A Nature Poet’s Companion: A Charlotte Mason Inspired Journey Through the Seasons
Buy PDF ~ 257 pages $19 Introductory Price $15 or Purchase via TPT
Poetry and nature study belong so beautifully together; A Nature Poet’s Companion is a gentle, Charlotte Mason-inspired poetry curriculum created to help children encounter beautiful poems, pay closer attention to the natural world, and gradually discover how to put their own observations into words.
Across twelve weeks and four seasons, the child will read carefully chosen living poems, enjoy short passages of copywork, spend time observing outdoors, gather a treasury of words and ideas, and be gently guided towards creating poems of their very own.
There are no dry comprehension exercises and no expectation that a child should begin by analysing poetry. Instead, poetic ideas are encountered first through the poems themselves and through real observation of the living world. Technical terms are introduced gently, after the child has had the opportunity to hear, notice, and experience what they mean.
Each season has its own focus:
Autumn — Imagery as the Palette
Sensory imagery, colour, and movement.
Winter — The Voices of Nature
Sound imagery, simile and metaphor, and personification.
Spring — The Rhythm of Growth
Active verbs, metre and cadence, and simple rhyme.
Summer — The Language of Abundance
Precise naming, accumulation, and shaping poems through lines and stanzas.
Each week follows a simple five-day rhythm:
Day One: Feast on the Poem
Day Two: Copywork & Word Treasury
Day Three: Nature Observation
Day Four: The Composition Prompt
Day Five: Poetry Teatime, Illumination & Presentation
Two levels of guidance are included throughout:
The Budding Poet — approximately ages 6–8
with an emphasis on oral composition, observation, and the parent acting as a helpful scribe where needed.
The Blossoming Poet — approximately ages 9–12+
with greater independence in choosing, shaping, and arranging their own poetry.
The age ranges are only a guide, allowing you to choose whichever level best suits your child.
The seasonal chapters may be completed in any order, so you can begin wherever you are in the year. Lessons are intentionally gentle and adaptable, requiring little more than a poetry journal, simple art materials, access to the outdoors, and a willingness to notice.
At its heart, A Nature Poet’s Companion is not simply about learning poetic techniques, it is about forming the habit of attention.