Year: 2024

I hope that this November Nature Note finds you & your loved ones well.

If you are new here, and to Exploring Nature with Children, I’m thrilled that you’re joining us! If you subscribe to the blog posts on the website, You’ll receive the monthly Nature Note, which will give you an overview of the month ahead, and also the weekly Exploring Nature with Children theme posts, which I hope will be helpful to you in your studies.

For those of you who are using Exploring Nature With Children, the weeks for November fall as follows:

28th ~ 3rd Pumpkin Week #ENWCpumpkinweek  

4th ~ 10th Week 1 Fungus Week #ENWCfungusweek 

11th ~ 17th Week 2: Moss Week #ENWCmossweek 

18th ~ 24th Week 3: Lichen Week #ENWClichenweek 

25th ~ 1st Week 4: Weather Week  #ENWCweatherweek 

If you’re over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! The Instagram page is very much about community; think of it as your virtual home school co op! Our community uses the #exploringnaturewithchildren hashtag, & also specific weekly hashtags { see above } to enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum.

There’s a free ENWC calendar for the year to download  here.

As always, please work the weeks to suit your own circumstances best; these are just my own suggestions! 

Seasonal notes:

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are falling fast.

~ The Months by Sara Coleridge

Special days this October:

• 1st: All Saints’ Day 
• 2nd All Souls’ Day
• 3rd: Daylight saving time ends (US)
• 5th: Guy Fawkes Night
• 10th: Remembrance Sunday
• 11th: Armistice Day, Veterans’ Day, Martinmas
• 24th:  Stir Up Sunday The RLS Nature Advent Calendar invites you to join in with this traditional British festivity!
• 28th: Thanksgiving Day (US)
• 30th: Saint Andrew’s Day
• 1st December: First Sunday of Advent Will you be following along with the RLS Nature Advent Calendar?

Happy exploring!

Next week in Exploring Nature With Children is ‘Pumpkin Week’.

Here are some links to help with your studies:

• Know your pumpkin
• How to draw a pumpkin step by step
• How to paint a watercolour pumpkin
• Bobbing for pumpkins: The science behind ‘Will it float?’
• Pumpkin soup recipe
• How to carve a pumpkin
• Pumpkin carving templates
• Design your pumpkin – worksheet from Twinkl

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op! 

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCpumpkinweek

Happy exploring!

This week in Exploring Nature With Children is ‘Autumn Tree Study Week’.

Here are some helpful links to get you going:

• Claire Walker Leslie’s Guide To Sketching Trees
• Why Do Leaves Change Colour & Fall Off In Autumn
• Do Trees Hibernate?
• Interesting facts about autumn

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op! 

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCautumntreeweek 

Happy exploring!

Christmas Read-Along: The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater

I’m thrilled to invite you to join us in the Raising Little Shoots Facebook group for the annual festive read-along of The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater!

Starting on 1st November, this cosy, inspiring book will take us right through to the end of January, filled with feasts, folktales, myths, and personal memoirs.

Don’t worry—you don’t need to read every day! Dip in and out as you like, enjoying Nigel’s warm reflections and winter recipes. Members have also found the introduction to be a wonderful prelude, so feel free to start reading that a few days early if you’d like.

🔸 Is it vegan-friendly?

Though the book is not exclusively vegan, many of our members in past years have adapted the recipes to suit a vegan diet, and we’d love for you to share your own adaptations with us.

🔸 How religious is it?

Nigel himself describes Christmas from a more cultural standpoint and notes that he’s an atheist. However, he acknowledges that Christmas holds deep spiritual meaning for many, especially Christians who celebrate the birth of Christ. At the same time, he reminds us that regardless of our personal beliefs, we can all embrace the season’s values of celebration, warmth, and traditions that bring people together.

And remember, “winter food is about both celebration and survival.” Most of the recipes are perfect for the colder months, no matter when you choose to make them.

Do let me know in the comments if you’re planning to join us, and here’s a direct link to the RLS Facebook group. I hope to see you there!

Next week in Exploring Nature With Children is ‘Autumn Pond Study Week’.

