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OCTOBER NATURE NOTE

Book : : The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

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:

2nd ~ 8th  Break Week

9th ~15th Week 1: Autumn Leaves Week  #enwcautumnleavesweek 

16th ~ 22nd Week 2: Autumn Pond Study Week #ENWCautumnpondweek 

23rd ~ 29th Week 3 Autumn Tree Study Week  #ENWCautumntreeweek 

30th ~ 5th 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:

Happy exploring!

BREAK WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

Next week is a Break Week this week in Exploring Nature With Children.

Here are some quizzes for you for a little bit of fun:

Autumn Leaf ID Quiz

A Science & Nature Quiz

Autumn Leaf Crafts and Activities

If you’d like to use this week to brush up on your nature photography, here are some smashing pointers:

How to Take Great Nature Photographs

Happy exploring!

HARVEST MOON WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

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

{ With the Harvest Moon falling on the 29th of September }

Here are some useful links to help with your studies:

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!

AUTUMN EQUINOX WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

Next week in Exploring Nature With Children is Autumn Equinox Week, with the equinox itself falling on the 23rd.

Here are some helpful links to help with your studies:

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!

 CELEBRATING THE SEASONS WITH CHILDREN

When my own children were small, I wanted to find a way to weave studying nature during the seasons of the natural year 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, you can find out more & download the sample here: Celebrating The Seasons With Children: The Harvest Festival

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

MINI-BEAST WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

Next week is ‘Mini-beast Week’ in Exploring Nature With Children!

Here are some helpful links to help with your studies:

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: #ENWCminibeastweek 

Happy exploring!

SEED WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

It’s a brand new year of Exploring Nature With Children!

I am thrilled to welcome back families back to another year of ENWC, and my warmest wishes to our new families! Thank you for joining us.

Next week we begin with Seed Week, which really is a smashing week with which to get started studying nature. Here are some links to help with your nature study:

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 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 to enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum. This week’s hashtag will be: #ENWCseedweek

Happy exploring!

SEPTEMBER NATURE NOTE

Book : : The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden

I hope that this September Nature Note finds you ready for a new year of nature study!

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.

Many of you have written to let me know that you’re joining us again this year (for some families, it will be their ninth year!) 

ENWC is written to be used year upon year for layered learning, giving you the opportunity to build your knowledge and experience of the natural world again and again. I am truly honoured that ENWC has been a part of your home education. 

A quote to carry with you this September:

As you begin to explore nature with your child this year, I would encourage you to keep this quote close to your heart. Children often jump right into nature walks and nature study wholeheartedly. They’re able to move their bodies, explore, ask questions, and make discoveries. Some children are more hesitant, and the parent feels despondent, and sometimes, even as if they have failed their child. May I offer this quote from Miss Mason as a gentle reminder that your child may need time to develop the joy of the natural world, and studying nature. Consider what you would do if your child was resistant to their maths lessons, or learning their times tables. You would encourage, be kind, but nonetheless press firmly on…

On Monday the 4th of September, we jump right into a new year of Exploring Nature with Children with Seed Week!

We then move on to study Minibeast Week from the 11th to the 17th, Autumn Equinox Week from the 18th to the 24th, (the equinox itself falls on Friday the 23rd) and we finish up September’s topics with Harvest Moon Week  from the 25th of September until the 1st of October.  The Harvest Moon itself falls on Saturday the 29th of September this year.

As always, please feel free to adapt the dates to suit the needs of your own family, and whatever is happening in the natural world around you.
I’m extremely thrilled and honoured to have so many new families joining us this year!

4th ~ 10th Week 1: Seed Week  #ENWCseedweek

11th ~ 17th Week 2: Minibeast Hunt Week   #ENWCminibeastweek

18th ~ 24th Week 4 The Autumnal Equinox Week  { The equinox itself falls on the 23rd } #ENWCautumnequinox 

25th ~ 1st Week 3: Harvest Moon Week   { The full moon falls on the 29th } #ENWCharvestmoonweek

As always, please feel free to schedule the weeks in any way that serves your own family best, these are just my own suggestions.

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.

Warm September brings the fruit,
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

~ The Months by Sara Coleridge

Special days this September:

  • 4th: Labour Day (CAN) Labor Day (USA)
  • 17th / 24th Harvest Festival: the traditional dates that churches hold their services. You may wish to use the RLS resource to help your own family celebrate this special season of the natural & Christian year.
  • 23rd The Autumnal Equinox
  • 29th  Michaelmas & The full Harvest Moon 

As the season of bounty is upon us, you may enjoy using Celebrating the Seasons with Children : : The Harvest Festival

A handbook written to guide you, step by step, in creating a meaningful and authentic celebration of the Harvest Festival for your own family. Find out more by clicking on the above link.

Happy exploring!

BREAK WEEK | EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN

Next week is a Break Week in Exploring Nature With Children. On Monday the 4th of September, we jump right into a new year of Exploring Nature with Children with Seed Week!

We then move on to study Minibeast Week from the 11th to the 17th, Autumn Equinox Week from the 18th to the 24th, (the equinox itself falls on Friday the 23rd) and we finish up September’s topics with Harvest Moon Week  from the 25th of September until the 1st of October.  The Harvest Moon itself falls on Saturday the 29th of September this year.

As always, please feel free to adapt the dates to suit the needs of your own family, and whatever is happening in the natural world around you.
I’m extremely thrilled and honoured to have so many new families joining us this 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 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 to enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum. 

Let’s make this the year that nature study becomes a part of your own family culture!

Happy exploring!

LAST DAY OF THE SUMMER SALE!


It’s the last day of the Raising Little Shoots Summer Sale! 

There’s a 20% discount on all products on the website.


I’m so excited for all of you who are joining us this year! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog; each week I send out a wee newsletter to help with your studies.

Happy exploring!