Do you love exploring nature with your children and teens? Are you looking to add more nature study to your homeschool routine? If so, I have some fantastic ideas for you. From nature study programs and curricula to incredible nature books, to learning with games, to creating your very own nature explorer backpack. I’ve got you covered, nature lovers!

Our family loves to explore and learn about nature via hikes, fantastic nature books, educational games, and more!

We are a family of nature lovers. Each one of us would prefer to be outside than indoors. We hike all the time. As we hike, we talk and explore and learn.

But… for years we didn’t have an Official Nature Study. 

I had always wanted to, mind you. I love nature! I want my kids to grow to love and understand the plants, animals, and insects that are in our own backyard.

But in those early homeschool years, I never get around to actually planning and organizing the Official Nature Study. And that meant it ended up being a hodgepodge of stuff that I found around the house and a quick Google search. 

I used to feel guilty that we didn’t do something more official, especially because we spend so much time outdoors.

We are now in our 7th year of homeschooling and I can tell you that informal nature study is 100% okay!

I am going to share our family’s favorite tried-and-true nature study resources, but I want you to know that I didn’t use these in my first year of homeschooling. 

We just spent time outdoors and learning happened!

I believe so much learning happens when we just relax and let it! But, if you’re looking for something a bit more structured, I have two incredible options for you.

Exploring Nature with Children Through Curricula, Books, and Games

Disclosure: I received Exploring Nature with Children: A Complete Year-Long Curriculum at no cost in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I only share products and resources that I would use with my own family.

Download our free Nature Study Resource Guide!

Check out My Little Poppies Course Offerings:

• The Lazy Homeschooler’s Guide to Unit Studies
• How to Rock THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of Your Homeschool Day
• Gameschooling 101: How to Add More Play to Your Homeschool Day

The easiest way to explore nature is to get out there and learn alongside your children!

It almost sounds too simple, right? Well, let me tell you- the best ideas are often the simplest ones!

If you’d like to add more nature study to your homeschool routine, I highly encourage you to make nature a priority in your homeschool. Resolve to spend time outdoors as a family every single day. Try to slow down, to savor the moment, and trust that natural learning will occur.

We have had so many unplanned, magical moments during our nature explorations:

• We found a perfect bear print in the mud, by a stream.
• We’ve heard barred owls and called to them and they’ve called back.
• Once, we saw a barred owl on an afternoon hike.
• We saw a fox eat a chicken (a bit gross, but the kids loved it).
• Once, while on a hike, we saw several porcupines.
• We saw a moose, on a snowy morning, with snow on its antlers.
• My children witnessed a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis in an open field.
• We observed a tufted titmouse take fur from our dog to build its nest.

I could go on and on and on. There is so much wonder underfoot if we choose to slow down and see it! My point is, you don’t need a formal nature study to learn about nature in your homeschool. You need only to prioritize nature exploration and learn alongside your children. 

So, slow it down. Wander in the woods together. Take time to watch the sunrise or set. Witness the wonder in plain sight. I don’t think I’ll ever regret the moments spent exploring nature with my children.

Need some help? Check out this resource that I’ve created just for you:

• The Best Educational Stocking Stuffer of All Time <— Don’t let the title fool you. This resource is homeschool GOLD 365 days of the year!
• How to Explore Your Backyard with a Microscope {Lazy Unit Study Inspiration Pack}

All that said, if you’d like to use a more formal nature study, I have two incredible resources for you: Exploring Nature with Children and No Sweat Nature Study.

If you are looking for a formal nature study program, I have two favorite resources to share: Exploring Nature with Children and No Sweat Nature Study.

My family has used Exploring Nature with Children on and off for many years. No Sweat Nature Study is a more recent addition to our homeschool (I believe the program was created in 2019- we’ve been doing it from the start) and it’s another Curley favorite. 

Exploring Nature with Children: A Complete Year-Long Curriculum

Exploring Nature with Children: A Complete Year-Long Curriculum was created by Lynn Seddon, a fellow homeschooling mom and blogger. It is just what it says: a complete, year-long curriculum. It contains 48 weeks of material, starting in September and continuing throughout the year, but you can jump into the curriculum at any point during the year. 

The book is completely self-contained, housing all the information you need to make nature study a part of your family’s routine. It would work for both those comfortable in nature and those new to nature exploration.

What is included in the resource Exploring Nature with Children?

The first chapter of Exploring Nature with Children explains how to use the book in your homeschool and also includes the following:

• An overview of nature study
• A page for each season, complete with a list of materials required for each weekly nature walk.
• Each month has its own chapter, including four weekly themed nature study lessons for each month.

Each week of Exploring Nature with Children includes:

• Nature walk activity
• Reference to a section in The Handbook of Nature Study 
• Supplemental reading list
• Art to study
• A poem
• Extension activities related to the week’s theme

What this homeschooling mom loves about Exploring Nature with Children

There are so many things that I love about this curriculum. It encompasses many of the qualities that I look for when purchasing a curriculum:

• Affordable
• Simple, yet filled with great content
• Easy to use- you can jump right in immediately
• Works well with multiple ages
• It meshes into our lifestyle perfectly
• Incorporates other subjects, such as science, writing, music appreciation, art, and poetry.
• Oodles of fun
• Can be used for multiple years

All you need to do is to print and place the materials in a binder and you’re good to go!

Is there anything you need if you are using Exploring Nature with Children?

