My Little Robins

Loving and Learning in the Nest

Prioritizing Habits For Smooth and Easy Days

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I remember the day I posted a cute photo of my daughter in a fashion group online.

She was barely six and had dressed herself in a dress that I wore with a semi-toothless grin in the 80's. Her emerging fashion sense told her to pair the dress with a denim vest and sparkly shoes….that were on the wrong foot. You would not believe how quickly people noticed the misplaced shoes. Some people didn't even say something positive about the heirloom dress, and went straight to criticize the shoes. 

Related: The Stages of Charlotte Mason Habit Training

But you know what? I don't care. 

I don't care about shoes on the wrong feet because it doesn't really matter. It would be filed under what Charlotte Mason called “arbitrary.” If my young child gets dressed on their own, I am not willing to say, “But you didn't do it right!” Wrong-footed shoes aren't really wrong- this isn't a moral issue. 

My daughter is 8 now and doesn't wear her shoes on the wrong feet anymore, but I still have one child who is just learning to put shoes on for himself, and sometimes they don't even match, let alone get on the right feet. I will not send my 18-year-old out into the world with wrong-footed shoes; someday checking left and right will become a habit. 

Habits For The Early Years: A Mother's Journal

Habit training help for the early years

Slow and Steady Habit Training

We desperately want those smooth and easy days that Charlotte Mason spoke of, but habit training is a long process.  If we work on them one-by-one, we won’t just knock out the habit of cleanliness, (for example); we’ll take months or years to work on each little component of that habit.

Related: Keeping a Habit Training Journal 


Because of the turtle-rate of habit training, we begin with the habits that will have the most impact in our days. What will help us get out of the house more smoothly, have fewer battles, and have more peace in our home? For me, these habits are: 

  • Cleaning up after themselves
  • Being kind
  • Obeying

It seems like we've been focusing on these things for a very long time, and that's okay! I try not to get overwhelmed with how far away the finish line looks. We're making progress as the fruits of kindness show up in surprising areas, or a child cleans up right away. This summer, we'll maintain the habits we've already established, like cleaning up the breakfast table after eating, and looking for opportunities to help, so that when our routines return to normal in the fall, we aren't starting from scratch. Those wrong-footed shoes are low-priority. 

If you want to prioritize habits with your young children, Habits for the Early Years may be a good fit! It's part journal and part guide to help you through the habits that are most important during the early years! 

Everything You Need To Know About Learning Through Play

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Learning through play is such an important topic right now, especially as play is being driven out of kindergartens, preschools, and basically childhood! When  "academic standards" start to become the norm for children just barely out of diapers, play becomes a luxury.

But some of us aren't content with cultural norms. 

Some of us, who are intent on following research and child development, know that play is not a supplement to learning for young children, but it IS learning. I've put together a big, hopefully amazing blog post for you about learning through play. You'll find lots of resources linked in this post, from My Little Robins and other sources. 

What is Play?

Three Important Factors of Play 

It's important that we're on the same page with the word "play" before we dive in. In 2008, Catherine Garvey published a paper through Cambridge University Press called "Play."  

Garvey said, "Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment." 

From this definition, there are three things that we know about play: 

1. Play is driven by the child. Since play is intrinsically motivated, it isn't externally motivated. So, forced educational opportunities are NOT play. 

2. Play is active. The word "activities" tells us that a child should be actively engaged in play. So, things like watching a playful television show wouldn't be considered play since a child passively takes it in. 

3. Play is enjoyable. Play should bring on smiles and squeals of delight! If a child is not delighting in play then perhaps it isn't child-driven or a child isn't engaged in it. 

Looking through research and academic articles about play, the definitions might vary a little, but one thing that is always present is the idea that play is voluntary. Play is not something that is forced on children.

Play is a Basic Human Right 

The UN declared play to be a basic human right, something that is necessary for childhood. The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child says: 

Article 31
1.States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.


2.States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

Play is so necessary that depriving them of it would be a Human Rights Violation. 

