Nuthatch, about to take flight.

Some may wonder why to bother with nature study at all? Isn’t there more important – more scientific and academically rigorous – ways to spend our home educating days?

What are they looking at?
I used to see nature studies as a fun way to spend a little time outside and get the kids familiar with the wide world. Maybe, I thought, we could work in a little physical geography, a little fun science here and there. But it wasn’t important like history studies, or phonics and reading practice, math, or most especially, Bible time.

After a while though, I began to rethink my opinion. Could nature study really have a purpose other than fun? In Charlotte Mason’s writings, we find that nature study has many benefits to the child. To name a few: excellent training in attention, ability to think outside oneself, ability to have reverence for the natural world, the robustness gained in being outdoors for periods of time every day, and gaining knowledge by means of the senses. “In his early years the child is all eyes; he observes, or, more truly, he perceives, calling sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing to his aid, that he may learn all that is discoverable by him about every new thing that comes under his notice.” So, we find, it is good for the growth of a child’s brain to spend time out-of-doors, reveling in, observing, and forming connections with creation.
Deep in observation

But that isn’t all. In Edith Schaeffer’s The Hidden Art of Homemaking, we read, “The only artist who is perfect in all forms of creativity -…in having perfect truth to express as well as perfect expression of truth, is of course God – the God who is Personal.” When an artist creates something, we are able to learn something of what is in the artist’s mind, heart, and personality. We don’t know everything, but we see some of it. In the same way, we learn more about Who God is by learning about and experiencing His creation – His art.

I have begun to see that practicing nature study not only helps in the intellectual development of a child, but also instills deep within the heart a reverence for the Creator. As my chief end as a mother is to see my children all living their life for the Lord Jesus, I believe instilling this reverence is a number one priority in our homeschool. That is why we participate in nature studies.