We usually do our Nature Study in our front yard. Every now and then, we have different visitors coming; a praying mantis, slug, wasps, etc. There's just so much our small land area has to offer for us to enjoy and observe that we need not go far.
Aside from our occasional visitors, we still have plants and flowers that we haven't really had time to appreciate and observe further. Last Friday, we all picked Blue Ruellia to study. This flower usually blooms in the morning only to fall in the afternoon. Yet it never fails to give us flowers every day.
My 11 yo son Gabi, changed the game this time. He asked me if he can use his Dad's cellphone tools to dissect the flower. He said that is what Gregor Mendel did when he observed the peas. We read about Gregor Mendel in our Term 1 and I didn't realize how he was inspired by this friar.
I was so happy to see his journal full of his observations, this is the first time I've seen so many entries without any promptings from me. So much win from our Nature Study!
My 5 yo also joined but he ended-up sketching a different thing, but that's ok.
The most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in. Once they experience first-hand the wonder of nature, they will want to make nature observation a life-long habit." [from Charlotte Mason's Vol. 1 pg 61]
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