Things we Learned about Nature in 2016

If you follow us on Instagram you know that being outdoors and in nature is a huge part of our daily lives. I don’t often write about it on the blog because our outdoor play and nature study is for the most part completely unplanned. We just dress for the weather and head outside at least once a day, but usually two or three times a day.

Although I don’t plan lessons or activities for outdoor play and nature study, when I sat down and thought about it, we actually learned so much over the year just through free play and exploration outside. Here is a list of what I thought of and some resources to expand on our nature studies. This post contains affiliate links.

Things we Learned about Nature in 2016

• Beavers chew on trees to cut them down to make dams and dens. We were also told that wood chips cut by beavers smell like vanilla but we couldn’t confirm this ourselves. To us it just smelled like fresh-cut wood.
  • Beavers by Gail Gibbons
  • Nature: Leave it to Beavers

A photo posted by Samantha @ Stir the Wonder (@stirthewonder_homeschool) on Nov 30, 2016 at 7:11am PST

• Crayfish live in New Hampshire! Who knew?! Our friends over at My Little Poppies brought us to a little pond where the kids had fun catching crayfish!

A photo posted by Samantha @ Stir the Wonder (@stirthewonder_homeschool) on Oct 7, 2016 at 2:37pm PDT

• The Lifecycle of a Crayfish
• Crayfish Flip Flap Book
• Crayfish Experiment Journal
• Basic Biology: Crayfish Dissection

• Porcupines live up high in trees and poop falls outside to the base of the tree where you can dig for quills.
  • American Porcupine Bag of Quills
  • Porcupine (Nocturnal Animals)
  • Folkmanis Porcupine Hand Puppet
  • Ereth’s Birthday (Tales from Dimwood Forest)

• Owl pellets are not poop & contain near complete skeletons of small rodents.
  • Owls by Gail Gibbons
  • National Geographic Readers: Owls
  • White Owl, Barn Owl (Nature Storybooks)
  • Uncle Beaudreaux’s Owl Pellet Kit

• We learned to identity several birds by sight & some by call including the blue jay, chickadee, gold finch, tufted titmouse, woodpeckers, hawks, crows, morning doves, cardinals, Juncos, sparrows, owls, bald eagle and seagulls.
  

  A photo posted by Samantha @ Stir the Wonder (@stirthewonder_homeschool) on Oct 19, 2016 at 6:48am PDT

  • Wild Bird Feeder
  • Binoculars
  • Field Guide to North American Birds
  • Birds, Nests & Eggs (Take Along Guide)

• Learned the difference between moss, lichen & mushroom or fungi.
  • Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
  • Field Guide for Mosses in the Northeast
  • Common Lichens of Northeastern North America
  • Fungi Board Game

• Can identify wild berries including blueberries, blackberries, partridge berries & wintergreen berries.
  

  A photo posted by Samantha @ Stir the Wonder (@stirthewonder_homeschool) on Oct 14, 2016 at 8:58am PDT

  • Take Along Guide: Berries, Nuts and Seeds
  • Wildcraft: A Herbal Adventure Game

• Can identify snapping turtles & painted turtles.
  • Frogs, Toads & Turtles (Take Along Guide)
  • Look Out for Turtles!

• Knows the difference between toads & frogs.
  • DK Readers: Frogs and Toads
  • Frog or Toad? How Do You Know?

A photo posted by Samantha @ Stir the Wonder (@stirthewonder_homeschool) on Jul 28, 2016 at 2:19pm PDT

I hope this gives you an idea of what can be learned about nature by just getting outdoors to play on a regular basis and how easy it is to incorporate into your homeschool! Be sure to follow our nature adventures on Instagram and check back here often for more ideas for learning about nature!

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