't He?!!

There is a season for things. This is the season of childhood. Getting dirty, exploring and adventuring. It's not our season for Grammar. Grammar can wait. Rolling down hills and catching bugs can't. So we're going to give it a try. We won't be perfect or do it like others do. We'll keep it simple and pray and hopefully enjoy it. I'm pretty sure we'll be the better for it.

So there you have it. I was just thinking, and thought I'd share. And now that I'm done processing, we're actually going to DO it! :)