April Nature Study
The warm weather is finally here. My thoughts begin to wander towards wondering what nature studies to do this month with my boy.
I like to plan a nature study once per week. We do nature studies much more often than that, but I like to plan a weekly nature walk.
Daily nature studies are close to home. Sitting at my dining room table looking out on the deck, we watch as the grey squirrel sits on the deck rail scratching himself. We watch the bird feeder as the squirrel also eyes the potential source of food. Linus and I watch as the feeder is visited by chickadees, tufted titmouse and common house sparrows. One day I spied a large red, black and white bird I’d never seen before. I’ve lived in this state most of my life – what was this bird? I searched the internet and learned it was a rose-breasted grosbeak, common to my area. How could there be a bird in my area that I was unfamiliar with? We adults still have plenty that we can learn.
Well, back to April nature study – I want to create a plan for weekly April nature study for our weekly nature walk.
Week 1 is easy – Linus and I are so excited to get out in the nice weather! We’re going to go out and just look for signs of spring. Anything we find counts – the sighting of a feather, finding new crocuses in bloom, or spotting birds or tadpoles. Anything will do! We’re just going to walk around the block in our neighborhood.
Week 2: We will get in the car and drive to a local spot to view the cherry trees in bloom. The neighborhood where I grew up is lined with mature cherry trees on both sides of the street, every 20 feet. It is beautiful when they are in bloom! Like the apple orchard in Anne of Green Gables, we call it, “The Avenue.” I’ll have Linus sit down and make a sketch of one cherry tree in pencil.
Week 3: A good week to follow up on the cattails. We visited the cattails in early winter and saw the mature stalks. Spring is a time of new beginnings, and I like Linus to know what the plants look like during each season of the year. Again, I will have him do a sketch. If you are very organized, you might have a nature study sketchbook for trees, another for plants, another for birds, etc. We aren’t organized, but do have separate notebooks where sketches can be taped into the pages.
Week 4: We will head off to a local pond. It is at a public park, but since public school is in session, we will be alone when we arrive at the pond. The pond is about a half a mile from the parking lot, and there is a bench. I’ll make sure, again, that my son has his sketch pad. We’ll sit for a bit and see what presents itself. Maybe Linus sill spot a great blue heron, crows, or Canada geese. Or maybe he will just sketch the pond and the spring plant growth.
Spring is a wonderful time to do nature study. Whatever you decide to do, don’t waste the wonderful opportunity. Nature walks are one of my son’s favorite memories of homeschool!
Diana Malament homeschooled three children over a span of 27 years. She homeschooled with financial limitations, and when times were less difficult. She has homeschooled through many good times and many challenging times. Diana hopes to encourage you on your homeschool journey.
