How to Begin Nature Study with Children

Nature study is one of the simplest ways to bring learning outside. You don't need complicated equipment, a strict lesson plan or a long list of things to identify. All you really need is time, curiosity and a willingness to look closely.

Whether you're new to homeschooling or have been doing it for years, nature study can become a lovely rhythm in your week.

What Is Nature Study?

Nature study is simply spending time observing and learning about the natural world.

You might explore:

• Plants and flowers

• Trees and leaves

• Birds and insects

• Animals and their tracks

• Rocks and soil

• Weather and clouds

• Ponds, rivers and oceans

• Habitats and ecosystems

• The changing seasons

  
  

The wonderful thing about nature study is that it can be as simple or as detailed as you like. For example, a three-year-old might collect fallen leaves and notice their colours, while an older child might investigate why leaves change colour or identify the tree they came from.

Start With What's Around You

You don't need to travel somewhere special. Your garden, local park, woodland, beach or even a patch of grass beside the road can become your classroom.

Choose one small area and spend some time looking.

• What can you see?

• What can you hear?

• What can you smell?

• What feels different?

  
  

Encourage your children to notice things rather than immediately trying to teach them what everything is called. Allow them to explore for themselves.

Follow Your Child's Curiosity

One of the best things about nature study is allowing children to follow their own interests.

Perhaps you find a beetle. That might lead to questions:

• What kind of beetle is it?

• What does it eat?

• Where does it live?

• Why does it have that colour?

• Does it change as it grows?

  
  

One small discovery can lead somewhere completely unexpected.

You don't have to know all the answers either. Learning together is all part of the enjoyment of nature study.

Keep a Nature Journal

A nature journal can become a wonderful record of your child's observations.

It doesn't have to be perfect.

Children might:

• draw a flower

• sketch a bird

• press a fallen leaf

• write down something they noticed

• record the weather

• collect interesting words

• paint what they saw

• write questions

• add dates and locations

  
  

Encourage them to draw what they actually see, rather than what they think something should look like - a wonky leaf is still a leaf!

Notice the Seasons

Nature study becomes especially interesting when you return to the same places throughout the year.

Visit the same tree in:

Spring — Are there buds or blossom?

Summer — What insects are visiting it?

Autumn — What colours are the leaves?

Winter — What does the tree look like without its leaves?

Children begin to notice that nature is constantly changing.

You could even create a simple seasonal nature checklist and see what you can find each month.

Look Closely at Ordinary Things

One of my favourite things about nature study is discovering that ordinary things can be fascinating.

Take a handful of soil, look underneath a log, examine a feather, watch an ant, turn over a stone, look at a puddle, or collect different types of leaves. These small moments can lead into science, geography, art, writing and even mathematics.

A handful of soil, for example, could lead to learning about worms, fungi, decomposers, nutrients, food webs and ecosystems.

You Don't Need to Know Everything

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can give is this - You don't have to be a nature expert to do nature study.

You can learn alongside your children. Look it up together. Take a photograph. Draw it. Read a book. Come back tomorrow and see if it's still there.

Children don't need us to have every answer.

They need opportunities to notice, question, investigate and wonder.

Make Nature Study a Habit

The real magic happens when nature study becomes something you return to regularly. This could be a weekly walk, watching the same nest throughout spring, looking at the moon each evening, or simply checking your garden each week.

These small habits teach children to slow down and pay attention.

And perhaps that's one of the greatest gifts nature study can offer: learning to notice the world around you.

Explore Nature-Inspired Learning

I create nature-inspired homeschool resources that encourage children to explore the natural world through science, observation, creativity and curiosity.

From animals and habitats to Earth science, soil and the changing seasons, there are plenty of ways to bring nature into your homeschool. Take a look at my Nature collection for inspiration.

Vanessa x