Our First Nature Study

OK, I'll admit it, I'm really not an outdoors kind of girl. I don't enjoy the bugs, or the hot, or the cold, or the dirt, but I do enjoy seeing the things our loving God has created, which is going to require me to spend more time outside and 'become one with nature' (not really!).

I am going to work really hard though on trying to get out more, at least once a week, and to teach the girls a lot about God, life and science through being in the great outdoors. One of the foundational thoughts of teaching with the Charlotte Mason method is "Out of door nature study lays the foundation for science". (Vol.3 p.281). So out the door we went. We carried along our sketch books, field guides and water color pencils, all in our handy-dandy waterproof bag. As we walked into the woods, I explained to the girls some of the rules of nature. 1st, don't EVER go in the woods by yourself. (You see where we live, we have woods on all sides of us, so I'm basically saying, don't leave the grass). 2nd, before you step over a log, look on the other side to make sure there isn't a snake laying there and 3rd, watch out for briers! That's about all I could remember from all those years in girl scouts. I'll put that on my to-do list, look up safety tips for woodland adventures!

As we walked, we saw many neat things. A lot of trees had fallen and we got to see a really large one with all the roots showing as well as the big hole it had left behind. As we trekked further down the hill and into the wood, we came to the creek. You would have thought I had taken them to Angel Falls in Venezuela. They were so excited. If course the first thing they wanted to do was get in it. Being the good mother that I am, I said "No, it's to chilly to be in the water" then remembering what a drag that was to hear all my childhood, I changed my mind and said "OK, but just walk across on the rocks and try not to get your clothes wet. Jacey made it across first.

Then Abbey made it across (and she didn't for get her sassiness!)

Of course, children being children, it wasn't long before both of them had fallen in the water (I think Abbey fell first), but they were having to much fun for me to stop them, and besides everyone knows colds come from germs, not wet feet in April! (right??)

Here's a picture of them together in the creek

After I felt they had gotten wet enough, and they had started pushing the limit just a little to far, we all sat down on the bank and looked around for something to draw. The story and picture of Abbey's drawing is on the previous perfectionist post. Jacey decided to draw the creek, a water bug we saw and the weeds and briers growing on the bank of the other side of the creek. I'll upload her drawing on a separate post as I think this one may have to many pictures.

We had a great time on our first nature study and I plan to do it much more often (unless it's hot, wet, humid, dirty, sticky, sunny, or cloudy outside!) (Just kidding!)