Please Note:
I hope you enjoy reading through this workshop, and I hope that you will be able to introduce your children to many trees, birds and flowers over the coming years. Through nature study, Jenny Wren has become our fast friend, we know why Kentucky's Coffeetree is so named, and our paintings have benefited from the sepia watercolor ink provided by our neighborhood black walnut tree. We will never forget to say hello to these new friends on our walks.
I have spent a significant amount of time researching, writing and presenting this workshop, so if you would like to cite it, blog it, post it or present it, please ask me first. There is no fee to use it, but I would like for people to know where the original can be found. As noted, the dry brush watercolor method was used by permission from Deborah Dobbins, who has been an invaluable resource to us in this area. Thank you! Jenn S.
I hope you enjoy reading through this workshop, and I hope that you will be able to introduce your children to many trees, birds and flowers over the coming years. Through nature study, Jenny Wren has become our fast friend, we know why Kentucky's Coffeetree is so named, and our paintings have benefited from the sepia watercolor ink provided by our neighborhood black walnut tree. We will never forget to say hello to these new friends on our walks.
I have spent a significant amount of time researching, writing and presenting this workshop, so if you would like to cite it, blog it, post it or present it, please ask me first. There is no fee to use it, but I would like for people to know where the original can be found. As noted, the dry brush watercolor method was used by permission from Deborah Dobbins, who has been an invaluable resource to us in this area. Thank you! Jenn S.
Nature Study Workshop, Part 1
“It would be well if all we persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.”
Charlotte Mason; Home Education, vol 1, p. 61
Nature Study is an essential component of a Charlotte Mason education. Not only does it teach the young child the principles of science (habitat, environment, propagation, life cycle, etc), it teaches habits of attention to detail, patience, perfect execution and the care and conservation of God's creation.
The first section of this workshop provides a description of a daily nature walk. Every walk is different, so expect the unexpected! Nature studies can be done in every location, be it city or country. The second section provides a detailed description of the dry-brush watercolor method for nature study by Deborah and Holly-Anne Dobbins, used with permission.
How to Begin
If you are beginning nature study with your children, I recommend you begin with identifying trees, flowers, weeds, birds, animals, etc in your own backyard, then move on to your neighborhood and parks/nature trails in the area. In their free time, your children could create a map of your back/front yard, noting the trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, etc., even though they will not yet have names for these. An obvious nature study is planting your own kitchen or vegetable garden, including herbs and edible flowers. As you continue your studies, point out the things you have already studied and ask your child to identify them. If you take the same walk every week for many months, your children will observe for themselves that nature is ever-changing, and there are always new discoveries to be made. Here is a general idea of the best time of year to begin nature study on certain items. Animals are year round, depending on habitat.
Winter - winter birds, evergreen trees, trunks of deciduous trees
Spring - trees in early leaf/bloom, nesting birds, tadpoles, migrating birds
Summer - weeds, summer flowers, trees in full leaf, frogs, summer birds
Autumn - trees with changing leaves, migrating birds, insects as they lay eggs or prepare to overwinter (good time for finding cocoons)
The Nature Walk
I generally have an idea of what we may study that day (as in tree vs flower, etc), and I take the appropriate field guide. If we are only going out to the backyard, we take a nice walk first and comment on the weather, on the wind, where the sun is located, where our shadows are falling, etc. This is not frivolous work - it is guiding the children in learning to be observant and mindful of nature. If, for example, I see a tree that I do not know, I will pull a leaf and press it into my field guide and try to remember to look it up when I get home for next week's study. You can even schedule nature studies one year in advance, if you plan to study the same tree and its life cycle changes in each of the four seasons.