Here are some links to help with your studies:

• Life in a pond Study Guide
• Pond water under the microscope
• How to draw ducks: profile view. John Muir Laws
• How to draw ducks: The head. John Muir Laws
• How to Draw Ducks: Video workshop
• Come Outside: Geese

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op! 

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCautumnpondweek 

Happy exploring!

Next week in Exploring Nature With Children is ‘Autumn Leaves Week’.

Here are some links to help with your studies:

• How to foreshorten leaves: John Muir Laws
• Why do some leaves change colour? Video
• Creative ways to recycle leaves
• How to make a leaf crown
• Come Outside – Hedgehogs {Not autumn leaves, but it’s worth remembering the hedgehogs hibernate in fallen leaves, and lovely for this time of year. }

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op! 

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCautumnleavesweek 

Happy exploring!

I hope that this Octber Nature Note finds you & your loved ones well.

So many of you are new to Exploring Nature with Children, and are joining us for the first time. I’m thrilled that you’re joining us! If you subscribe to the blog posts on the website, You’ll receive the monthly Nature Note, which will give you an overview of the month ahead, and also the weekly Exploring Nature with Children theme posts, which I hope will be helpful to you in your studies.

For those of you who are using Exploring Nature With Children, the weeks for October fall as follows:

30th ~ 6th  Break Week

7th ~13th Week 1: Autumn Leaves Week  #enwcautumnleavesweek 

14th ~ 20th  Week 2: Autumn Pond Study Week #ENWCautumnpondweek 

21st ~ 27th Week 3 Autumn Tree Study Week  #ENWCautumntreeweek 

28th ~ 3rd Week 4: Pumpkin Week   #ENWCpumpkinweek 

If you’re over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! The Instagram page is very much about community; think of it as your virtual home school co op! Our community uses the #exploringnaturewithchildren hashtag, & also specific weekly hashtags { see above } to enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum.

There’s a free ENWC calendar for the year to download here.

As always, please work the weeks to suit your own circumstances best; these are just my own suggestions! 

Seasonal notes:

Fresh October brings the pheasant;
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

~ The Months by Sara Coleridge

Special days this October:

• October is Black History Month
• 2nd New Moon
• 8th World Dyslexia Awareness Day
• 4th-10th World Space Week
• 14th Columbus Day (US)
• 14th Thanksgiving Day (CAN)
• 17th Full Moon
• 27th: British summertime ends
• 31st: Hallowe’en

Happy exploring!

When my own children were small, I wanted to find a simple way to weave studying nature during the seasons of the natural year together with the church seasons. I would spend hours reading and pondering, and created a bulging folder of notes! Out of this folder came my ‘Celebrating the Seasons with Children’ series, which includes resources for the upcoming Harvest Festival, for St. John’s Tide & Midsummer, and A Nature Advent Calendar.
🍏✨
The Harvest Festival is almost upon us, and is a traditional time of giving thanks to God for His provision. A time to acknowledge our reliance upon His world, and our obligation to care for it. We can be thankful for the bounty found within nature, and also remember and give thanks for farmers, and those involved with the harvesting and production of our food.
✨🍏
If this resonates with you, here you can find out more & download the sample.

Here’s to a happy, bountiful, and grateful season.

Next week in Exploring Nature With Children we are studying the Autumn Equinox, however, the equinox itself falls tomorrow on the 22nd.

Here are some helpful links to help with your studies:

• Autumn Equinox explained (video)
• The Autumnal Equinox. National Geographic (Video)
• What is the Autumn Equinox – Twinkl
• Solstice & Equinox Journaling : : John Muir Laws (Video)
• Creating a Watercolour Nature Journal Page ~ A Tutorial
• Autumn picnic recipes

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op.

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCautumnequinox

Happy exploring!

Next week is quite an exciting week: Harvest Moon Week in Exploring Nature With Children!

{ With the Harvest Moon falling on the 18th of September }

Here are some useful links to help with your studies:

• What is a Harvest Moon?
• Farming by the moon
• Night time nature walks
• The Science of the Harvest Moon { Video }
• Harvest Wreath – Twinkl

Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download.

If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op! 

To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCharvestmoonweek 

Happy exploring!