Is it just me or does it feel like it was easier to incorporate nature studies when kids are little? My boys were so curious and interested in animals, leaves, and plants during the elementary school years. Play and educational learning happened simultaneously, easily, effortlessly, and it was fun to add crafts & art into All. The. Lessons. They would rather get outside than do anything else.
By middle school my boys thought they knew everything. Forget getting them outside to do tree rubbings, nature sketches, leave collecting, or anything “babyish” of the sort. Their words not mine – I will collect leaves until I’m 100, pinkie promise! But the boys had important papers to write, novels to read, and credits to earn. Not to mention Instagram and Fortnite begging for their attention. Things change in the older grades, but I implore you – Don’t outgrow nature studies!
I wanted to share a few ways we keep Nature Study happening through the middle & high school years.
Leave the Agenda Behind
Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I realized when I stopped taking notebooks, colored pencils, curriculum, etc. outside and started going for casual walks – we always found interesting things to discuss. I used to be a drill sergeant getting all those blanks filled in! That’s a big buzzkill to a teenager. If I kept my nose in the scope & sequence notebook I would have missed great conversations and relationship growth. Or the time the moose snuck up on Hubs fly fishing! Not to mention just enjoying the sunshine and fresh air just for the sake of enjoying it myself.
I promise learning will still happen if you put down the pen & nature journal! Don’t forget, discussion still counts as learning! Not everything needs to be 3-hole punched – especially as students get older and start taking high school science credits that have nothing to do with mushrooms in the backyard.
Since we live along an open space we always find something interesting to point out. If it’s the direction the color changes in fall leaves, the annoying magpies hollering at us being tattletales for the other animals, which colors spring up first in summer, the crazy large dragonflies, how much water flows down the waterfall, if the temperature is right for rattle snakes, or the size of the coyote tracks – learning occurs a little more casually throughout the seasons.
Let them Go Wild
I am a focused woman. If we have something we have to do to get homeschool done – we will do it. Focused isn’t bad but it lead to missed opportunities for kids to be kids and enjoy being outside. I didn’t schedule climbing trees, walking on the ice, or chasing chipmunks! We had worksheets to finish.
As I started to leave the worksheets behind the boys started to enjoy hanging out in nature. Getting them outside no longer felt like an arm wrestling competition. Once I relaxed, they relaxed, and then they’d start shouting, “hey come look at this” sometimes from the top of a rock formation I would never in a million years climb. But I’m glad they felt they had the freedom to explore and show me things! Rather than me always being the one to inform them of what they should be seeing. I became the student of their adventures.
Make the Time
Nature was here a series of wonders, and a fund of delight. ~ Daniel Boone.
Our society prides itself on being busy. Make the time for nature walks. When the weather is nice enough, my 14 yr old & I take a pre-lunch or post-lunch walk. It’s expected and not a random surprise that wrecks the schedule. I don’t have to drag anyone outside who doesn’t want to get off the couch (teens sure do love being comfy). It’s just what we do. Snacks are a good motivator too! This pre-planned walk helps break up our day. It’s expected now. It’s not an interruption but a pleasant break which then leads into great observations and conversations! Don’t be too busy.
Provide Resources
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~ Albert Einstein
We have purchased many field guides during our homeschool years. I’ve noticed when the boys were little they just referenced a picture to confirm what they had seen. Now that they are older they are more confident using them, reading the full description, and will compare to something similar on other pages. Pointing out differences or similarities. Have nature resources available.
Join a Group
Land really is the best art. ~ Andy Warhol
If it’s a homeschool nature group, an online group like #outdoorhourchallenge , hiking club, or just ganging up with another homeschool family like we did in your neighborhood! Find ideas or a theme for your hike! Something new to look for each week. The other week we were looking for winter weeds with Homeschool Nature Study and I thought that was ridiculous. I’d never pay attention to “weeds” I’m a flower girl! But seeing the difference from our summer & winter photos was incredibly interesting!! These themes (some days, who can find the most whatever) have helped us to look for things we wouldn’t normally noticed.
Change the Scenery
The mountains are calling and I must go. ~ John Muir.
I love our walks around the neighborhood but it’s the same open space, day after day. On weekends we try to incorporate a bigger / longer hike into different unfamiliar places. It’s very convenient we live in Colorado, but there are hiking paths all over every state! When we lived in Florida we took trips to the beach. The point is to change up the scenery. Up in the mountains we’ve seen chipmunks, moose, mountain goats, elk, beavers, etc. we just don’t see that down here in the Front Range. Give your teens an opportunity to explore.
Start an Outdoor Hobby Together
Hiking 14ers, camping, geocaching, mountain biking, fly fishing, rock climbing, etc. are all new hobbies we started when we moved to Colorado. We brought the boys along and they ended up enjoying a lot of great days with us. We learned so much about the great outdoors – I will never regret adjusting what I thought a nature study should look like to what was happening naturally around us!
These are just a few ideas to keep nature study alive in your homeschool as your children get older. I’ve learned when your homeschool matures with your child – you will be able to keep adventure and a love for learning alive!
For more info on the online group we join for weekly ideas – click on the Homeschool Nature Study image below!
