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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Feb 21 2006 at 4:05pm | IP Logged
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Hello,
I am reading Elizabeth's book, and it is truly speaking to my heart! I feel that God is showing me many ways that I need to "reliquish my old notions of education". I see that in many ways, I am still limiting myself to "bringing school home," and I am praying and considering ways create an environment of Real Learning in our home.
Of all the subject areas, I feel that I most need a paradigm shift in the area of Science. As I read MacBeth's wisdom in "Real Learning" I realize that the Nature Study approach is not how I instinctually think about teaching science. By nature, I am not a quiet observer. I like to do and produce. I also do not consider myself a naturalist (and I'm not even sure what that means!), and I feel inadequate to find and teach lessons through nature. I remember outdoor field trips as a child, and that sense of wonderment as the outdoor ed. teacher made all kinds of discoveries and in depth explanations and connections. I honestly do not feel that I have the scientific background to teach this way!
However, I desperately WANT to teach this way, and I believe in the value of Nature Study. What advice do you have for a mom like me? My children are little, so I have plenty of time to learn with them. They are 5.5, 3 and babies are 7 mos and 5 mos (one is adopted...folks are always perplexed when I give their ages..) How do I get my feet wet with Nature Study?? What baby steps should I take? How often should we try to get out, and for how long? Should I take the babies?? Do we prepare for our Nature Walks? Should I study up on flora and fauna of the site we will visit? Do we have a theme? How do I cultivate the skill of observation in my children and myself? Am I making this too complicated??!!!
Oh, and the thought of keeping a Nature Journal totally overwhelms me. I have this beautiful book called "Keeping a Nature Journal" (Leslie/Roth) that should inspire me, but actually overwhelms me. I cannot draw to save my life! I want to develop the discipline or "habit" of stillness and observation...but truly it does not come natually to me.
Thanks for your input!
__________________
Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Feb 21 2006 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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I think you hit on the right idea when you spoke of a sense of wonderment. Young children naturally have it-it is us older folks that sometimes lose this. My advice would be simply to go out into nature and enjoy it. Don't go with an agenda, but let your children take the lead as they ooh and ahh and wonder about things. Guide them into using all their senses to experience nature-the feel of the sun or snow or a prickly plant, the sounds of birds or rushing water, the smell of the pines and the musty earth, the taste of sweet berries or sour sorrel. Answer what questions you can, but be honest about those you don't. A simple "I don't know, but we can sure find that out at the library..." will suffice. Then while you are there, or when you are back home, let your children respond in some way to what they have see. This can take many forms: by drawing it, by narrating a story about it, by taking pictures and making a little photo album, or by getting a book from the library to find out more.
Your children are young, as you said. Just enjoy and let yourself get caught up in that wonder again through their fresh eyes.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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mary
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| Posted: Feb 21 2006 at 5:23pm | IP Logged
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i will tell you what i began this year. my kids are 7, 5, 2 and i'm expecting. we go weekly to the nature center and hike a particular trail. at 7 'checkpoints' we take a picture of the kids and then compare the photos to see how the environment changes during the year. we walk and look around. my kids have learned the names of many of the birds, have discovered ice in ponds, fish hatching, tadpoles, how a damn produces a lake, watched geese napping, seen/heard a cooper's hawk, watched a nuthatch build its nest, etc. today we heard an owl hooting and wondering which owls are awake during the day. our trail ends in the nature center and my kids love to talk to the naturalist about whatever they have discovered that day.
so, my advice: find a place to regularly study nature. walk weekly and just look around. i would bring all the kids. you can try the theme we have used.
i have the same nature journal and i think your kids are too young for it. my oldest has just discovered it and i have introduced every year for 3 years!
i would also add reading the thornton burgess books. we began reading them in april (there are over 100) and we are now getting the out of print books from ebay. that led to a whole new discussion about books and printing and reinforced why we care for our books.
the nature study we have done has really made an mpression on my kids. the way they view the world and their role in it is just lovely. they like to think of themselves as 'farmer brown's boy' from the burgess books.
sorry to rattle on about my experience. i think you will love nature study.
