Australian Nature Study Guide Volume 1 Review

Ever since I read Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion (Chapter 33 Nature Study, Chapter 34 - Nature for City Children and Chapter 35 - Neighbourhood Nature Study) I have had a love affair with the idea of Nature Study and Nature Journaling. I even gathered a whole list of  Resources for Nature Journaling. After discovering a few wonderful blogs showing how to do nature study as well as the Handbook of Nature Study Home of the Outdoor Challenge I was even more inspired, I did not however follow through because all the challenges were Northern Hemisphere challenges.  Due to the demands of marriage, motherhood and home education I just did not have the energy or time reserves to develop our own Southern Hemisphere equivalent.  I was so excited and relieved earlier this year when I discovered Nature Study Australia which is hosted by Marie, a fellow veteran home educating Mom here in Australia.

Marie had been educating for a few years and was feeling burnt out when she was introduced to a Charlotte Mason educational philosophy and as such implemented the gentle arts into her home school. As her homeschool took on this new way of learning she found it was important to become organised before each study so that they did not run down rabbit trails and become despondent due to no direction.

As a busy mum, I appreciate the time I save by out sourcing resources, and this is one of the reasons I’ve written the Australian Nature Study Guide for Aussie mums and dads, who love the idea of nature science, but need the encouragement and resources to get started. - Marie

 After discovering this wonderful resource I contacted Marie via Instagram and asked her if she had any samples available for review.  She kindly blessed our family with Volume 1 of the Australian Nature Study Guide Summer/Autumn edition and Free Notebook Pages (Advanced, Intermediate and Kinda).

The guide contains

• 68 pages
• Five weeks of summer study covering
  • Honeybees
  • Blue Tongue Lizard
  • Summer Tree Study
  • Spotted Grass Frog
  • Jacky Winter
• Five weeks of Autumn study covering
  • Kangaroo Apple
  • Bandicoot
  • Autumnal Equinox
  • Emperor Gum Moth
  • Golden Orb Weaver Spider
• Starting Out Guide
• Optional Gear for Nature Exploration list
• Ideas on starting a Nature Journal both for basic and advanced journaling
• Each week of study contains
  • an introduction
  • colour photograph of the thing you are focusing on that week
  • Ideas for further exploration
  • Related Internet links
  • Nature Ramble Ideas
  • Recommended Literature
  • Non Fiction Ideas
  • Poetry
  • Scripture
  • Hymn
  • Picture Study
  • Digging Deeper (for younger, older and oldest students)
• Additional Activities contains ideas from expanding your nature studies at home 
• Resource List - contains a list of wonderful books to collect to enhance your nature studies at home. (Field Guides, Amazing Fact Series, Nature Journaling, Poem books, etc)

How a study works
Since it was Autumn we jumped in on the first week of Autumn studies, Week Six, page 34 - Kangaroo Apple. Being an immigrant it was fun to learn that the local Aboriginal people call this a Bush Tomato and that it is a part of their bush tucker menu in the drier parts of Australia.

Marie does not dumb down her introductions and uses enough scientific jargon along with explanations to keep the information both interesting and relevant.  For example she explains that the Kangaroo Apple plant in hermaphroditic meaning that it contains both male and female organs.

My husband is a passionate bird photographer and he was very impressed with the introduction to the Jacky Winter in Week five.

As we read through the information provided there were a few Internet linked recommendations to books and YouTube clips which helped us to learn more about the item of study.

In the Nature Ramble section there were recommendations on where to go and look for a Kangaroo Apple along with ideas of what to do on your walk.  There are some questions to use to expand the experience and help both you and your children appreciate the experience more deeply.

Being a passionate book enthusiast I have greatly enjoyed the Literature Jaunt sections in each study. A couple of lovely discoveries have been: Wild Food Plants of Australia and the very beautiful Bush Seasons by Joan Semmens. I appreciate these recommendations as I do not need to seek out relevant books in our local library I can simply log in from home and request the books on the list for pick up.

Each of the poems in the Poetry Picnic have been Internet linked and are just beautiful. I have not had to seek out the recommended poem or book to find it.  The same goes for the Hymn each week.  Marie provides links to the lyrics, music and instrumental pieces.  I have found some new albums to add to our listening pleasure on Spotify from her recommendations.

