So what is it about nature study with my children that is so amazing?  Is it the smell of the fresh air or newly bloomed flowers in the spring?  Or perhaps the peacefulness of the birds chirping in the trees or flying overhead?  Yes, it's definitely those things.  But there is one thing that stands above any other...the precious moments that my children and I have together connecting to one another and to our Heavenly Creator.

Since starting to take regular time to be in the great outdoors together, and indoor studying about nature topics, I am overwhelmingly amazed each day at the wonderful experiences and learning opportunities that we have.  Opportunities that have nutured my personal relationship with my children, and deepened our relationship and understanding of the Creator of all.

Precious moments spent learning about His creation seem to naturally create lessons teaching of His great love for us and His great Truths about life.  I can't even begin to tell you how many wonderful life changing conversations that my children and I have had while looking at something as simple as a wee little flower, or watching a bean seed growing, or listening to the sound of a crow cawing in the distance.  And outdoor moments spill over into our inside school teaching.  While we look up and study the parts of a flower, or read a book on gardening, or read about the behaviors of the crow, meaningful discussions occur where many Truths are discovered.  For this is God's promise:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. ~Psalm 19:1-3

In years past I would attempt to teach about nature with the main intention of trying to fill my children’s minds with numerous facts about it, trying to make sure they could recite them if needed.  And then I would wonder why they seemingly appeared to not be interested; and not surprisingly could recite very little of what they'd learned.  I continually made the mistake in the past with nature study, and all subjects for that matter, of trying to fulfill a pre-conceived agenda and checklist; thereby forfeiting valuable “real” teaching moments.

Just recently I have learned that what my children really needed was to find something tangible, something to put their hands on, something that sparked their interest; and most of all they needed to see that Mom was overwhelmingly passionate about learning about her Father's creation.  That last part came in time with my growth closer to Him.  I'm finding that being outside amongst the beauty of the trees, observing without rush His marvelous works around me, that is where I find myself closest to Him.  I'm immediately drawn to want to learn more about everything I see.  And my children notice this, they take very careful note, and before long I see their wide eyes of excitement as we delve into each and every subject.

I've learned, when teaching my children about nature, to make it my sole objective to ignite within them an interest and passion.  What are the fruits of this?...I'm already seeing a love of learning emerging from the black ashes that remained before.  Suddenly subjects that used to bring dread, such as reading and writing, come with more ease.  But most importantly, the fruits of the Spirit are being formed within myself and my children.

Another beautiful thing about nature study is having the freedom to pursue our interests, and run down any “rabbit trails” that we may find.  Even though we may set out to learn about a particular subject such as trees or birds, I am learning to always stop and smell the flowers, watch the clouds, etc. when presented with a chance to.  I am no longer making myself a slave to tight agendas and checklist objectives which in the past proved to stiffle our love of learning.

If this sounds like a fairy tale land, perhaps I need to add a bit of a disclaimer here.  This method of learning is relatively new for us and has been a long time coming, and we are very much still a works in progress.  Some days drudgery and complaining about learning in any form creeps back in no matter what I do.  BUT, we are experiencing changes of heart, and are for the first time on a path towards what homeschooling for our family was intended to be ~ a gift from God.

God’s blessings to you, and may you and your children find many precious moments in God's creation.

Melissa