Someone asked me (via a blog comment), “On nature walk days, do you do academic work as well?” Oh, yes we do. We homeschool formally four days a week. The fifth day is for a homeschool co-op. But nature study is a FUN addition to our more academic “bookwork.” (Of course nature study is part of academics, but I’m making a distinction that I’m sure you understand.)
So generally we’ve been doing our regular work and then spend a few hours in the afternoon exploring the outdoors. I want it to be perceived as fun, and so far it’s working. Sprite looks forward to our times outdoors. And amazingly, she is now requesting nature walks beyond our scheduled weekly one! Horray!
For our nature walks, we take loose paper on a clipboard, pencils, nets for catching insects, a clear container for viewing them, and a bag to collect any other goodies we find. Very simple. (My daughter loves drawing, so making the nature sketches is very pleasurable for her. I can see that for some children, it would not be as fun.)
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