A good source of field guides would be the used bookstore or library used book sales/stores. If you have an smartphone or tablet, you can use the following sites to guide you:
Waterpress Guides for each state: Click here
Birds: www.allaboutbirds.org
Insects and spiders: http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
Trees: http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/?TrackingID=908
Reptiles and amphibians: http://animals.about.com/od/identifyinganimals/ss/amphibianidkey.htm
KY Plants and flowers: http://www.knps.org/ky-flora.html
When we arrive at the location of the specimen for this day's nature study, we stop and I ask the children to make observations. I am VERY quiet. They need to, and they love to, make the observations. For students just beginning nature study, I may give them some ideas for observation, such as:
If possible, cut a specimen from the tree, shrub or flower for each child. This is easy to do in your own backyard, but we also have friendly neighbors who encourage us to help them prune whenever needed! Obviously with some animals, they just don't cooperate and stay still for observation, so our nature narrations must happen on the walk and not back at the classroom table. We have the same issue with birds, and in this case, it is perfectly fine to narrate the bird habits/personality and then to take a picture from a field guide as the specimen for the watercolor painting.
Charlotte Mason; Home Education, vol 1, p. 61
Nature Study is an essential component of a Charlotte Mason education. Not only does it teach the young child the principles of science (habitat, environment, propagation, life cycle, etc), it teaches habits of attention to detail, patience, perfect execution and the care and conservation of God's creation.
The first section of this workshop provides a description of a daily nature walk. Every walk is different, so expect the unexpected! Nature studies can be done in every location, be it city or country. The second section provides a detailed description of the dry-brush watercolor method for nature study by Deborah and Holly-Anne Dobbins, used with permission.
How to Begin
If you are beginning nature study with your children, I recommend you begin with identifying trees, flowers, weeds, birds, animals, etc in your own backyard, then move on to your neighborhood and parks/nature trails in the area. In their free time, your children could create a map of your back/front yard, noting the trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, etc., even though they will not yet have names for these. An obvious nature study is planting your own kitchen or vegetable garden, including herbs and edible flowers. As you continue your studies, point out the things you have already studied and ask your child to identify them. If you take the same walk every week for many months, your children will observe for themselves that nature is ever-changing, and there are always new discoveries to be made. Here is a general idea of the best time of year to begin nature study on certain items. Animals are year round, depending on habitat.
Winter - winter birds, evergreen trees, trunks of deciduous trees
Spring - trees in early leaf/bloom, nesting birds, tadpoles, migrating birds
Summer - weeds, summer flowers, trees in full leaf, frogs, summer birds
Autumn - trees with changing leaves, migrating birds, insects as they lay eggs or prepare to overwinter (good time for finding cocoons)
The Nature Walk
I generally have an idea of what we may study that day (as in tree vs flower, etc), and I take the appropriate field guide. If we are only going out to the backyard, we take a nice walk first and comment on the weather, on the wind, where the sun is located, where our shadows are falling, etc. This is not frivolous work - it is guiding the children in learning to be observant and mindful of nature. If, for example, I see a tree that I do not know, I will pull a leaf and press it into my field guide and try to remember to look it up when I get home for next week's study. You can even schedule nature studies one year in advance, if you plan to study the same tree and its life cycle changes in each of the four seasons.
A good source of field guides would be the used bookstore or library used book sales/stores. If you have an smartphone or tablet, you can use the following sites to guide you:
Waterpress Guides for each state: Click here
Birds: www.allaboutbirds.org
Insects and spiders: http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
Trees: http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/?TrackingID=908
Reptiles and amphibians: http://animals.about.com/od/identifyinganimals/ss/amphibianidkey.htm
KY Plants and flowers: http://www.knps.org/ky-flora.html
When we arrive at the location of the specimen for this day's nature study, we stop and I ask the children to make observations. I am VERY quiet. They need to, and they love to, make the observations. For students just beginning nature study, I may give them some ideas for observation, such as:
- Does this tree grow in full sun, part sun, or shade?
- Does this tree grow near water (like a weeping willow or river birch) or is it high on a hill?
- Does this vine grow in leaves of 3 (watch out!) or leaves of 5 (like Virginia creeper, harmless!)
- Does the bird in flight have a v-shaped tail (swallow) or a curved or blunt tail?
- Does the specimen have 6 legs (insect) or 8 (spider)?
- In short, what does the habitat of the specimen tell us about it, and how can these clues guide our lookup in the field guide?
