Posted in Nature Study

Often times when Charlotte Mason said that we need to get our kids out into nature and let them discover the world, I seem to forget that, that world can be right in our own backyard.  And while I have had Wild Days (by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe), sometimes "wild days" don't have to be getting in the car, driving to a faraway canyon, packing a lunch (& cookies) or going to the closest nature center, park or field; this can be so much easier and so much closer even if you don't have a "wild" backyard (or a backyard that needs taming like mine LOL).  I hope this encourages you that you don't have to go to the extremes every time to have a CM type nature day (or hour). 

We have had this on going study of classifying the trees that are growing in our yard and down the street in our neighborhood.  I've let the kids take photos of the trees in their various seasons; we have gathered the seed pods, pressed leaves from the trees, sketched blossoms and made bark rubbings.  Then we write what information that we found out in our own version of a tree field guide. 

I'm sure I could make this so much more technical and really turn it into a "Study" of sorts but really what we are doing is enough:  getting outside, looking closer at nature, noticing details and learning what the different trees are.  Maybe one day we will get deeper into it but for now it really is about fresh air – even if it is cold winter fresh air LOL. 

Sometimes it has taken us a few seasons to figure out what the tree actually is.  I have found that the best way to document all of this was to use those sticky photo albums that are so awful for regular photos and we can use the glue gun to adhere larger bits right on top, like seed pods, while still protecting the leaves and information under the plastic.  Often times the best books that could help us determine what the trees were, were so technically written that it was impossible for us to figure out but I found these great Plant Glossary pages to help decipher and we have included those in our personal tree guides as well.  Here is hoping you have a Wild Day in your own backyard!

This is a page from ds5y.  Obviously not too informative but he enjoys it and is proud of his book.

This is the older boys page with the pictures of the same tree in the different seasons. 

We are still missing a season LOL

And this is the "technical" side with the information.