Making Branches Speak: Pursuing Nature Study as a Newbie

I love Nature Study. It’s simplistic beauty draws me to it. Merely go outside, observe, reflect and contemplate the wonders of nature. However, from a teacher’s viewpoint I tend to get mired down more in the facts and details than I should be in observing and reflecting. Honestly, studying a tree terrifies me. It’s there, it’s big, what do I really know about it? What should I know about it? Park rangers, please forgive me. Biology majors, just have pity.

Making Branches Speak-Pursuing Nature Study as a Newbie

The Study of Trees.––Children should be made early intimate with the trees, too; should pick out half a dozen trees, oak, elm, ash, beech, in their winter nakedness, and take these to be their year-long friends. In the winter, they will observe the light tresses of the birch, the knotted arms of the oak, the sturdy growth of the sycamore. They may wait to learn the names of the trees until the leaves come.

Out-Of-Door Life For The Children by Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason strongly believed in Nature Study as so do I, thus I’ll trudge forward trying to find someway to make those branches speak to me.

Poetry awakens the mind, so I’ll venture into that territory.

Handbook of Nature Study-Anna Comstock
Handbook of Nature Study: Google ebook-Anna Comstock

 

After poetry, there’s nothing like a good story.

In the child's world Google ebook-Emilie Poulsson
In the child’s world: Google ebook-Emilie Poulsson

 

Now that my mind is limbered up, let’s get with the facts.

Studies of trees in winter Google ebook - Annie Oakes Huntington
Studies of trees in winter: Google ebook – Annie Oakes Huntington
Handbook of Nature Study Google ebook-Anna Comstock
Handbook of Nature Study: Google ebook-Anna Comstock

For older students I’ll try:

The Tree Book Google eBook - Julia Ellen Rogers
The Tree Book: Google eBook – Julia Ellen Rogers

For a simplified “cut to the chase” route:

Eeeek how does one pronounce those words?

 Ahhh, now to the fun part! Nature Diaries!

Nature Diaries.––As soon as he is able to keep it himself, a nature-diary is a source of delight to a child. Every day’s walk gives him something to enter: three squirrels in a larch tree, a jay flying across such a field, a caterpillar climbing up a nettle, a snail eating a cabbage leaf, a spider dropping suddenly to the ground, where he found ground ivy, how it was growing and what plants were growing with it, how bindweed or ivy manages to climb.

 Out-Of-Door Life For The Children by Charlotte Mason

Nature Study for the child is simple-for each object merely:

  • observe
  • describe
  • illustrate

Once a relation is formed with the object, understanding can occur.

Simple for the child, but what should I be observing? In my adult eyes, I see brown bark. There is more I know.

Things I’ll ponder, but not overshare. 

Nature study by grades: Google ebook -  Horace Hall Cummings
Nature study by grades: Google ebook – Horace Hall Cummings

 

Handbook of Nature-Google ebook: Anna Botsford Comstock
Handbook of Nature-Google ebook: Anna Botsford Comstock

 

I’m Ready! Nature Study Time!

Grabbing a Nature Diary, water colors and an observant mind a child will complete four simple steps:

  1. Narrate a section of reading based upon tree branches.
  2. Observe a tree branch for approximately one minute.
  3. Describe everything that was observed.
  4. Use water colors to document observations in Nature Diary.

Done!

Obviously this teacher over thought the entire process. Nature Study is wonderful…just go with the flow, learn as you go and don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s why we have Google!

Thanks for taking this journey with me! Hmmm, I hear The Burgess Bird Book calling me now.

How do you plan for Nature Study? Newbies like me want to know!

 

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