What Play Isn't

The term "play" has been commandeered to mean anything that might possibly be fun for children. We see this in terms like "screen-based play," meaning video games, or "play-based learning," a popular term used in preschool settings. But the difference between play and a fun activity is whether or not it is child-led. The three points given above in the definition of play have to coexist simultaneously. We can't just pick and choose one aspect of play and then give the word to a vague shadow of the real thing. Play is driven by the child AND enjoyable AND active. 

Video games may be child-led and driven by the child, but they are not active (I can hear my children building an argument for Wii!) We also know that screen-based play doesn't offer the same brain-building benefits as real-life play, but we'll dig into that in a bit.

When teachers prepare games for children and call it play, it is teacher driven and not child driven, missing one of the important aspects of play. 

The Myth of Play-Based Learning

Play-based learning is sometimes actual play. Originally, play-based learning meant that a child self-directed their play and naturally learned from it. More and more, it has come to mean fun, teacher-directed activities, which we know is not really play. 

This is an excerpt from a post I wrote a few years ago: 

We have play-based learning all wrong. 

“Children learn through play!” This idea is widely accepted but vaguely understood. We have these grand ideas of what learning through play looks like for our children, but I think that we too often miss the mark. Play-based learning has little to do with the opportunities we can create for children, and everything to do with them just exploring, just enjoying childhood."

                              Leah Martin 


You can read my post, We Have Play-Based Learning All Wrong, here. 


Personally, I see Invitations to Play, a part of the Reggio-Emilia philosophy, as something that DOES fit into the play-based learning idea. Play can be presented as an opportunity and not something a child HAS to do in order to learn what the teacher wants them to.


Learning through play doesn't need to be hijacked by educational outcomes. If there are goals that a teacher or adult wants to accomplish, then it isn't play-based learning.  

The Benefits of Play  

Now that we've learned what play is and isn't, and why some play isn't really play at all, we'll back up a little and discuss what children learn through play.

 

Play helps children in their development, in these specific areas: 


  • cognitive 
  • emotional 
  • physical 
  • social
  • language
  • creativity

Cognitive

 

Cognitive development, or the development of the brain, occurs at the most rapid pace when children are 0-3. Many mistake this fact to mean that children should be filled with facts at that age, but that isn't developmentally appropriate. The developmentally appropriate way to make use of this rapid brain growth is to encourage play and exploration. 


The cognitive benefits of play include increased memory and focus, practice with decision-making, and improving the ability to plan. 


If you're familiar with executive functioning skills, you'll notice some overlap here and in other areas of play. You can find a research-based article on play and executive functioning skills here.


Emotional


Play allows children to think through different situations and figure out how they will respond to them. They can also create situations that reflect how they currently feel. When our dog was attacked and had emergency surgery, my kids jumped into action putting together a veterinary office for pretend play. They gathered their stuffed animals and "fixed" them to process the scary emotions that they were feeling. 


Play also helps children practice empathy as they are pretending to be another character. By putting themselves in someone else's shoes, they're experiencing what emotions that person might feel. 


Physical 


I am a long time proponent of play, especially outdoor play, as a way to integrate sensory input. The book Balanced and Barefoot was extraordinarily helpful to me in learning about this! As Sensory Processing Disorder rises in the US, play time, especially outdoor play time, declines. 



Social


Collaborative play unlocks a whole set of social development benefits for children.  It helps them develop social skills, like how to make friends and communicate with others, as well as skills like problem solving, goal setting, following rules, and settling conflict. 


Language


Children develop their communication and language skills through play, especially by playing with others. They have to communicate with another child in order to establish the game being played, and they learn how to initiate conversations with others. 



Creativity


A study showed that 98% of 4 and 5-year-olds were creative geniuses. This number seemed so amazing that the researches followed the same group of students throughout their school career. By elementary school, on 30% of these children were creative geniuses. By high school, only 12% of these students were creative geniuses. (Source).  


We know creativity is not only super important for future job markets, but I believe that we were born to be creative, just like our creator. 


Imaginative play helps give children opportunities to practice their creativity, make new worlds, creatively solve problems, and test out new possibilities.


