A happy New Year to you!
My goal this year is to keep a Charlotte Mason inspired Calendar of Firsts; to record recurring seasonal events, such as the first snowdrops, the first apple on our tree in the garden, and when our apple tree loses it’s leaves.
I am really pleased to have some of my readers planning to join me in this diary-keeping, which, scientifically speaking, is known as phenology.
Here are some past posts you may find useful:
Setting Up Your Calendar Of Firsts
If you plan to add little watercolour sketches to your calendar of firsts, you may find this tutorial helpful:
Creating A Watercolour Nature Journal Page ~ A Tutorial
Sometimes, a brand-new diary or sketchbook can be dreadfully intimidating in its pristine perfection. If you are following along with Exploring Nature With Children, you may find the ideas in there to be helpful. The current focus is the twelve days of Christmas; here is a short prompt to help you along:
New Year’s Day
Take a walk to your special nature spot. Be thankful for this place and look forward to the year ahead. Remember to replenish the food for the birds there.
You could choose to observe what is happening in your special nature spot and record that, or perhaps make a list of things you are thankful for today, (both in nature and as a family). Instead you may decide to focus on observing the birds. Record them feeding, keeping warm, even looking for a mate!
The first January week in Exploring Nature With Children is all about the Winter Sky, so you will find lots of ideas there if you would like a resource to ‘hold your hand’, so to speak, as you begin your calendar-keeping.
Please let me know how you are getting on in the comments below, or on the Exploring Nature With Children FaceBook group. I am so very excited to be sharing this journey with you!
Hurray! Thanks for the reminder… I pulled out a blank book last month in anticipation but forgot about it! Happy New Year to you and yours.
Smashing! I am looking forward to hearing of your firsts…
Do you know of any other home school families doing nature study in a tropical climate where there is just hot season and rainy season? I love the look of your resources but we just don’t have the climate variations, and I am struggling to find any resources to help with living in the tropics or rainforest environment.
Good to hear from you Tash.
I am terribly sorry, but I do not know of any families with your climate (that I can think of right now)
Have you always lived in that climate, or is it new to you?
I would get hold of a local ‘field guide’ & simply keep a calendar of firsts. Simply doing that alone would keep you plenty busy!
Keep in touch – I would love to compare firsts 🙂
Thanks very much. We have been here a year now and are finding it hard to notice the changes. But we will try and I am sure that noticing the changes will get easier. South east Asia just seems to have half the year with heavy downpours and half the year very very dry. We are really close to the equator.
Any local field guides are in a language we are still learning! There much be others doing nature study with their children near the equator! Thanks for your reply.
Tasha, I shall post on the Exploring Nature FaceBook group to see if any other families live in more tropical climes. Will let you know!