Nature Study - It Begins With Me

I have lofty nature study goals. In my mind's eye, I picture myself heading out to a local nature center (in a pretty long skirt even though I never wear skirts) with my three sweet children in tow. All of my children are excited about the outing and eager to listen to the sounds of nature and observe the beauty and wonder of God's creation. All of us would, of course, be clutching wonderfully artistic nature journals in which everybody would be eager to sketch. My children would all be QUIET on the trail and our day would be filled with the small wonders that only nature can provide.


As I shake myself out of my pleasant daydream, I can readily assure you that while we have had some absolutely wonderful nature outings (although I've never worn a skirt and my children have NEVER been quiet on the trails), many have been disappointing to me.


Why were some of our nature outings disappointing to me? I have finally realized that I was focusing way too much on my children's reactions to our nature study rather than to my own. As in so many other aspects of our homeschool, if I want positive attitudes in my children, the attitudes have to begin with me.


Now, I have a VERY positive attitude towards nature study. I read (with great delight) Barb's Handbook of Nature Study blog. Her blog has been an incredible source of support and encouragement for the pursuit of nature study with my family. Barb's focus is often, if not always, on finding ways to incorporate nature study into one's everyday life.


I plan big nature study outings and have high expectations for them. I desperately want my children to be interested in the beauty of nature, to have a desire to know the names of the living things they see outside, and to experience the joy and calm of God's creation in the natural world.


But I am starting to realize that in my zeal for everybody to be positive about nature study, I've been missing the simple. I've been missing the everyday. I've been missing ways for nature study to just be a part of our lives. To integrate nature study into my children's lives as a true appreciation every day and not just something we do as part of school, nature study can't be separated completely from daily life as something else "to do for school."


I finally realized that I was putting too much pressure on my children in regards to nature study- the pressure of my expectations. How can one delight in the joy of nature when one is trying to live up to somebody else's expectations of how one should delight in the joy of nature? I was simply trying too hard and only focusing on the "big outings." I was also focusing too much on my children and not enough on my reactions to nature. My kids are smart and they pay attention to me. They know when I expect things to be a certain way and the pressure of those expectations can weigh heavily on their young hearts.


So, I decided to just focus on one of my own nature study interests without involving the children. I made this plan without artifice and no expectations for anybody else's behavior except my own. I want to know the names of the birds that come to our feeder. Eventually I would like to be able to identify them by their calls and songs.


Rather than trying to get everybody on board for a big summer-long bird study (my first inclination), at the beginning of May, I started quietly and without any fanfare, making a list of the birds that I see at our bird feeder. Our bird feeder is right outside our kitchen windows so I get to look at the bird feeder quite a bit just as I go about my daily routines of cleaning and cooking in the kitchen.

I was so happy to get this picture of the lovely Rose Breasted Grosbeak that visited our bird feeder recently.

Much to my surprise, all three of my children and my husband noticed that I was keeping a list. They noticed that I was looking up birds that I couldn't readily identify in my Birds of Ohio book. They noticed...and noticing my interest awakened their own interest.


I've caught my teenage daughter looking up a bird in the field guide. She has named the Titmouse her favorite bird and remarks on the adorable little bird whenever she sees one at the feeder.


My youngest child eagerly looked up a small, red bird in the field guide that we spotted at the feeder. He quickly identified it as a Purple Finch and was eager to tell his father about it when he got home.


My middle son has been commenting on birds when we are out and about. He is noticing the birds we see and shows interest in learning their names.


My whole family was interested to hear what I had read about the Cowbird, the only parasitic bird living in our state.

I am finding more eager helpers to fill up our bird feeder.

That's quite a bit of interest from the simple act of making a list of birds that I see at our bird feeder.

While it is certainly beneficial to go on nature study outings, true incorporation of nature study into daily life has to begin with an awakening of interest in a topic related to the natural world. My interest spurred my family's interest. And it all began with me, quietly and without any fanfare, making a simple list.


I am still going to plan big nature study outings but I will try to leave my expectations in my daydreams and just focus on the joy of being out in nature with my family. More importantly, though, I am going to continue to look for ways to incorporate nature study into our daily lives in simple ways. I am also going to try to remember that the attitudes of my family members, positive or negative, often begin with me.