No Nature Study Scheduled Next Year | Homeschool Curriculum

#homeschool #secularhomeschool #naturestudy
Instagram: / whimsicalfamilylife
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- OUR HOMESCHOOL LIFE -
We definitely have an eclectic homeschool style.
There are so many wonderful resources available for homeschoolers it is hard to fit them all in! I love to mix up our days with classical educational materials and beautiful Charlotte Mason / Waldorf inspired resources.
We love unit studies because it allows us to use many different amazing resources! Filling our homeschool life with beauty, literature, mythology, and inspiring stories is the best.
Having fun and learning in this atmosphere hopefully inspires my daughter to live a life filled with curiosity, whimsy and as many books as she can read
- PLAYLISTS -
1. BOOK HAULS - bit.ly/3558hv3
2. HOMESCHOOL - bit.ly/3dTf2Vz
3. HOMESCHOOL HAULS | EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES - bit.ly/3jH8rz5
4. MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS: Series & Stand Alone - bit.ly/3jhy0bv

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Do you do nature study? Any favorite books or activities?

[@badandbookiee9081]

I get what you’re saying, I don’t call it nature study either I just call it science. So i pull out our beautiful books and resources as we go through elements of science (birds, trees, plants, etc) Science is everywhere and nature is science. I don’t make it an extra curriculum item. I think this was definitely worth the mention for homeschooling parents who feel overwhelmed with the pressure of doing “all the things.” The simpler you keep your homeschool, the more sustainable it is.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

"The simpler you keep you homeschool, the more sustainable it is." So, true! Love it!

[@puzzlerkim7730]

I like the organic approach. Sometimes when I'm outside, I just want to be outside! Thanks for sharing your take on this!

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Exactly! Your welcome!

[@LisaRupertus]

10 years of homeschooling. I totally feel you! We just organically study things as they come up seasonally or interest led. I just can’t focus on making a big thing with nature study.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

I'm so happy I am not alone in this! Thank you!

[@michellegf]

This was very relatable! I am not an outdoorsy person at all. The thought of taking my 3 kids on a hike sounds more like a nightmare 😬. The only reason we do any type of nature study is because it’s incorporated in the Co op I help run. We keep it super simple though. Usually we read a book and do some sort of activity to go along with it. Which at times is difficult for me. I am the type that it’s all or nothing. It can definitely seem overwhelming when you see constant beautiful pictures on socia media platforms. Letting go of your fantasy homeschool self is so important. Letting go of things that just aren’t you or your child and embracing the things that are is just so much more rewarding 😁

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Thanks for the chuckle and wise words;)

[@kimberlysmith673]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way! I tend to shut down when I feel a lot of pressure to do something. I prefer to get my kids outside and just enjoy the time and explore naturally. We also have the issue of having very few months that are safe and enjoyable for nature study where we live. We live in the southern US. There is nothing enjoyable about fighting rattlesnakes, copperheads, and brown recluse spiders in 100° weather with children😬 That's when we prefer to go to museums and watch documentaries 🤣

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Thank you for sharing your experience with nature study!! Yikes! to all the wild life in your area:) My daughter loves animal documentaries and now knows waaaaay more than me:)

[@kimberlysmith673]

@@WhimsicalFamilyLife the last time we attempted looking at tadpoles and fish in the nearby creek during the summer my son almost stepped on a Cottonmouth snake(very venomous) and my daughter was stung twice by red wasps..we were done after that🤣

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

@@kimberlysmith673 I can see why! Scary!

[@StephanieMT]

Our nature study consists of we see an animal one kid has a question I google answer.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Haha! Love it!!

[@ginakitsuse2796]

Very relatable! Hope you guys enjoy the summer break :)

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Thank you! I'm looking forward to it and spending time in nature, lol! We will be living on the beach:)

[@Robaby721]

I’m just like you, struggle for sure with nature study. I rather read about it haha

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Me too most of the time. I'm now going to let that be ok and read the beautiful books whenever I want to:)

[@cuddlepotbootcamp]

Totally can relate! And I'm so glad you did this video! I never schedule in "nature study", because I simply don't want to add in another whole subject to our schedule... We homeschool year round and this year we are only doing "school" 4 days a week, on the fifth day we just play games, arts, field trips etc and I already feel like I have a full plate... I have a lot of nature related books but never use them for "nature study".. They are more like read alouds!