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Feb 21 2006 at 9:02pm | IP Logged
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Shawna,
I was thinking of you today, trying to remember how old the babies are! You and I are in the same boat with Nature study. We had a brief success with conifers which was started by "C is for Conifer" from They Might Be Giants--Here Come the ABCs. We could walk the neighborhood and pick up different kinds of cones and needles. One twin was a coniferbutnotaChristmastree for Halloween. 
I'm reading that same part of Real Learning, but I haven't adjusted to the COLD here yet so I really don't want to go outside. I think I'm going to wait until the trees start blooming and the baby is on the outside. But I'm looking forward to the ideas and resources here to get me going.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: Feb 24 2006 at 4:09pm | IP Logged
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Shawna,
Wow, this all sounds so familiar. I'm in the same boat with feeling totally inadequate on the Nature Study end of things. And, my 4 chickies are all still little, too.
I feel so inspired to embrace this new way of approaching science, especially after reading Macbeth's suggestions for different seasonal activities. Just reading the ideas makes me want to spend all day, every day, outside (except now, when it's so cold). I love Mary's suggestion about taking photos to compare the seasons, especially since the drawings my boys are doing are well, inspired but not very clear. They are always asking me what it was that they drew last week...thank goodness for the narrations, or I'd be at a total loss!! Anyway, I've decided that for me, I need to take baby steps and not organize too much, especially with 4 little ones in tow. Just getting OUTSIDE in this weather (coats, boots, mittens, etc) is exhausting sometimes!
We do have a meadow right in front of our house and I've asked dh to mow a path around it for us, so we can take our weekly walks down to the creek and watch the wild geese and ducks. This is a spring project and I can't wait to be able to take our nature walks out there. Also, he's thrilled about Nature Study since that's his "thing" (farmer and all  )and I love it when he asks us to wait until Sunday afternoon so he can do it with us. I just put my boots on then and let him lead away, pointing stuff out to the boys at every turn in the woods. I love it!
When I'm alone, things are a lot different, so here's
my "baby steps"...
Just trying to take the kids for a walk somewhere and have them find something special is my only aim for now. I hope that is enough for the "wonderment" idea...Then we draw it in our journals (I keep the baby in a stroller while we are drawing, happy with juice and a snack) and finish with a narration. We talk about the 5 senses just before we take off on the walk so they'll remember to try to check out all of them.
I only go walking where I can push the "all-terrain" stroller (for now) because the baby is too heavy to be in a pack for very long, she isn't a good walker yet and I'd rather not leave her behind with a sitter. She needs fresh air too, right?
I keep a Nature Walk Bag packed with our colored pencils, journals, and as many of the goodies Macbeth listed as possible. My 3yo is obsessed with the "mag-a-na-fying" glass these days! I keep the bag in our back porch, parked next to the stroller and it rides in the stroller compartment under the baby seat (yea, no hands required!) I also pack an old blanket to sit down on for when it's time to narrate. I'd like to get a backpack soon and an extra camera just for our nature walks...I always forget to shove it in the NW bag at the last minute. 
When we get home we read about whatever we saw or whatever they liked, and sometimes we wait to read until the next day as it takes us 30 minutes just to get all those coats, gloves, hats, boots etc. off and put away! Then there's the run for the bathrooms and begging for snacks...
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Kristine
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Feb 25 2006 at 8:30am | IP Logged
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Kristine, that sounds awesome! What a wonderful introduction to nature you and dh are giving your children!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: Feb 25 2006 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| that sounds awesome! What a wonderful introduction to nature you and dh are giving your children! |
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Thanks!
Funny, it doesn't feel awesome when I'm in the middle of things...I'm trying to enjoy doing these things with the kids but sometimes I spend a lot of time worrying about what they're getting into and how to slow the older 2 down enough so I can catch up with the littles. I didn't grow up on a farm so I'm learning everything right along with the kids. It's so much more relaxing (and feels more natural) when dh is in charge of our "adventures"... Now I know how he feels when I'm doing art or music or something else with the boys that I enjoy and he doesn't get. Anyway, when we're without him, my favorite part is the end, when we're all on the blanket, narrating and drawing. That's when I get to focus on nature instead of the kids!
Shawna, I hope some of this is helping you! (in a kindred spirit kind-of-way)
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Kristine
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Basics for Nature Study with littles?
