Isn't this the kind of science we had when we were in school where nothing fit together and was not connected much with our everyday lives? Didn't we just learn it for the test and then move on? I yearn for more than that superficial sort of education for my children. The path was right under my nose but I didn't realize it until I started reading and understanding Charlotte Mason's writings about three years ago. Our family stumbled upon the solution and we didn't even know it. Nature study had filled the gaps but even more than that it has become the cement that has held all our science study together. It has become the science of relationships."The student learns what he's supposed to from the book, he listens to the lectures, draws diagrams, watches demonstrations. The result is a student who has 'learned' a science. He can regurgitate facts and figures about the one specialized branch of science, at least, he can for a while. But he hasn't gained any affectionate intimacy with nature."
Example from our family:This year using Apologia Biology I have had bells and whistles ringing in my head every time I recognize something in the book that we have studied during our nature time. Our last module was on arthropods and that was an easy connection for my son to make. We had just finished focusing on insects in our nature study. He could easily answer from his own experiences. How many body segments does an insect have? How many legs does an arthropod have? Which ones have wings? Which ones have exoskeletons? Our formal study of science was so much easier because we had actually observed, drawn, and classified these critters for a whole term.
(One of our garden boxes from last summer)
Recently, I was reading someone's blog and they were saying that they do not do a "formal" study of nature. She said that she spent time in the garden with her children and as a course of time went by she would explain to her children about earthworms or whatever else would come to view when they happened upon one in the garden bed. That is exactly what we do in our home. As the opportunity arises, we take advantage of it. Apologia Biology has an earthworm dissection lab and we just completed it together as a family. That earthworm that we have handled a million times in the garden has now become our intimate friend. The boys had a relationship with it before the dissection, knowing that it was a helpful creature to the garden but now after studying it during the dissection lab, we have an appreciation for how wonderfully it was made. There was no great leap from nature study to formal study of biology. It was a natural progression.Don't be misled. Nature study is real science.The learning may seem to wander around a bit and jump from object to object but in an overall sense, they connect together. I once heard that you can not learn something new unless you connect it to something you already know. In our family, I feel as if I am reaping from all those short, informal outdoor sessions over the past decade and more. Nature study gives us the building blocks, little by little, one object at a time, one experience at a time.
(My son takes a photo of a green sea turtle)
My wish and prayer is that each family find that this is a valuable part not only of homeschooling and trying to follow Charlotte Mason's ideas for nature study, but that it is valuable to your child's development and their life as a person in this vastly unique place we call Earth. A place that was created for us as our home...to enjoy and thrive in. A study of science should bring you closer to your Creator.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
4 comments:
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Tammy
This is a beautiful post and very true and encouraging. So many feel that Nature Study is an extra thing that can be dropped if there isn't time. But there is time if you do it naturally throughout your daily activities. It is so hard to remember that if it is not something as tangible as pages in a book. Thanks for the reminder.
-Phyllis
Lovely post, Barb!
Excellent article and I agree wholeheartedly.
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