You could honestly get by with this curriculum and your library card alone, but I did invest in a couple of additional items:

• Nature journals 
• The Handbook of Nature Study by Anne Botsford Comstock 
• Plus, I made use of our DIY Nature Explorer Packs 

Here’s a confession, you guys. Sometimes I fly by the seat of my pants over here. I intend to plan, but sometimes I don’t.

What I love about this curriculum is that you can pick and choose what to do each week. Did you forget to pick up the recommended reading for that week at the library? No worries! Search the internet for a read-aloud of the book (we have such great luck with this), substitute another book on the topic, or skip it altogether and use a different extension activity.

Our family has used Exploring Nature with Children in our homeschool for years

This was one of the resources we stumbled upon early in our homeschool journey. Now, we are about to wrap up our seventh year of homeschooling and we still love Exploring Nature with Children. There aren’t many resources that you can dip in and dip out of for years. But this is one we have been using off and on for many years.

No Sweat Nature Study is a fantastic way to add nature study to your homeschool routine.

No Sweat Nature Study is a more recent addition to our homeschool and my children absolutely adore this program. Cindy West is an incredible and energetic teacher and she does all of the work for you.

Want to know what’s even better?

No Sweat Nature Study includes so much more than a simple nature study. Your children will work on art, writing, scientific observation, math, geography, and much more!

We love the live classes so much. They have become one of our favorite homeschool activities and we’ve all learned a ton!

No Sweat Nature Study membership includes the following:

• Two live classes per month (with recordings available if you can’t attend live)
• Printable packets for each class
• Access to the complete video library (it’s an absolute treasure trove!)
• Free access to the entire series of No Sweat Nature Study curriculum
• 25% off the Our Journey Westward shop
• … and a value-packed newsletter!

To read more about No Sweat Nature Study, or to sign your family up for these amazing LIVE lessons, click here!

After hands-on nature exploration with your children and teens, you can take the learning to the next level by adding nature books and games.

One of my favorite things to do in our homeschool is to layer on the learning. We might start with a hike. On that hike, we might discover a cool mushroom that we’ve never seen before. Next, we go home and look up the mushroom in a book or on the internet. This might lead to us watching a mushroom documentary on CuriosityStream or playing a nature-game like Wildcraft.

I love to add layers of learning to our nature explorations. So much learning can happen in this way. In fact, I can’t tell you how many of our nature walks have resulted in a fun-tastic Lazy Unit Study!

• RELATED:
  • The Lazy Homeschooler’s Guide to Unit Studies

Take your nature study to the next level by adding nature journaling and incredible books.

Did you know that your daily read-aloud is the most important part of your entire homeschool day? It’s true! Reading aloud to children and teens can boost their:

• vocabulary
• knowledge fund
• comprehension
• attention and concentration

Reading-aloud has been linked to academic achievement in countless studies. When we read-aloud to our children, we shower them with rich language and vocabulary. We take the work out of reading and they are able to sit back and enjoy the story. Positive reading experiences help to grow readers. And if you can read, you can teach yourself anything.

• RELATED:
  • How to Rock THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of Your Homeschool Day

Plus, when you read aloud to your children and teens, you are connecting with them and building memories to last a lifetime. Connected kids tend to be more cooperative when it comes to homeschool tasks. Extra bonus? You can tackle any topic academic area during your daily read-alouds. So, if you are worried that you’ve been slacking on science, fear not. There’s a book for that!

After exploring nature with your children and teens, try reading a related book aloud or try nature journaling!

We have tons of favorite tried-and-true nature books. You can view some of them here:

• The Best Nature Books for Homeschool Families

Can you gameschool nature? The answer is yes! Check out our favorite nature games.

Adding more play to your homeschool day can transform your homeschool atmosphere. Play is the language of childhood and, as a school psychologist and homeschool mom, I have witnessed the power of play when it comes to children’s learning lives time and time again.

RELATED:

• • Gameschooling 101: How to Add More Play to Your Homeschool Day

Some of my favorite ways to play with nature don’t involve any resources at all! Simply get outside and leave space for play and see what unfolds!

Here are some examples of ways to play with nature in your homeschool:

• Forts: The Original STEM Challenge
• Fairy House STEM
• How to Fight Nature Deficit Disorder this Fall and Winter
• Simple Pond Study
• Simple Bee Study with Candle Making & Honey
• Planning a Maple Sugaring Unit Study

If you’re interested in playing more educational nature-related games to increase learning in your homeschool, check out this resource:

• Gameschooling: The Best Nature Games for Your Homeschool

If you want to add more nature study to your homeschool routine, be willing to explore nature with your children, and don’t be afraid to use a program if it will help you!

When it comes to nature study in your homeschool, the sky is the limit. If you’re comfortable taking a low-key approach, you can simply get outside daily and see what happens.

If you’d rather use a program or resource, we highly recommend both Exploring Nature with Children and No Sweat Nature Study.

Our family explores nature daily and dabbles in more formal nature resources. It’s important to find your groove and do what works best for your unique family.

If you’d like to learn more about how to explore nature with your children and add more nature study to your homeschool routine, I’ve got you covered!

Be sure to check out these related nature study posts:

• Gameschooling: The Best Nature Games for Your Homeschool
• The Best Nature Journaling Books for Creativity and Inspiration
• 10 of the Best Nature Gifts for Kids for Your Homeschool
• The Best Nature Study Resources for Your Homeschool
• DIY Nature Study: Animals {Lazy Unit Study Inspiration Pack}
• Jane Goodall Study & DIY Nature Study {Lazy Unit Study Inspiration Pack BUNDLE}

Now, it’s your turn: Do you love to explore nature in your homeschool? What does nature study look like in your world? Share here.