"One afternoon a week, the students in our 'Practicing School' [taught by the student teachers at Charlotte Mason's teacher's college] go for a 'nature walk' with their teacher. They notice things by themselves, and the teacher tells them the name or gives other information only if they ask for it."
"The teachers are careful not to turn these nature walks into an opportunity to give science lessons, because they want the children's attention to be focused on their own observations."
"They're allowed to notice things with very little direction from the teacher. By doing this, children accumulate a good collection of 'common knowledge.' "
"The nature walk shouldn't be used as a chance to dispense miscellaneous tidbits of scientific facts."
"Even more important, students learn to know and take pleasure in objects from nature like they do in the familiar faces of friends."
All photos in this entry are from our trip last winter to Palm Springs. My youngest son and I spent the day together, just the two of us, at the Living Desert Museum. I handed him the map when we walked in and told him that he was in charge of our day. We would look at whatever he was interested in and I would follow his direction.
We had a wonderful time exploring the very long hiking trail that starts at the museum but then winds up into the hills. The top photo in this entry is at a spot where you can use telescopes to look out over the valley. I was tempted to read him the signs that explain the geology of the area but I restrained myself. He asked a couple of questions and I told him that the answers were probably on the signs so he went over and read a little bit to himself and was satisfied.
He was hoping to see a jack rabbit on our hike and sure enough, we saw one on the way back to the museum. He then wanted to see the cheetahs since on the schedule it said that they would be feeding them and we could watch. Okay....I wasn't sure I wanted to see a cheetah eating but we headed over to the enclosure. It wasn't so bad. :)
Just a little silliness from my cat lover....
He took the camera over when we headed over to Eagle Canyon where they had a beautiful mountain lion. He was able to capture the lion up on his rocks.
He also was interested in the Mexican wolf and we went back two times before the wolf was up from his nap.
Mr. B must have wanted to indulge my interests because he suggested the butterfly aviary. I was eager and we spent quite a bit of time following various butterflies around trying to get them to land on our fingers. No luck but it was still fun.
There was a rock to sit on inside and as we sat there, the hummingbirds came very close. You can see Mr. B in the background and the hummer wasn't bashful about coming right up to where we were sitting.
We both were a little tired and hot so we found a cool spot to have a drink and I pulled out my nature journal and my son decided to join me. He didn't spend much time sketching but it was enough to make a memory for his journal back home.
This was another of Mr. B's photos. We actually were able to feed the giraffes which was pretty exciting stuff. Have you ever seen a giraffe tongue up close?
I have certainly given my share of "science lessons" during our nature walks and nature time. I am getting better about letting the boys direct me to what they are curious about. I see the wisdom in allowing the boys to explore and learn in a way that makes sense to them, but I can be available to assist them with questions they might have. I am pretty comfortable with telling them that I don't know the answer to their question and then find someone or some resource that does have the answer.
These principles are the same whether your nature study takes place in your backyard, on the trail, or during some other nature study outing. As the parent, I set the mood. If you quietly observe your children, you will see what they are drawn to learn more about without much effort.
Try it the next time you are having your outdoor time.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
