“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11
Photo Credit: © 2008 Nathan Clark. Used by permission.
Blog
Nature Study from Your Window
Setting up a bird feeder is a fun way to add a nature study element to your homeschool curriculum. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated . Our main feeder station is made from a landscape timber set on end with a scrap board nailed on top. Just 6 feet from one of our windows, we have an excellent vantage point from which to enjoy watching birds year-round. Add a few different types of feeders and types of feed, and watch an amazing array of birds visit your feeders! Don’t know anything about birds? Do what we did when we first started: We taped photo sheets like these of common feeder birds to the window for easy and quick identification. These coloring sheets of common feeder birds were helpful as well.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is Coming Soon!
For our US and Canadian homeschool families that may not be familiar with this event, this is a fun way to incorporate nature study into your program and make a contribution to science at the same time!
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event.
Click on the image to head over to the GBBC website where you can learn more about the count, download activity pages and tally sheets and learn more about birds in preparation for the count.
We will be posting more ideas in the coming days on how to get started birdwatching and turn this event into a fun bird unit study and family nature study activity
Motivation Monday
“The poet and the naturalist have many things to say about nature, but it is the Christian who enjoys the beauty of the earth with the highest appreciation, because he recognizes his Father’s handiwork, and perceives his love in flower and shrub and tree. No one can fully appreciate the significance of hill and vale, river and sea, who does not look upon them as an expression of God’s love to man.”
Christian Education, 55
Rest
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11
Photo Credit: Clown Fish ©2008 Nathan Clark. Used by permission.
Show What You Know: Printable Idea List
Show what you know is a printable list of ideas that go beyond the usual report or test. Creative ideas to help your student express what they have learned in a manner that fits his or her learning style. Adapt the ideas to fit your student’s ability level and create a unique end product.
Motivation Monday
“Children are the heritage of the Lord, and we are answerable to Him for our management of His property. The education and training of their children to be Christians is the highest service that parents can render to God. It is a work that demands patient labor—a lifelong, diligent, and persevering effort. By a neglect of this trust we prove ourselves unfaithful stewards…”
The Adventist Home, 268
The Adventist Home Educator 