Using the Handbook of Nature Study

Barb at the Handbook of Nature Study blog, has just posted an excellent piece on Nature Study in Home Education and making use of Anna Botsford Comstock's wonderful resource, Handbook of Nature Study.

Fall is a great time of year to give nature study a try if you haven't already been doing it, and a wonderful season to explore more deeply if nature study is part of your family's identity already.

Comstock's book is full of narrative descriptions of plants, animals, and insects, but did you know that she even has chapters on soil, minerals, and climate?

You can find Handbook of Nature Study through most home education retailers, on Amazon, and, for those of you who want to take a look but aren't ready to buy, you can get a free download of entire book from Internet Archive, including the diagrams and illustrations!

Spring Outdoor Hour Challenges: Birds

Handbook of Nature Study has two new posts that you might be interested in checking. Both are related to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, a guided nature study time that Barb offers on her blog. With spring in the air, one of the first things that is noticed around our yard is an increase in bird activity. (Has everyone spotted the robins yet?) Well, Barb has begun a bird focus for this next set of Outdoor Hour Challenges, and the first challenge involves three birds that I see every year: the robin, the cardinal, and the house finch. While we haven't seen the cardinals yet this spring, I know they'll come because they nest in the neighbour's cedar. The other post that she's published this week is links to audio files of the bird calls from this week's focus.

All Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenges include a reading from Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, and outdoor challenge, and a follow up indoor activity, usually relating to entries in a nature journal.

This is a great challenge to participate in to ramp up your Nature Study times with your children now that the weather shows potential for cooperation. Even if we do get more cold weather, these challenges don't usually involve a great deal of outdoor time, making them very accessible for all kinds of families.

Enjoy the link!

Anna Botsford Comstock

Through the Handbook of Nature Study blog, which we've referred to a few times in our meetings, I was directed to an interesting little article on the Internet: In 1988 Anna Botsford Comstock was inducted into the Conservation Hall of Fame.

Isn't it exciting to know that Comstock has been recognized for the contributions she has made to Nature Study? And to think that many of our children (as well as us!) are benefiting from her wisdom and insight.

I believe that she'd be honoured to be recognized in such a meaningful way, don't you?

In her book, Comstock emphasized the rewards of direct observation. She was ahead of her time in stressing the importance of natural relationships that work to form what we now call an ecosystem. The point of her approach to nature study, she said, was to "cultivate the child's imagination, love of the beautiful, and sense of companionship with life out-of-doors."

-- From the Conservation Hall of Fame Website

You can read about other inductees by visiting the National Wildlife Federation's inductee page.