FREE Weekly Nature Study Plan & Topics (+ Book Lists)

Hi friends!

As promised in our homeschool plan post, I’m following up with our nature study plans. 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. 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. But 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.

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. Maybe we’ll watch a TV show or documentary. Maybe we will draw or paint. Maybe we will cut, paste, and label parts. Maybe we will explore life cycles. Maybe we will go outside and explore whatever we are learning in our own backyard. Maybe 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.

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

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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