Out-of-Doors Studies For Older Children

 It is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things. CM Vol.1

I’m not being too consistent in getting these posts out about CM but I’m trying.  Last time I wrote about  Out-of-Doors Studies for Children Under Six; today I would like to address the same but with more of a focus on older children.

The following list of ideas was complied from CM’s books Home Education and A Philosophy of Education.  Many of these ideas were given for children under the age of nine but my guess is that many older children have not been exposed to these things either.  And if you need somewhere to start – a little direction –  this should help.

Wildflowers in your neighborhood – Can your child describe its shape, size, leaf, flower?  Where does it grow?  Make a collection of all the wildflowers you find.  Press and mount them, writing the name on paper, along with where and when you found it.  Draw the flowers in your nature sketch book.

Trees – Locate 6 different kinds of trees and make this a year-long study.  CM thought that starting this study in winter was a good time.  You see the tree in all its bareness, then as the weather warms, the buds start to form, leaves break out, flowers burst forth.  Learn leaf patterns, notice the bark.  If it’s a fruit tree, watch the developing fruit.  Chronicle all of this in your nature sketch book.

Calendars – Record on a calendar where and when the first ‘oak leaf’ is seen, the first bee, various birds, first ant.  When you go on your nature walks this will give the child some direction, to teach him to notice what is happening all around him.  The calendar can be added to every year and can be looked back upon to see when and where to look for these things.

Living Creatures – Learn the habits of the various creatures in your area. Take time to observe them so that you can tell something about them.  Record in your nature sketchbook the things you observe and sketch the animal.

By doing these things they will learn something of classification. CM wrote:

For convenience in describing they should be able to name and distinguish petals, sepals, and so on; and they should be encouraged to make such rough classifications as they can with their slight knowledge of both animal and vegetable forms. Plants with heart-shaped or spoon-shaped leaves, with whole or divided leaves; leaves with criss-cross veins and leaves with straight veins; bell-shaped flowers and cross-shaped flowers; flowers with three petals, with four, with five; trees which keep their leaves all the year, and trees which lose them in autumn; creatures with a backbone and creatures without; creatures that eat grass and creatures that eat flesh, and so on. To make collections of leaves and flowers, pressed and mounted, and arranged according to their form, affords much pleasure, and, what is better, valuable training in the noticing of differences and resemblances.

Bird Lists – Make a list of all the birds you spot.

Habitats – Know what kinds of plants will grow in the different environments right in your area.  CM’s older kids in one term would be able to "Make a rough sketch of a section of ditch or hedge or sea-shore and put in the names of the plants you would expect to find."

Your Own Special Study – You choose something that’s of interest to your family.  Some ideas I came up with were:  Gardens – These have a host of insects visiting them, good and bad!  Learn their names, so that you can repel or attract them as the case may be.  Learn about pollination, propagation, saving seed. 

Study the constellations.  Know where to find the North Star.  Did you know you can tell time by the North Star (within a few minutes)? 

Keep a moon chart showing all the different phases of the moon.  What is a full moon, new moon?

Scouting – My son loves to hunt/scout.  He learned so much this past year about antelope, their habits and the terrain they like to roam in.  He found out that they aren’t just in the plains as most people think.  He saw them in many other areas as well.

Hang bird feeders and bird houses to try and attract a variety of birds.  (Have your child build the bird houses if he’s old enough.)   Build a squirrel feeder.  Observe them. 

I love Melissa Wiley’s post "Some Breezy Open Wherein It Seemeth Always Afternoon".  In this post she tells of how she and her children found 3 special spots and visited at least one of them each week.  They became intimately acquainted with "their spots" as they went back to them over and over again for several years.

CM thought that mothers should read, read, read all they could about nature so that they could pass on tidbits of interest to their children when the moment arose, to be able to answer questions or to know how direct them for further study. 

A few of the Benefits resulting from Nature Studies

Consider, too, what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun––the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for?   CM Vol.1

Who was Charlotte Mason? What Does a Charlotte Mason Education Look Like?