I genuinely think that one of the loveliest things we can give to our children is the habit of noticing; noticing the first snowdrops pushing through the cold earth, the different birds visiting the garden, the gradual changing of the seasons, or the extraordinary little world that exists beneath a fallen log.
These are such ordinary things, and yet they have the potential to enrich our children’s lives enormously.
I know that so many home-educating parents would love to include more nature study in their days; perhaps you’ve bought a beautiful nature journal, collected a few field guides, or made enthusiastic plans for regular nature walks, but somehow, amongst lessons, laundry, meals, and all the other demands of family life, nature study can become another good intention that never quite finds its place.
If that sounds familiar, may I encourage you? You don’t need to do more, you just need to begin, begin small, and repeat regularly.
The Gentle Work of Forming a Habit
Charlotte Mason placed enormous importance on the formation of good habits, recognising that so much of our daily life is shaped by the things we do almost without thinking, and I think this is particularly helpful when we consider nature study.
Rather than planning an elaborate nature walk once a month, what might happen if we simply made a habit of noticing the natural world every day? Of looking at the birds whilst washing the breakfast dishes, stopping to examine an unfamiliar flower on our afternoon walk, or taking a few moments to watch the clouds together?
Of course, there is a place for more purposeful nature study, but these little encounters are important too, as they help our children to become familiar with the world around them, and familiarity is the beginning of a relationship.
Charlotte Mason encouraged us to give our children opportunities to become personally acquainted with the natural world, rather than simply learning facts about it from books. After all, a child who has watched a robin gathering nesting material, or observed the same tree through all four seasons, has gained something that cannot quite be replicated on a worksheet.
And perhaps most importantly, we don’t need to be experts ourselves! We can learn alongside our children, allowing our own curiosity to be awakened in the process.
Twenty-One Days to a New Beginning
With this in mind, I created A Nature Study Primer – 21 Days to the Habit of Nature Study.
This is a resource especially for you, the parent, because I believe that when we develop our own understanding, confidence, and enthusiasm for nature study, it becomes so much easier to share those things naturally with our children, and over 21 days, I’ll gently guide you through the principles and practice of nature study, helping you to establish a rhythm that works for your own family.
Each day includes a carefully chosen quotation, a lesson for the parent, a particular focus, and a small, achievable goal. There are opportunities to reflect, to journal, to put ideas into practice, and to consider how nature study might become part of your family’s everyday life. The 90-page workbook is designed to be worked through a little at a time, there is no need to rush, and certainly no expectation of perfection! My hope is that by the end of these 21 days, nature study will feel less like something you ought to be doing, and more like something you genuinely look forward to.
Begin With What You Have
You don’t need to live in the countryside, own an impressive collection of field guides, or be able to identify every bird that visits your garden, just begin where you are, with what is around you, and over time, these seemingly insignificant moments begin to accumulate. Your children develop their powers of observation, their understanding of the natural world deepens, and the changing seasons become familiar friends, and you may find that something rather lovely happens to you, too. Nature study isn’t simply another subject to teach. It is a way of paying attention to the world in which we live.
If you’ve been wanting to begin, or perhaps to return to nature study after a rather long absence, I’d love to help you.
My A Nature Study Primer – 21 Days to the Habit of Nature Study is available as a 90-page PDF workbook, and please use the limited time code: PRIMER20 for a 20% discount on your purchase.
Discover more here: A Nature Study Primer
May I encourage you that a lifelong love of the natural world really doesn’t begin with anything grand, but simply with stopping to take a look.
Happy exploring!