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Happy to hear I am not alone! Your schedule sounds lovely. They will be read alouds more often for us as well:)

[@Clothmom1]

I have graduate credits in wildlife biology and I have zero interest in traipsing through the rain (it rains here all winter and spring) trying to draw on wet paper with cold hands. I had the kids draw the neighbor’s cherry tree every few weeks all year long (often from a photo that I snapped in two seconds) and that is as close as we will probably ever get to nature study. It is simply not a subject in our homeschool even though I have graduate-level expertise!

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Love it! Cherry trees are so beautiful, I bet it was wonderful to see it change throughout the year.

[@novascotia6407]

Just join a homeschool park group and let the kids geek out on each other.

[@StephanieMT]

I'm jealous that in Canada it's still cold enough for the heater. Here in South Indiana its 90 ferienheight

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

And most people here are so sick of winter and cold weather they are already dreading the end of summer before it even starts.

[@user-fb5ze9fx7e]

I always stumble on nature studies. I start every year with great intentions, but have never once done the observe and draw portion of nature studies.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Happy to see I am not alone! Thanks for sharing!

[@howweschool]

This is how I feel about art curriculum. I keep trying but I’m not drawn to do it. Nature has also been a bit difficult for me, but because my son loves it we’ve been doing it forever. He now goes to a drop off class once a week where they are outdoors all day, so that has been perfect. We also did an animal kingdom study with some friends, we kept it to the outdoors, so that forced me to be outside in nature but it wasn’t a “nature study”. And we both love being outdoors and in nature but sometimes it’s difficult to get everything in and the pressure to do EVERYTHING is real!

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

I struggle with the art as well, it always seems to come last. I was happy when she went to outside classes, but with Covid that stopped for the past 2 years. I look forward to her starting a class again in the Fall. We are now doing Water Color together and it helps that I have always wanted to do it.

[@liljdw1]

Yes! We always start out with the best intentions. However, I've let it go and am happy as long as we get language arts and math done. Science and social studies/history are secondary, and I treat the rest as extras.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Sounds like a sane & relaxed approach! It is all such a learning curve! But, each year I relax into it more and more.

[@Homeschoolology]

We do not include nature study as a regular thing in our homeschool. It's just not for us. We love being in nature when it works out, but we don't love it all the time. Like you I wish we did it more, but it just doesn't work for us. And that is okay! I think we actually appreciate it more when we do actually get out in nature. Also we live in Florida and it is H.O.T. HOT here in the summer 😆

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

It is wonderful when we simply accept things and focus on what we do love; you're smart:)

[@homeschoolatheart]

Girl, you’re doing great without adding nature study on top of it all! I’m going to attempt it this year, but as part of what we’re doing for science… for example: a couple weeks of aviation and airplanes then a couple weeks about birds. But if it doesn’t work we just won’t do it 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Sounds like fun studies coming up! Thanks for the kind words:)

[@StephanieMT]

Today my husband decided we should get membership to our zoo and go once a week.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

What fun! Those will be cherished memories!

[@tuathadesidhe1530]

We are naturally nature based in our life - partly because we live in an absolutely stunning part of the world, partly probably because I'm an Animist, which has organically lead to our "education" being nature, and art based.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Sounds lovely! Which part of the world do you live? I love KZbin because it connects so many of us from all over the world:)

[@tuathadesidhe1530]

@@WhimsicalFamilyLife I live on the beautiful Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands in FNQ Australia - the land of misty rainforest clad mountains, rushing waterfalls, and lovely crater lakes, we have lovely fertile volcanic soil - our area is described as one of the lush "food bowls" of Australia. We have many climatic zones up here.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

@@tuathadesidhe1530 Oh my, that sounds amazing! Happy to hear you are enjoying it! Would love to see a KZbin Channel from you:)

[@tuathadesidhe1530]

@@WhimsicalFamilyLife it really is just beautiful up here, we also have a hot springs not too far away for when winter gets too chilly (it's getting rather chilly) - I have thought about doing a channel.. But I'm the type of person who hides when cameras come out, has a "colorful vocabulary", and is rather un "PC" - my daughter in law has offered to help me because I'm also a technophobe, but it all seems rather scary. If I do I will probably call it something like "Aussie Secular Heathen Homeschool".

[@ThisIsLovelyLaura]

Nature Study should be more organic. Go outside observe and enjoy the beauty around you.

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Simple. Perfect.