I am a huge fan of beautiful art and pictures to fill the minds of both children and adults alike.  Each week in the Picture Study area Marie provides a Internet linked picture.  For the Kangaroo Apple she recommended this beautiful painting by Louisa Anne Meredith.  This beautiful painting is from 1891 and illustrates the leaves, flowers and fruit.

In the Digging Deeper sections there are some wonderful ideas to broaden your students learning and includes some wonderful resources to help you learn some new drawing or painting skills such as this YouTube clip on painting foliage in water colour.  Since we are new to Nature Journaling I chose to start Nathaniel off slowly and asked him to simply draw a Kangaroo Apple. I was rather impressed with his first attempt.

Scattered throughout the book are quotes such as this one:

"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning." - Brad Henry

 There is no planning neccessary other than getting in books from the library to expand your experience should you wish to.

Notebook Pages
There are three separate levels of Notebook pages: Kinda, Intermediate and Advanced.

• 13 pages
• Sunrise/sunset record chart
• Cover page to colour
• PDF Format 

Each of the Nature Journal books is beautifully presented.  Above is a sample comparison of week 6 Bush Food page.  From left to right Kinda, Intermediate and Advanced. Click on the image to see it full sized.

 Australian Nature Guides Available for Purchase

• Volume 1 - Summer/Autumn
• Volume 2 - Autumn/Winter
• Volume 3 - Winter/Spring Coming in Term 3 2018
• Volume 4 - Spring/Summer Coming in Term 4 2018

Photograph by Nature Study Australia

Connect with Nature Study Australia on Social Media

• Nature Science For Aussie Families Closed Facebook Group
• Nature Study Australia Facebook Page
• Instagram - nature_study_australia
• Pinterest - Marie @ Nature Study Australia

Final Thoughts
Nature Study Australia's blog is inspirational, Marie shares some wonderful information on Australian Fauna, Flora, Seasons and Backyard . Recently I was inspired to make a Phenology Wheel after seeing one on the blog.

I highly recommend you subscribe to their news letter your in box will not be inundated with junk, you will however be blessed with free resources and a once a month news letter with relevant information pertaining to our current season here in Australia. It's also a great way to know when the new volumes are released!

I LOVE the Australian Nature Study Guides and am looking forward to purchasing the future Volumes as they become available later this year.

Chareen 

Homemade Cup Coasters {Virtual Fridge}

This Week

These cup coasters were super easy to make.  Nathaniel used 3 mm square cork flats sheets.  Used a magazine to find graphics that he wanted to use which he cut out to fit the square tiles.  We used PVA glue to attatch the graphics and sprayed the top with a varnish coat to protect.  This was one of those super easy and practical crafts.

Are you on INSTAGRAM ?  You can now use your IG account to link up an show us your art adventures.


This weeks Feature

This weeks feature is a Easy Personalizable Kid’s Luminary tutorial from over at Chas' Crazy Creations.

Your Turn

I invite you to take some photo's of your children's artistic pursuits put them in a post and link up with me I would love to come over and see the wonderful art your children have enjoyed doing.

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Blessings
Chareen

Connect with me

 

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Please NOTE by adding your links to the Virtual Fridge link up YOU are giving the hosts of the Virtual Fridge link up permission to use a photograph from your blog to feature 

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An InLinkz Link-up

Mother's Day Thoughts

Did you know that the history of Mother's Day goes back as far as the Ancient Greeks and Romans? Mother's Day in it's present form began in 1908 in the United States.  The History website has some rather interesting background about it. It was designated to the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. It was started by the church in the 1600's in England and was called Mothering Sunday and celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent.  It had it's rebirth in the general community in the late 1800's as a work club to teach woman how to improve sanitary conditions in order to lower infant mortality. Mother's Day was first held in Australia in 1924.

Dear Mother Who Feels She Has No Value
Our roles as mothers have a deep value far and above all we could ever imagine.  It saddens me just how devalued motherhood has become in the current social climate and today as I was reading through some scriptures pertaining to Motherhood I realised that God places a high value upon our position whether we are physical mothers or spiritual mothers.