Learning is usually thought of as facts, but facts can't exist without a framework to lay them on. Play offers this framework. 


You can find my sources for this section here and here. 


Play In Young Children

Young children, ages 2-5, exhibit 6 types of play as explained by psychologist Mildred Parten Newhall. https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/types-of-play


1. Unoccupied play- This type of play doesn't seem to have a purpose other than that the child enjoys moving around.  Infants often engage in this type of play. 


2. Independent play- A child who plays alone engages in independent play. This allows children to become comfortable with themselves and their own bodies. 


3. Onlooker play- An onlooker watches what other children are doing, without engaging with them. I've often witnessed this play when children try to decide if a situation is safe, if they feel welcome, or if they like the play that's occurring. 


4. Parallel play- When you see two children playing next to each other but not necessarily playing together, you're witnessing parallel play. This stage can often be observed in young toddlers, and leaves parents wondering, "Why don't you just play together!?" 


5. Associative play- Young children who play together but aren't quite organized enough to have a common goal in their play are engaging in associative play. 


6. Cooperative play- This is most likely what you think of when you hear the word  "play." It involves multiple children playing together centered around a common goal. When children play family, store, or another scenario with rules, they're engaging in cooperative play. 


Source


Not a curriculum, but a guide for the early years. You'll find Bible stories, book suggestions, and play suggestions for your young children ages 3-7. Buy it in My Little Robins' shop. 

Play in Older Children

The benefits of play don't go away as your child gets older. With older children play helps reduce stress and helps children work through emotions. The stages of play are less recognizable as children grow and mature. Instead of looking for stages now, you might want to recognize what types of play your older child is engaged in. 


1. Competitive Play- Playing a game with rules and a winner is taking part in competition. This kind of play might happen on a team, during a board game, or in any type of game with rules that your child made up. 


2. Constructive Play- Building anything is constructive play. This often happens with blocks, Lego, or train tracks. This kind of play helps children understand the laws of gravity and physics (i.e, why can't we make a Lego tower that is two stories high? Also, I'm sure someone can, just not my kids!) 


3. Imaginative Play- Creating a fantasy world or scenarios allows your child to engage in this kind of play. You might see this in dress-up, a game of family, or playing with dolls. 


4. Physical Play- Anything that involves a lot of movement is physical play. This could be a game where children are running around the house, playing catch, or riding bikes with neighborhood children. 


5. Symbolic Play- Symbolic play is more abstract than the other types of play mentioned above. It might involve making music, or a piece of art. 


Source



Schemas of Play 

Schemas are patterns that naturally occur in play, and help children in their physical development. You may think it's strange that your three-year-old puts all of their toys in a backpack and carries it around everywhere, but that type of play exhibits the schemas of transporting and enclosing. 


Schemas of play

"Schemas of play follow a child's developmental stages. Young children, who learn through play, demonstrate different schemas or urges, through their play."

The Schemas of play seem to be constantly reworded and reworked, but here is one interpretation- 


1. Enclosure/Container- This is a play schema where children place things inside of larger things. They might even enclose themselves in a big box or fort.


2. Position- Organizing things into a specific order is the schema of position. Maybe your child will sort the different things they found in nature. While using this schema, a child is laying the foundation for future mathematical and spatial skills.


3. Transporting- This is one that has bothered me in the past! I’m thankful that I can recognize it now as meaningful play rather than annoying behavior! Children showing this play schema like to move things from one place to another. In our house, I know that if a library book is missing, it has probably been transported in Miss H’s backpack!


4. Transformation- This schema, transformation, allows children to explore the properties of different things in nature. They put different parts and pieces together to make something new.


5. Trajectory- This is a schema that is definitely better outside! Children love to throw things: sticks, pine cones, and balls. Inside the house, throwing things can be problematic. But outside, this is such a fun way for them to develop their fine motor skills (while picking up a small object to throw) and their gross motor skills (when they throw the object.)


