Nature study: Rocks and Gems

Please Note: I have updated this post that originally was posted on my Charlotte Mason blog.

A year back we used the Considering God's Creation program for my son's science. When we covered the Rocks and Gems section, I used the following books and resources to cover this unit.

So in true CM fashion, we set up an area for displaying our rock collection.  It was very easy to get a collection going [we live in a sub that was built on an old gravel pit so the rocks are literally everywhere] which was fun to display. The egg carton [I switched to the clear egg cartons so we could label them and still see what we had] served as a nice tote for the rocks which kept them organized and in one place.

 *all books are from the library, and you need a big variety due to there being so many rocks-the cross reference is necessary. Unless you have a geologist/petrologist in the family. The elephant carving was a gift  :) but that is soapstone, so it counts.

There are only a couple of these pages from the Considering God's Creation student workbook. I made copies [permissible as noted in the front of the guide] as I wanted the boy to do quite a few pages to document more of the rocks we found.

Chronicles of Narnia study helps

from Wikipedia

The Chronicles of Narnia are pure excellence. Not only do they qualify under Charlotte Mason's idea for living books, they are the epitome of a well-written story that envelopes the listeners (and the reader I might add) drawing them in with ease. That is what I strive to provide for my children. A love of a story and the eagerness to listen to it unfold as they are drawn to it and ask for "one more chapter" to be read.

Complete Chronicles of Narnia

Following CM's ways, I would ask the children to tell me what they remembered. Then I added some copywork and (at times) some lapbook mini-book snippets. After we read the stories we also watched as many movies as we could find (yes, even the older versions that are a bit lame but still useful).

Everything Guide to Narnia


Complete Idiot's Guide to Narnia

                          

Companion to Narnia

images from amazon.com

Lapbook Links:

The Horse and His Boy via Homeschool Share

The Magician's Nephew lapbook via Homeschool Share

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe lapbook via Homeschool Share

Miscellaneous links:

Coloring Pages

Coloring Book Pages

Nature Study notebooking helps and examples

Providing a good nature study foundation for your student, is one of the most rewarding aspects of Charlotte Mason.

How to go about it:

You can start out simply enough by just focusing on reading books about a certain subject. That will provide a nice springboard to stir up some interest. Slowly add in an afternoon stroll around your yard, neighborhood, or a local park-of course this depends on the season.  Take note of the type of birds, trees, animals and plants you see.  Even if that is simply mental notes or a couple pictures.  Then when you get home, look up the finds (via the internet, books) and discuss them.

After a few times of this, it can easily grow into a more organized, detailed study.  Use the resources available to you. Remember, you do not need to reinvent the wheel to do this! There are plenty of creative and handy folks who have pulled together studies, books and all sorts of ideas to get you on your nature study path.

Now when those moments arise when you simply are befuddled about what something is or what it does, be sure to admit to your students.  You do not need to be a walking encyclopedia on all things nature like.  AND you don't have to be artistically inclined to do nature studies or the notebooking aspect. The true object to refine your observation skills, to truly see the Glory of our Heavenly Father. It is not about how well you can sketch.  If you feel you and your students need some art instruction, by all means-add it.  There are plenty of "how to" books available.  Try your library first, go through their collection and only purchase the ones that best fit your family.  It takes time, but the results are life changing.

Some examples of NS books

Copywork and art project from Spears Art Studio-High School Curriculum

Sketches by teen-still life and pine cone study/leaf study

The boy's sketches using Barb's
Nature Study with the Outdoor Hour Challenges pages

Additional Helps:

One can add many different forms to their 3-Ring Binder, using a variety of sources, notebook pages and ideas.  I find this method works great because a child can add, shift around projects as they build their collection,  and even categorize their works. I use the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock a lot.  Barb's studies tie directly into this book, and are easy to implement. I find quotes from the Bible various other sources.

Having a good supply of paper, colored/drawing pencils, erasers, crayons, watercolor paints, scissors (for snipping specimens), and any other medium you can use to sketch, or capture your NS moments is a great way to stay "ready".  We keep our goodies in plastic, snapped totes so we can take them with us while we travel, do specific studies, and so forth.  Don't forget tweezers, variety of magnifying glasses, bug catchers, and a butterfly net to help you corral your findings, so you can sketch them too.

Helpful Links:

Ambleside Online-Nature Study help

Keeping track of your eBook Lapbooks and Lapbook kits: Organization idea

One of the biggest issues I have with all my eBook Lapbook downloads, as well as the actual lapbook kits I own, is that I almost always forget I have them!  Why? Because most of them are eBooks so they are not visually in front of me unless I tap into my files on my computer. I grew tired of missing opportunities to use the components because I simply forgot about them. So I simply took a screen shot of the covers, then put about 4 per page (in MS Word) to print them.  I had some clear, 4 pocket sheet protectors so I sized the covers to match those dimensions. You could prob'ly even use a 6-8 pocket page by simply shrinking the cover size to fit.  Then I placed them into a 3-Ring binder.  So now when I need to see what I have in my inventory, all I have to do is pull the binder out and take a look.  Simple but extremely useful!