Our Teaching is Valuable
In Proverbs 6:20-21 it says: My son, keep your father's command and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. Think about that for a moment.  We are instructed to not forsake our mother's teaching and to bind all her teaching about our necks.  Whether we are teaching our children life skills, new habits, scholastic subjects, language, anything we teach has value.  God sees it as so valuable that whatever we are teaching needs to be remembered by our children.

We are Worth MORE than Rubies*
Proverbs 31:10-30 We are so valuable that our value is equated to that of Rubies. You are valuable.  Stop comparing your real life to someone elses staged picture perfect life on TV or social media.   You are more valuable being yourself than trying to become what you think others expect of you.  You are especially created in the image of the Lord God (Genesis 1:27) and carefully he formed you in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) and you are fearfully and wonderfully made(Psalm 139:14).

*Did you know that rubies have a current market value of $15,000 / ct and a red ruby has the highest value of all. Rubies are a member of the four most precious gemstones in the world.

Our Position brings Blessing
In Exodus 20:12 God commands a blessing upon our children simply because of our position as the parent. God has chosen to use us as the reason that blessing flows to our children. The key that unlocks that blessing from God towards our children is their choice to children honour us.

Think about that for a moment.  We are so important that our very existence God chose to use as a reason to bless our children.

God compares His compassion to that of a Mother
We are so valuable to God that He chose to compare his compassion and remembrance with that of a Mother in Isaiah 49:15.

I think it is time for us as Mother's to take time to learn the truth of our personal value.  We are rendered powerless in our positions as mothers because we do not understand our true personal value.  We are robbed of the pleasure of our blessing (Psalm 127:3) when we base our value in the choices of our children.  Your value is not determined or reflected through the choices your children make.  Your value is in that God made you and He chose you and He formed you into a woman and a mother.

You are a Blessing Mother and you are deeply loved.

Think seasonally. One interest per season, coupled with thirty minutes of reading a day, may be all that is needed to keep up the Mother Culture and regain any lost enthusiasm for living - Karen Andreola

Past Thoughts on Mothers Day to Encourage you

• Dear Mom Who is Feeling Overwhelmed – As a mother so often we feel overwhelmed and alone. Here are some words to encourage and equip you as a Mother.
• Mother this IS who you ARE! – Often times we forget who we really are in the humdrum of daily living. Here are some words to encourage and remind you of who you are.
• 10 Things every Mom should Know – 10 things to remember from the perspective of your child.
•  Do you value "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle ... " - "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."  How often do we hear these words?  Often enough for them to totally loose their impact. As a full time stay at home Mom it's so easy to loose sight of the true value of our positions.
• Are you getting filled up because you are pouring out ...  This question really impacted me. It was one of those Ah ha moments.  I have been feeling very 'flat' of late and life was starting to become flatter by the day. I was generally  living in survival mode.  I should know better since I often ask my circle of home school mothers "What are you doing daily to recharge yourselves ?" Yet somehow in the busyness of life I had forgotten to apply to myself what I was encouraging my friends to do. 
• Time Out for YOU the Mom - this is an interesting question and one that often gets mixed responses from the community.
• Cultivate your soul - Are you living life abundantly?  How can you reach that place?  Read more and be encouraged.
• Find posts on Mother Culture here. -Some posts to encourage you on looking after yourself well in order to fulfil your role as Mother.

Ideas for Mothers Day

•  On Every Bed of Roses Pinterest you will find:   
• Mom's Craft Ideas
• Mother Culture   
• Marriage  
• Mother's Day
•  Mother's Day Poems - Mother's Day Celebration.
• Mother's Day Prayers - Mother's Day Celebration. 
•  25+ Mothers Day Crafts for Kids – Most Wonderful Cards, Keepsakes and More!- Easy Peasy and Fun
• 44 Mother’s Day Craft Ideas for Kids - Personal Creations
• Mother's Day Craft Ideas for Kids - Red Ted Art This pages has hundreds of links organised in categories.

History of Mother's Day

•  Mother's Day Turns 100 - National Geographic
• Mother's Day History - Mother's Day Celebration 
• 7 Things You Don't Know About Mother's Day -  National Geographic
• A history of Mother's Day: From campaigns for peace to cards, flowers and family reunions  - ABC News.

This post is part of the Homeschool Review Crew Resources & Gift Ideas for Mother's Day Round up.