6. Rotation- A sweet little one, spinning around until he gets dizzy, is experimenting with the schema of rotation.


Schemas of Play in the Great Outdoors



Inspiring Creative Play

Creative play is one of the most beneficial types of play and as we saw above, it dwindles as creativity is sanded out by age and traditional schooling. Creativity is not something you're either born with or your not- people are born with creativity! It is either fostered or it isn't. 


In 2017, I was inspired by a speaker who said that we were created to be creative, because we were made in the image of God. You can read my post about creative play here, but for now let's talk about 3 things that children need in order to develop creativity: 


1. Time- Unstructured time is crucial for creativity. If every moment is scheduled, our children can't create new play situations or solve problems- even if it is just the problem of boredom. 


2. Risk-taking- Risks can be something big like climbing a tree or mixing colors in an a paint pallet. Every time we have something to lose (safety, paint from the examples above) we are taking a risk. New things and ideas are not generate when children are forced to stay within set parameters. And now you have a whole new perspective on mixing Play Doh! 


3. Interests- When a child shows interest in certain areas, we should cultivate their love for it.  Their strong interest will inspire them to explore and create. 


Read about fostering creative play here. 

We were created to be creative. 

"We assume a child either has creativity or doesn't, and forget that creativity has to be fostered." 


Outdoor Play

A few years ago, people were abuzz with the news that many children spend less than an hour outside every day. But other studies show that even less time is spent engaged in outdoor play. Either way, this is less time outside than prisoners are allotted, and this seemed shocking to many parents. Source


Outdoor play reaps the benefits we discussed above, but has additional blessings. For example, children who play outside more often tend to have longer attention spans than indoorsy kids. They also have lower obesity rates.  Source 


In the book Balanced and Barefoot, the author, an occupational therapist, talks about the many physical benefits of outdoor time, including improved vision, balance, and sensory integration. 


Because we're Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, spending lots of time outside is important to us. We are currently doing the 1000 Hours Outside challenge to help hold us accountable. 


Read: Making the Most Out of Outdoor Play During The Early Years


My purpose for writing this post is to hopefully change the tide that has been washing over American (and other countries) education for the past couple of decades. Play is not the icing on the cake, it is the cake. 





Resources


Lego Foundation Play Research 

Very Well Family

26 Studies About Play-based Learning

Study Shows We Are Born Creative Geniuses

 



Learning Geography Through Good Books

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It's so important to me that my children learn about other countries and cultures. For my daughter's kindergarten year, I pieced together a curriculum to learn about China. We read a few good books and looked up places on maps- but what she learned wasn't in depth and she was soon asking questions that received the answer, "We learned about that, don't you remember?" 

I received free product and compensation for this sponsored post. All ideas are my own. You can see my policies for more information. 

Now that my son is entering his informal kindergarten year, I want geography to have less stress on my end, but better results. We're going to achieve that lofty goal through Around the World with Picture Books Part 1 from Beautiful Feet Books. 

Unboxing Around The World With Picture Books 

In the past, I've bought different books from this company, but this is our first experience using a Beautiful Feet Books curriculum. Around the World With Picture Books is made for children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The entire set comes with a beautiful guide, 15 books, and a notebook. 

I made a little unboxing video below! 

Around the World With Pictures Books Part 1 teaches about Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. 

My son quickly dug into the books on the coffee table. He isn't a reader yet, so usually avoids looking at books on his own "because I can't read, Mom!" But he looked through at least 5 of them until I put them away so it didn't spoil the curriculum fun! 

Related: How to Choose Living Books

Using Good Books to Teach Geography

I'm planning to use Around the World With Picture Books in the fall, but I wanted to try out some of it to share it with you. Like I mentioned above, the guide is just beautiful! It looks like a magazine that could gain permanent residence on our coffee table. There were some tips in the guide to read before we jumped into the curriculum. 

The first country covered in the guide is China. The lessons involved good books about China, and most are included in the complete set. We read some of the books in one sitting and some were broken up over multiple lessons. This approach tells me that they understand young children and their attention spans! 

