Hi friends!
As promised in our homeschool plan post, I’m following up with our nature study curriculum. I touched on it briefly in that last post, but teaching my girls about the natural world is very important to me. How do we raise kids who will do their part to protect the Earth from climate change, factory farming, deforestation, etc.? We start with the plants in our backyard, the birds who come to nibble in our window feeder, and the oceans that we swim in. Our futures depend on this type of education and awareness.
The importance of outdoor play
I also believe that outdoor play is critical in their childhood (and beyond) in a world that is constantly plugged-in and technologically driven. We like technology, but we like it in balance. Don’t even get me started on the correlation between mental health and getting outdoors. Okay, I am getting sidetracked. I could go on and on about this. Bottom line is that this kind of education is important in our home.
Indoor study works, too
Nature study for us means not only being outdoors and experiencing it, but checking out a number of quality books from our library and reading reading reading. Maybe I will find an activity or craft if we are in the mood for it. Or we could watch a TV show or documentary. Maybe we will draw or paint, or maybe we will cut, paste, and label parts. One day, we will explore life cycles, or perhaps we will go outside and explore whatever we are learning in our own backyard. Some days, we will conduct an easy experiment. It’s all very low key with minimal planning. The bulk of the work is finding the books and checking them out from the library.
I decided to go with one topic per week. That may not seem like a lot of time per topic but we are just brushing the surface here. My girls are 5 and 3, so their interests can shift pretty quickly and I have found from doing this last year, they tended to want to move onto the next thing (last year we did bi-weekly). But if for some reason, we want to do more with a topic, we will! I provide the resources; they lead; I follow.
Seasonal topics
I chose topics that move with the seasons. Since we live in New England, we do experience all four seasons in all their glory. That’s one reason why I love learning seasonally. Feel free to shift topics around or replace if they do not fall in line with your seasons or interests.
I’m including the books I’ll be grabbing with each topic. A couple books that will be mentioned many times are Nature Anatomy, Ocean Anatomy, The Big Book of Blue, The Big Book of Birds, and The Big Book of Blooms (affiliate links). These are beautifully illustrated reference books that we have invested in and they cover a wide variety of topics/wildlife. I highly recommend having them on hand if budget allows. x
August
Week 1: Whales
Books:
- The World of Whales
- The Blue Whale
- The Gift
- Following Papa’s Song
- Orca Song
- A Whale of a Tale!
- Ocean Anatomy
- The Big Book of Blue
- The Snail and the Whale
- Whale in a Fishbowl
Week 2: Clouds
Books:
- Little Cloud
- Clouds
- The Cloud Spinner
- National Geographic Kids: Clouds
- Nature Anatomy
Week 3: Thunderstorms
Books:
- Thundercake
- Franklin and the Thunderstorm
- National Geographic Kids: Storms
- Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll
- Storm Song
- May I Come In?
- Tap Tap Boom Boom
- Waiting Out the Storm
Week 4: Sunflowers
Books:
- Lifecycle of a Sunflower
- The Sunflower House
- The Three Sunflowers
- Katie and the Sunflowers
- Sunflower
- To Be Like the Sun
September
Week 5: Apples
Books:
- Johnny Appleseed
- How to Make Apple Pie and See the World
- Apples, Apples Everywhere
- Applesauce Day
- How Do Apples Grow?
Week 6: Harvest Moon
Books:
- Possum’s Harvest Moon
- Hello Harvest Moon
- A Big Moon Cake for Little Star
- Sori’s Harvest Moon Day
- By the Light of the Harvest Moon
Week 7: Fungi
Books:
- Plants That Never Ever Bloom
- We Are Fungi
- Nature Anatomy
Week 8: Autumn Leaves
Books:
- Yellow Time
- The Little Yellow Leaf
- Leaf Man
- We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt
- Fall Leaves
- Leaf Jumpers
- Leaves
October
Week 9: Spiders
Books:
- Diary of a Spider
- Spiders
- Spinning Spiders
- Are You a Spider?
- The Very Busy Spider
Week 10: Pumpkins
Books:
- How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?
- From Seed to Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Jack
- Pumpkin Circle
- Pumpkin Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Soup
- Too Many Pumpkins
- Pick a Pumpkin
Week 11: Birds of Prey
Books:
- National Geographic: Everything Birds of Prey
- Thunder Birds
- Soaring with the Wind
- Hawk Mother
- The Big Book of Birds
Week 12: Bats
Books:
- Stellaluna
- Bat Loves the Night
- What is a Bat?
- Bats
- National Geographic Kids: Bats
- The Secret Life of the Little Brown Bat
- Nightsong
- Bats at the Beach
November
Week 13: Hibernation
Books:
- A Snowy Nap
- Animals in Winter
- What Do Animals Do in Winter?
