Nature Study and Interview with Linus

We spent Thursday outside for school. I used a nature study at Schoolhouse Teachers to start us off on our fun. It was about evergreen trees. Thankfully my sons and husband transplanted some trees for us last year and they have done quite well. Why do I say thankfully? Well, we have these all over the property but we would have had to walk quite far to see them, these were transplanted down our driveway.

We started by looking at the pine trees down our driveway. We touched the needles, we felt the bark on the branches, and we smelled them to smell that minty smell they produce. Then the boys sat down and drew the tree they found the most interesting. Our younger son was all about this tree. He was drawn to it (no pun intended).

The clover are blooming all over our property, much to the joy of our chickens. They love this yellow clover so much. 

The ladybugs like it a well. It's easy to find them milling around the clover and tall grass.

Just getting outside helps my sons so much. It helps calm them, helps them focus, and just seem to help them overall. So going outside to study in nature is a wonderful thing. We often go outside to do other study time as well. Math in the grass, language arts at the picnic table, or ready by the pond. It's one of the beauties of home education. I love that we have so much land to explore in our home school day and we use it often. But sometimes all we need to do is step outside our front door and take a few steps down the driveway.

Interview with the Little Misters (Linus Edition)

Q: (Me) Can you tell me what your favorite part about being outside is?
Linus: I like seeing what God created. I like all the green stuff and in the winter I like the snow. (poor kid, doesn't get much joy in the winter where we live)

Q: Can you tell me something you have learned from being outside or doing school outside?
Linus: Oh, just how animals create things. Like spiders and how they make webs and birds and how they make nests.

Q: How does going outside make you feel?
Linus: My body feels fresh and good. I get my energy out. Sometimes I get tired. I feel relaxed.

Q: Do you like having school inside or outside better?
Linus: Outside!

Q: Do you have any advice for families that don't go outside for school or anything else you want to add?
Linus: You need to get outside because you can see what God created and just explore. Your kids would feel happy.

And with that he had to go to the restroom and it ended his train of thought as happens with most 8 year old children. I can't stress enough how important going outside is. From the basics of vitamin D, and just breathing in fresh air to the way our bodies change when we are in nature, things we can learn, and how we can interact in God's creation. God designed us to be in nature. The garden of Eden was not the high rise of Eden. So, take a minute and get outside today. I know we will be doing just that.