One of the first books we looked at was Anno's China. This book is actually wordless, but there is so much to see. We looked at a few pages at a time, and then discussed certain aspects of the culture as it was portrayed in the book. This is what caused me to fall in love with this curriculum: as well as reading the book, we were directed to a video that gave background information about an ancient painting that the book's illustrations were based off of. I wouldn't have known to do this on my own and was so grateful for the direction!

The MAPS book that comes with Around the World With Pictures Books is just stunning! These aren't your typical maps: each one shows a region and things that are important to it, like symbols, animals, and natural resources. 

The lessons continue in the fashion of reading a book and then digging a little deeper with a library book suggestion, link to explore, or activity to do. I appreciated that the activities weren't too much- I tend to shy away from heavily involved extras. These are meaningful and not complicated. 

Sign up for Beautiful Feet Book's Guide, 5 Ways to Know If A Book Is Worth Sharing With Your Kids through the button below. 

Sign Up Here

Keeping a Geography Notebook

As we read through the good books in the curriculum, we're also keeping a geography notebook. The guide prompts us to color a picture (there are pictures and resources in the back to photocopy) or make another type of entry in the beautiful journal that came with the set. When we're done, we'll have something to look back on and remember what we learned. 

Around the World With Picture Books Part 1 will fill our minds with inspiration and knowledge, fill the notebook with what we've learned, and fill out shelves with good books. 

Enter to win a $100 credit to Beautiful Feet Books!

The Art of Observation: Charlotte Mason Object Lessons

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We lament that children spend most of their time inside. We weep that their main form of occupation, and in some cases, interaction with others, comes from screens. We wonder what the world will look like when a whole generation has floated through their days, half-asleep, seemingly unaware of a sunset or insect. 

So what is to be done about it? 

We train children to see, to find joy and delight in the world around them. 

"We all need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in the this beautiful life." Charlotte Mason, Ourselves, pg. 43

Related: The Complete Charlotte Mason Preschool Guide

From the time our children are infants, we have the opportunity to help them look closely at what's before them: their rattle, the family pet, a butterfly... During our children's early years, these are some of the most important lessons we can implement. 

When I originally wrote this post several years ago, I focused on the educational aspects: understanding of textures, ability to differentiate colors and shapes, sensory input of touching different objects. Now, from a different spot in the parenting journey, I see that the benefits are not solely educational. The most considerable gain is that we will raise children who are engaged in the world around them and who can take joy in the delights of Creation. 

This training to see of the early years occurs through nature play and living life undistracted, but Charlotte Mason specifically described object lessons for young children. Object lessons, now interpreted mostly as tools for Sunday schools, are in this case opportunities to present our children with something interesting, allow them to explore it with their senses, and  discuss what they're experiencing. 

Related: Created to Be In Nature

Object Lessons With Young Children

The baby is a wonderful teacher in this matter of object-lessons. To be sure, his single pupil is his own small self; but his progress is amazing. At first he does not see any difference between a picture of a cow and the living animal; big and little, far and near, hard and soft, hot and cold, are all alike to him; he wishes to hold the moon in his pinafore, to sit on the pond, to poke his finger into the candle, not because he is a foolish little person, but because he is profoundly ignorant of the nature of the contents of this unintelligible world. But how he works! he bangs his spoon to try if it produces sound; he sucks it to try its flavor; he fumbles it all over and no doubt finds out whether it is hard or soft, hot or cold, rough or smooth; he gazes at it with the long gaze of infancy, so that he may learn the look of it; it is an old friend and an object of desire when he sees it again, for he has found out that there is much joy in a spoon.” Parents and Children, page 181

"...so much joy in a spoon."  So much joy in anything interesting, as long as we are willing to look! Anytime your child experiences an object like this, they are participating in object lessons.

Related: Your Secret Weapon for Forming Good Habits

Things Worth Observing

My object is to show that the chief function of the child- his business in the world during the first six or seven years of his life- is to find out all he can, about whatever comes under his notice, by means of his five senses; that he has an insatiable appetite for knowledge got in this way; and that, therefore, the endeavor of his parents should be to put him in the way of making acquaintance freely with nature and Natural objects.” Home Education, page 96

Most of these "things worth observing" with our children will be found outside. Yes, there are some interesting items inside, but imagine the exercise our sense get when we are shifting our focus from the pinecone in our hand to the sunset on the horizon, or we feel the wind on our skin while water laps around our ankles. These experiences are far more limited in doors, where the wall is our farthest sight and our skin remains untouched in the never-changing climate of our home. 

