Nature Study

An important part of a Charlotte Mason education is nature study.  It is utilized to foster in children the habits of observation and attention and to develop their artistic hand as they learn to draw and paint that which they observe.  We're starting with a book that we're already coming to love, One Small Square: Backyard.  This series looks at habitats through the study of a small square, about a square yard.  The kids were excited to go out to our backyard and pick out their little square.  It was so fun to watch Jonathan's affectionate enthusiasm -- he's seriously happy about his little square. 

We did some exploring before Joshua woke from his nap, digging up a small area of dirt to investigate.  They found an earth worm, more than a few rolly polly's, a few grub worms, and a loose insect wing, in addition to many roots and rocks.  We looked at the variety of plants in the little plot and some little mushrooms, then explored other finds around the yard.  We'll visit our little square regularly and get to know it well as we watch for signs of changing seasons, animal visitors, etc. 

 When Joshua woke up, he was more than interested in joining us... in order to eat grass and dog poop.  A 9 month old is quite a challenge in the backyard unless he's in the swing, which we could only do for so long.  I tried a pack-n-play beside the activity.  He was not impressed in the least.  He did, however, thoroughly enjoy the bath that followed our outdoor play.

Rather than instruct Jonathan to draw something we found, (which I'll encourage more directly next year when school is more formal), I simply sat down afterward and picked up some colored pencils to draw out the earthworm for  My Nature Journal.  When Jonathan returned inside and found my colored earthworm and journal page, he was very eager to begin his own.  He thoroughly admired my earthworm and asked if I've been practicing drawing earthworms for a long time, amazed when I confessed this may be my first.  So he studiously set to work drawing an earthworm as well and copying the text from my page. I think for this year I'll just continue keeping my own journal of our finds and let him follow suit as he likes before adding any more organization to the project in later years. 

I'm better with a camera than I am with colored pencils, however (who isn't!?), and once everyone was wandering off to explore on their own I snapped a few other shots in the yard.

 

After playing with the leaves, I returned to the door near the garage where we found this Orchard Orbweaver two days ago.  I took the shot below after the kids found her on our way to the garage.  I got them buckled in and then slipped into the house for a quick shot on our way to preschool!  

I was glad to see the spider still there and found her all the more interesting having read up on the Orbweaver in the meantime.

 (Can you see her actually making the web in the one just above?) 

It's humbling and amazing how much I'm already learning with our homeschool routine.  Simply assuming the responsibility for the  bulk of their education has changed my responses to so many questions from "Uh, I'm not sure," to "Let's find out," and from, "Let's take a few steps back.  Please don't touch that," to "Wow, did you see this!?"

Inspired to learn more about flight after reading The Glorious Flight as part of our Five-in-a-Row curriculum, we bought a book on the Wright Brothers, part of a series that's meant for upper elementary through middle school kids, but which is irresistibly interesting.  As we read through the early childhood of the brothers and the inspirational moments in their interest in flight, Jonathan asked me to read more and more despite the increasing distractions (typical around here).  I have to say I found the story of their mother to be quite inspirational herself.  College educated around the Civil War era and handy with mechanics and tools thanks to her father's instruction, she was often on her own with the kids while their father traveled for his job as a pastor.  The conducted experiments in the kitchen, learned from a variety of creative toys their father brought home, and invented solutions to the problems around them, creating their own childhood business in kite-making for neighborhood friends.  The brothers attributed much of their creative success to their home environment, the way in which creative problem solving and scientific pursuits were fostered, and the immense library brought within their reach by their father.  As an MD-turned-stay-at-home-mom who is still often answering questions about when I'll return to my career, I found the family life behind these brothers to be equally inspiring. 

One of the funnier moments in our read today was a discussion about the times in which the Wright Brothers lived.  I explained to Jonathan that the family lived in a home without running water or bathrooms and without electricity.  I asked him how they might "turn on the lights," hinting at oil lanterns, and he hesitated for a moment before answering, "I know!  They used Solar Panels!"

A last pic from today: Joshua amused himself and us by climbing all the way into the tupperware cabinet this morning!