- What is Hibernation?
- Bear Can’t Sleep
- Hibernation Station
- Over and Under the Snow
- Animals Hibernating
- Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane
Week 14: Owls
Books:
- Owl Moon
- Owls
- Owl Babies
- The Barn Owls Hoot
- Secrets of the Snowy Owl
- The Littlest Owl
- White Owl, Barn Owl
Week 15: The Moon
Books:
- Moon! Earth’s Best Friend
- Mae Among the Stars
- Who Was Neil Armstrong
- The Moon Keeper
- Max and the Tagalong Moon
- The Moon Book
- Nature Anatomy
Week 16: Corn
Books:
- Corn is Maize
- Corn
- Fry Bread
- Keepunumuk
December
Week 17: Christmas Plants
Books:
- The Legend of the Poinsetta
- Zetta the Poinsetta
- Pick a Pine Tree
- Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
- The Tree That’s Meant to Be
- Night Tree
- The Fir Tree
Week 18: Reindeer
Books:
- Dasher
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- How Reindeer Got Their Antlers
- Last Stop on the Reindeer Express
- Reindeer: A Day in the Life
Week 19: Winter Solstice
Books:
- The Shortest Day
- The Shortest Day: Celebrating Winter Is Coming
- Sleep Tight Farm
- The Winter Solstice
- The Longest Night
- Sun Bread
January
Week 20: Pine Trees
Books:
- From Cone to Pine Tree
- The Happiness Tree
- Little Pine
- Pine and the Winter Sparrow
- The Pine Cone Walk
- From Seed to Pine Tree
Week 21: Winter Birds
Books:
- Bird Count
- Birds in Winter
- Red and Lulu
- Cardinals
- A Cardinal in the Snow
- Snow Birds
- My Backyard Bird Book
Week 22: Night
Books:
- Glow in the Dark: Animals At Night
- While the World is Sleeping
- Moonlight Animals
- Out of Sight Till Tonight
- Where are the Night Animals?
- Night Animals
- Nocturnal Animals (Science Lab)
Week 23: Polar Bears
Books:
- The Polar Bear Son
- The Three Snow Bears
- National Geographic Kids: Polar Bears
- Sea Bear
- I’m Going to Give You a Polar Bear Hug
- I’ll Love You Forever
- Polar Bear in the Snow
- Waiting for Ice
Week 24: Snow & Ice
Books:
- The Snowy Day
- The Story of the Snow Children
- The Story of Snow
- Snow
- Snowman Magic
- Ice is Nice
- Waiting for Snow
- Glacier on the Move
- A Thing Called Snow
February
Week 25: Penguins
Books:
- The Emperor’s Egg
- National Geographic Kids: Hello, Penguin!
- Where Is Home, Little Pip?
- Penguins
- And Tango Means Three
- The Emperor Lays an Egg
- Little Penguin
- Penguin Chick
Week 26: Maple Sugaring
Books:
- Anytime Mapleson and the Hungry Bears
- Maple Moon
- Sugar on Snow
- Cold Snap
- Taffy Time
- Maple Syrup Season
- From Maple Tree to Syrup
Week 27: Animal Tracks
Books:
- Big Tracks, Little Tracks
- The Gruffalo’s Child
- Tracks in the Snow
- Who’s Tracks are These?
- Who Was Here?
- Big Tracks, Little Tracks
- Lets Go Animal Tracks in the Snow
- Tracks, Scat, and Signs
Week 28: Rocks & Minerals
Books:
- A Rock is Lively
- Rocks, Fossils, and Arrowheads
- A Rock Can Be
- National Geographic Kids: Rocks and Minerals
- Rock Collecting
- Earthsteps
- If Rocks Could Sing
- How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the Earth
- Rhoda’s Rock Hunt
- If You Find a Rock
- Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth, and Rough
- Ricky the Rock That Couldn’t Roll
March
Week 29: Rainbows
Books:
- A Rainbow of My Own
- Curious George Discovers a Rainbow
- The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow
- All the Colors of the Rainbow
- What Makes a Rainbow
- The Rainbow and You
- Esther’s Rainbow
- Elmer and the Rainbow
- What is a Rainbow?
- The Rainbow Book
Week 30: Pond Ecosystem
Books:
- Over and Under the Pond
- Life in a Pond
- A Different Pond
- Plip Plop Pond
- Pond Walk
- Would You Rather Be a Polywog?
- Good Morning, Pond
- Pond Circle
- Pond
Week 31: Birds, Nests, & Eggs
Books:
- Mama Built a Little Nest
- Whose Nest?