He has a thousand questions to ask, he wants to know about everything; he has, in fact, an inordinate appetite for knowledge. We soon cure all that; we occupy him with books instead of things; we evoke other desires in place of the desire to know; and we succeed in bringing up the unobservant man (and more unobservant woman) who discerns no difference between an elm, a poplar and a lime tree, and misses very much the joy of living.”

Parents and Children, pages 181-182

More to Explore With Object Lessons 

  • The lessons can either be purposeful or casual (180).
  • The child will use his senses to find out all he can about an object (page 181).
  • Lessons should occur daily (page 180).
  • Vocabulary should be introduced if your child asks, but don’t throw difficult words in their just for the sake of it (189).
  • Encourage the child to observe using all of their senses by modeling observation (page 192).
  • Discuss a quality or two of the object, but don’t do an “exhaustive” object lesson (page 183).

Next-Level Nature Journaling

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I'm so happy to have my friend Cindy Rinna share with you today! She has found a way to make nature study and nature journaling a delightful addition to their day.

I can still see it now...My blond headed little boy lying on his belly, stubby fingers pointing at a fat, black beetle. His darting eyes trying to keep up as the skittering critter crossed our back porch. And then...through excited nerves, my son mustered the courage to touch it. It was his first nature study.

“Look, Mom! Mom, look!” 

It’s a common phrase of pre-schoolers because everything is new. It’s the first beetle. The first snowfall. Daffodils popping up for the first time.

Their cries to “look” can get tiresome but they are really a cry for knowledge that we should nurture. They’re saying so much more than we think.

“Come share this with me! Delight with me! Teach me! Tell me more!” That’s what they’re really saying.

Children are generally better at nature study than adults; their fresh perspective is a gift they bring that awakens the numbness we can have to Creation as we get older. Nature study reminds us that we don’t have to be seeing something for the first time to be excited about it.

“Look, mom, look!”

And that’s essentially what nature study is…

Look.

Delight.

Share.

Repeat.

Related: Created to be in Nature

That little boy is now a teenager and while I don’t catch him sprawled out on his belly on our back porch anymore, I do still see him look, delight, and share. One of the best ways for him to share and document what he’s finding is in his nature journal.

As a Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschooler, I’ve always known that nature study is a big deal. I knew it was important for us – mind, body, and soul – to be outdoors and explore. I also knew nature study was the springboard for developing awesome habits like attention and observation, and that it led to awe and wonder at our Creator.

But early in our homeschool journey, I just couldn’t seem to make it happen.

Oh, I’d write nature study into our week. I’d even carve out time to explore…sometimes. But it wasn’t natural and it wasn’t enjoyable. A lot of times it just turned into a box I needed to check off and sounded like, “go out in the backyard and draw something God made.”

Yeah…not much wonder and awe there.

We tried multiple nature journals that didn’t end up working for one reason or another and most years I would just default to a blank sketchbook. Somehow, I’d ascertained through all of my Charlotte Mason study, that blank book paired with a great location was supposed to be enough to organically inspire watercolor paintings and passionate poems about flowers.

It didn’t.

Then I realized what we needed…guidance.

I didn’t want a workbook that felt coercive and detached – I wanted something gentle enough to give the kids room for their own creativity to take flight but I also recognized that my kids were not thriving with the amount of freedom a blank book allowed.

As a writer I can attest, there is something terrifying about the blank page.

So I started creating some simple guidance pages and gluing them into that blank book…and it worked. My kids were excited to use them. They knew what to look for. Nature Study became more like a fun scavenger hunt and it whet their appetites to make discoveries on their own.

My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation is the fruit of that labor and I’m so excited to share it with you now.

