“This will be a significant adjustment for you,” my English professor declared to his students on my first day of college classes. “You have gone from a high school system where you learn from teachers, to now being responsible to teach yourselves.” He was attempting to help his class grasp […]
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Growing up in Southern California, I was fortunate to live not far from the Pacific Ocean. I spent many summer days at various beaches, but my mother would also take us on day trips to witness the yearly migration of the California gray whales. Ocean excursions like these are just […]
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My kids and I love nature studies. My assistant, Andrea and her family love nature as well. Here are a few things we have come up with together: 1. Find a local field guide. Some nature centers sell field guides which are incredibly helpful in actually identifying plants and animals. […]
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Have you wanted to explore nature journaling with your kids, but you’re not sure how to start? Never fear! We’ve got your back. In this article we’ll answer all the nature journaling questions you’ve been dying to ask. What’s the deal with nature journaling anyway? It seems like nature journaling […]
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“Dress warmly and wear something you don’t mind getting wet,” my dad said, one morning. He was taking us hunting for the wild asparagus. I had read a bit about asparagus and I had eaten asparagus, but hunting for asparagus was a new experience. The memory of hunting is one […]
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Nature studies are an important part of our homeschool and our life. On the ranch, life fits well with the Charlotte Mason philosophy for nature studies. We are outside every day; so we can easily incorporate our science lessons into what we see and do. When we are outside, I […]
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Earlier this year, while attending a homeschool conference, I had a conversation with a mother about nature studies and nature journaling. She had decided that her students would do nature journals and had started off with a vengeance to see that goal accomplished. She admitted that she had taken her […]
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“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” (Benjamin Franklin) These wise words are as true today as they were more than two hundred years ago when Benjamin Franklin first made this statement. That Franklin was one of the foremost minds of his […]
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By now I expect you have seen a video of someone putting Mentos candies into an open bottle of Diet Coke. Almost immediately, a plume of foam shoots out of the bottle and into the air. While watching a “Mentos fountain” is interesting, it is significantly more interesting to investigate […]
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As an eclectic Charlotte Mason homeschooler, nature study is near and dear to my heart—and the hearts of my children. We have learned so much about our Creator and the sciences through our weekly nature walks, all while touching on bits and pieces of almost every other subject under the […]
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