- A Nest is Noisy
- An Egg is Quiet
- My Backyard Bird Book
- Birds, Nests, and Eggs
- Bird Builds a Nest
- A Nest Full of Eggs
Week 32: Mud & Worms
Books:
- Wiggling Worms at Work
- Mud
- Worm Weather
- Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
- Under Your Feet
- Diary of a Worm
- Garden Wigglers
- Wonderful Worms
April
Week 33: Rain & the Water Cycle
Books:
- Rainy Day Magic
- The Rhythm of Rain
- Follow a Raindrop
- Water Can Be
- Water Song
- We Are Water Protectors
- All the Water in the World
- The Little Raindrop
- Water is Water
- A Drop Around the World
- Did a Dinosaur Drink This Water?
- Nature Anatomy
Week 34: Seeds
Books:
- Miss Maple’s Seeds
- A Seed is Sleepy
- Oh Say Can You Seed?
- From Seed to Plant
- Because of an Acorn
- Ten Seeds
- How a Seed Grows
Week 35: Dandelions
Books:
- The Dandelion Seed
- Flip, Float, Fly
- Dandelion
- Dandelions: Stars in the Grass
- Little Dandelion Seeds the World
- The Dandelion Seed’s Big Dream
- Dandelion Magic
Week 36: Flowers
Books:
- What’s Inside a Flower?
- Wildflowers, Blooms, and Blossoms
- Miss Rumphius
- Flowers Are Calling
- Under the Lilacs
- The Gardeners
- The Reason for a Flower
- The Big Book of Blooms
May
Week 37: The Rainforest
Books:
- The Rainforest Grew All Around
- Over and Under the Rainforest
- If I Ran the Rain Forest
- Nature’s Green Umbrella
- The Great Kapok Tree
- The Umbrella
- Orangutanka
- Rain Forest
- Sloths Don’t Run
Week 38: Caterpillars
Books:
- Caterpillar Dreams
- Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Hello, Little One
Week 39: Butterflies
Books:
- A Butterfly is Patient
- Monarch Butterfly
- Butterfly House
- Monarch and Milkweed
- A Butterfly’s Lifecycle
- Monarch Butterflies
- Where Butterflies Grow
Week 40: Bugs
Books:
- A Beetle is Shy
- Some Bugs
- On Beyond Bugs!
- Inch By Inch
- Quick as a Cricket
- Small Wonders Stories from Bug Garden
- It’s a Firefly Night
- The Big Book of Bugs
- The Very Quiet Cricket
Week 41: Trees
Books:
- The Magic and Mystery of Trees
- Seeds and Trees
- Tall Tall Tree
- A Tree Is Nice
- The Giving Tree
- The Forest in the Trees
- A Log’s Life
- The Busy Tree
- A Tree is a Home
- Mrs. Peanuckle’s Tree Alphabet
June
Week 42: Honeybees
Books:
- The Honeybee
- The Bee Tree
- Are You a Bee?
- The Honey Makers Bees: A Magical History
- National Geographic Kids: Bees
- The Honeybee Man
- Flight of the Honeybee
- These Bees Count
- The Bumblebee Queen
Week 43: Strawberries
Books:
- The First Strawberries
- Berry Song
- From Seed to Strawberry
- Strawberries Are Red
- The Little Mouse & Red Ripe Strawberry
- The Very Berry Counting Book
- The Strawberry Girl
- The Strawberry Garden
- Jamberry
Week 44: Seashells
Books:
- A Shell Is Cozy
- Seashells, Crabs, and Sea Stars
- Seashells: More Than a Home
- What Lives in a Shell?
- Seashells By the Seashore
- Clam-I-Am
Week 45: Ocean & Waves
Books:
- Ocean Anatomy
- The Big Book of Blue
- National Geographic Readers: At the Beach
- Save the Ocean
- Hello Ocean
- National Geographic: In the Ocean
- Hark! A Shark!
- Waves for All
July
Week 46: The Sun
Books:
- The Sun is My Favorite Star Sun
- What Makes a Shadow
- Sun Up, Sun Down
- Sunshine Makes the Seasons
- Day Light, Night Light
Week 47: Blueberries
Books:
- Blueberries for Sal
- Blueberry Cake
- Mr. Astley’s Blueberries
- Blueberries Grow on a Bush
- Blueberry Mouse
- Peter in Blueberry Land
Week 48: Frogs
Books:
- From Tadpole to Frog
- Frog Song
- A Frog’s Life
- Wide-Mouthed Frog
- It’s Mine! | National Geographic Kids: Frogs
- Frog on a Log
- Frog and Toad Are Friends
Week 49: Ants
Books:
- Two Bad Ants
- Hey, Little Ant
- National Geographic Kids: Ants
- It’s an Ants Life
- One Hundred Hungry Ants
- Are You An Ant?
- Ant Cities
- Anthill
- The Life and Times of an Ant