Related: Easy Clean-up For Messy Outdoor Play 

My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation

My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation is organized to flow through the year with the natural rhythm of the seasons and offer just the right amount of guidance to turn your child into a true naturalist.

With My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation, your child will get space to record…

1. Tree of the year

2. Firsts for each season

 3. Weather for each season

4. Leaves for each season

5. Flowers for each season

6. Birds for each season

7. Creatures for each season

8. Insects & Arachnids for each season

9. Explorations for each season

10. Moon Phases in autumn

11. Constellations in winter

12. Fungi & moss in spring

13. Rocks & seashells in summer

14. Free sketches

Next-Level Nature Journaling 


My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation is a lightweight, spiral-bound, compact book that can easily be thrown into a knapsack and carried along on your next hike. The protective covers on the back and front and heavy cardstock pages suitable for mixed media make it the perfect choice for our active kiddos and the Charlotte Mason quotes on every page can inspire you as you lead your little one in nature study. The layout gives a nice balance between structure and freedom allowing themed pages to gently guide your budding naturalist while still providing a few pages for free sketches. If taking a nature journal on your next hike isn’t doable, you can use it in many other ways:

 ● outside after an “aha!” moment

● accompanying science study

● during a planned nature outing

● after returning from a planned nature outing

● playing “eye spy” in the yard

The open design allows your child to make the journal his own. There is no “right way” to use the journal and although I consider nature study part of our homeschool, their journals are not something to be critiqued or graded. Little ones are free to color, paint, trace, or tape their nature finds in a play-based fashion and school-aged children can add their more detailed sketches, watercolors, and observations. This journal is a great resource for all children who wish to observe nature in an enjoyable and nurturing way.

How Nature Study Looks For Us

 We do nature study weekly. It usually includes a nature walk and a journal entry. These outings can be something as casual as walking around the neighborhood, something as formal as a state park, or anything in between. Nature journals get tossed into each child’s knapsack with a zip-up pencil case that contains colored pencils, a black ink pen, a regular pencil, a rubber eraser, and a pencil sharpener. Each knapsack should have some snacks and a water bottle, too. We share things like binoculars and guidebooks so those go in my pack. Obviously, what we put in our packs varies on location and length of our nature outing.

In a more spontaneous way throughout the week, we are consciously aware of nature. We take notice of nature on daily walks or park visits, sometimes collecting a specimen to take home. The kids and I hang bird feeders and plant a garden and call each other to “come look!” at notable nature happenings outside. These are great times to run in a jot a note in our nature journals.

If you’re looking for a way to encourage nature study, My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation. is just the resource you need to gently guide your child in this delightful habit. Here’s what other moms are saying… 

This journal is a wonderful addition to nature study. My son enjoyed taking just a few minutes every day or so to record his observations and ponder the wonder of the world in which he lives. He liked having a specific place to log his “firsts” of the summer. As a mom, I was pleased with his attention to detail and spelling practice as he charted the weather! I plan to incorporate this journal into our next school year!" – Homeschool mom of 4 

"My daughter fell in love with this journal! She was so determined to find things on our walks and hikes to put in it! She comes home with handfuls of leaves, flowers, pine cones, and berries! It quickly became “our thing” to do together. I love sitting down with her after our walks and watching her add to it. She gets so excited and her smile is priceless." – Mom of 3 littles 

These journals are amazing! I think this is just what Miss H needed because she is typically hesitant to fill out her nature journal. This helped her by giving suggestions about what to write or draw. It’s very true to Charlotte Mason, with spaces to track what you see each season, as well as the moon’s cycle and a tree throughout the year." Leah Martin 

If you’re looking for a way to encourage nature study, My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation is just the resource you need to gently guide your child in this delightful habit.

 Coupon Code: Be sure to check out My Nature Journal: One Year of Observation today and use coupon code mylittlerobins to get 25% off your nature journal.

Cindy Rinna is a writer, podcaster, and outside-the-box homeschool mom. You can find Cindy encouraging and equipping other moms at CindyRinna.com where she talks autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Charlotte Mason, and all the joys and challenges of homeschooling an outside-the-box child. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram.

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