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Browsing Tag

nature study

10 tips for nature based homeschooling in the winter
Homeschool, nature

Top 10 Tips for Nature-Based Homeschooling in the Winter

Until last year, I dreaded winter. Winter, to my gardening, barefoot self was a season of eternal inconveniences, discomfort, and grayness. After leaving Colorado, our winters spent in Hawaii went largely unnoticed, other than better waves and whale-watching. I didn’t skip a beat in our daily excursions, so our nature-based homeschool rhythm had a chance to really take root. When we came back, our first winters were an exercise in patience–and I didn’t enjoy them very much at all. I did, however, notice what a big dent that season left in our outdoor lifestyle. And I knew something had to change–specifically, my mindset about winter.

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secular homeschool
Nature Study, Our Homeschool Week in Review series

Our Homeschool Week in Review 1/7 – 1/13

Embracing Winter in Our Homeschool

It’s been awhile since I wrote a “week in review post.” Our late autumns and early winters tend to necessitate a bit of a stepping-away or dialing-back. I use the time to reflect on the year past, set my focus for the year ahead, and to enjoy the holidays with my family. We took the last two weeks of December, and the first week of January, off from homeschool and the much-needed break was heavenly.

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nature-based homeschool first grade and pre-k
Blossom and Root Early Years, Blossom and Root First Grade, Our Homeschool Week in Review series

Our Homeschool Week in Review: August 20 – 26

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Welcome back to our “week in review” series! The first half of this week, we were more-or-less confined to the house due to the thick smoke that had started to blow across Colorado from the fires to the west and north. But we made up for it in the second half by spending as much time as possible in our “creekside classroom” after the smoke cleared up. Continue Reading

Our Homeschool Week in Review August 13
Blossom and Root Early Years, Blossom and Root First Grade, Our Homeschool Week in Review series

Our Homeschool Week in Review August 13 – 18

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.

Over the summer, I received many requests to do a regular “glimpse into our homeschool” feature. After some consideration, I’ve decided to try my best to do that this year. I love reading “journal-esque” blog posts of other homeschoolers, myself. These make me feel connected in a world that can feel somewhat isolated at times, and they can be more relatable than the “big picture” posts that typically fill the news feeds. So here we are. Welcome to our first “homeschool week in review” post! Continue Reading

nature study books
Nature Study

Our Favorite Books for Nature Study

Here’s the thing: there is not a used book store, regular book store, library, book pile at a rummage sale, or Scholastic sale I can walk by without stopping and stacking up more books than two people can safely carry. I have a weakness, and her name is books.

It has always been, and will always be so. I’m pretty sure that’s why the Charlotte Mason philosophy resonated with me so strongly. I want shelves and shelves of books. And I want the rolling ladder so I can do that “Belle move” every morning as I swoon over my shelves and shelves of books. Continue Reading

nature study stem homeschool
Nature Study, S.T.E.A.M.

Planting the Seed: Nature-Inspired STEM Education in Our Homeschool

If a homeschool fairy swooped down one day and told me I could only choose three tools to teach my children, I’d like to think I would not hesitate. I would smile and reply, “Books, nature, and open-ended art supplies.” But my answer is a sneaky one. I firmly believe that, at least in the early grades, you can teach just about every subject with these three things. Continue Reading

nature study kindergarten homeschool
Blossom and Root Kindergarten, Nature Study

Inspiring Wonder: Nature Study in Blossom and Root Kindergarten

The first time I heard of Charlotte Mason, I was in my early twenties. I’d never heard of her or her methods prior to studying early childhood education. Yet somehow, despite my (relatively unromantic) public school education, I discovered that I had managed to have a Charlotte Mason childhood.

Between my parents and my grandparents, I’d grown up in a world richly infused with nature, literature, and the arts. I spent every moment I could outdoors, rambling over fields on my bike, Continue Reading