- Is this bird on the ground most of the time (e.g. robin, mourning dove) or in the trees/on feeders (e.g. chickadee, finch) or both (cardinal, crow, grackle, starling)
- Is it a “social” animal (travels in groups) or “solitary” (travels alone)
If possible, cut a specimen from the tree, shrub or flower for each child. This is easy to do in your own backyard, but we also have friendly neighbors who encourage us to help them prune whenever needed! Obviously with some animals, they just don't cooperate and stay still for observation, so our nature narrations must happen on the walk and not back at the classroom table. We have the same issue with birds, and in this case, it is perfectly fine to narrate the bird habits/personality and then to take a picture from a field guide as the specimen for the watercolor painting.
Narration of the Specimen
Narration can occur outside at the specimen location or inside the classroom, whatever best suits the day and the specimen. As noted, each child should have his/her own specimen. Once the specimen is chosen, each child should spend 1-2 minutes quietly studying the specimen. This is a good opportunity to play (at low volume) the classical music selection for the week (I play music from my phone). The music should not include lyrics so as not to distract the child.
After this period of observation, the parent-teacher should ask the children to volunteer their observations. This is narration, and it develops the habit of attention, observation, and truthfulness. I write the childrens' observations up on a whiteboard or chalkboard, or if we are outdoors, on a piece of paper. Children are not allowed to repeat what has already been noted. This encourages them to make new observations.
Using a Nature Study Notebook to Depict Specimens
The nature study does not end with the walk and specimen narration. Children are provided supplies to depict the specimen using the dry-brush watercolor method. Another option, particularly for younger children, is to use colored pencils (Prismacolor brand is excellent) or watercolor pencils, which blend together nicely when one adds a bit of water (see directions on box!). Painting a specimen cultivates many habits that Charlotte Mason considered vital to a child's education: perfect execution, patience and attention.
Narration can occur outside at the specimen location or inside the classroom, whatever best suits the day and the specimen. As noted, each child should have his/her own specimen. Once the specimen is chosen, each child should spend 1-2 minutes quietly studying the specimen. This is a good opportunity to play (at low volume) the classical music selection for the week (I play music from my phone). The music should not include lyrics so as not to distract the child.
After this period of observation, the parent-teacher should ask the children to volunteer their observations. This is narration, and it develops the habit of attention, observation, and truthfulness. I write the childrens' observations up on a whiteboard or chalkboard, or if we are outdoors, on a piece of paper. Children are not allowed to repeat what has already been noted. This encourages them to make new observations.
Using a Nature Study Notebook to Depict Specimens
The nature study does not end with the walk and specimen narration. Children are provided supplies to depict the specimen using the dry-brush watercolor method. Another option, particularly for younger children, is to use colored pencils (Prismacolor brand is excellent) or watercolor pencils, which blend together nicely when one adds a bit of water (see directions on box!). Painting a specimen cultivates many habits that Charlotte Mason considered vital to a child's education: perfect execution, patience and attention.
Similar to a drawn narration, this rendering "locks" the picture of the specimen in his mind's eye. When the child takes time to mix just the right shade of green for the leaf, or to paint the flower's pistil orange, she has fixed it forever in her memory. Children as young as 4 years old can begin to paint in this method because it requires very little water. Keeping all of the paintings in one set of books will allow the child to see his progress over the years, which is very encouraging. Mothers and fathers should paint too! It is one of the most peaceful activities in our home school.
Nature Study Dry Brush Watercolor Method
Supplies Needed for an Outdoor Nature Study
Read these points before you begin:
- Outdoor blanket/vinyl cloth (optional, we use it to protect our bottoms from getting wet)
- Watercolor paint(s) - I recommend the Oval-8 Prang Watercolor set
- Watercolor brush(es) - I recommend a size 2 watercolor brush for most paintings
- Watercolor paper/notebook(s) - I recommend Strathmore's 6x9 Windpower Watercolor book
- Pencil(s)
- Water bottle
- Small cup for rinsing brushes (like a medicine or ketchup cup)
- Plastic syringe or medicine dropper
- Paper towels
- Scratch watercolor paper
Read these points before you begin:
- We paint our specimen in watercolor using the dry brush method. Watercolors are used for the painting, but they are not applied in the common wet-on-wet technique. Instead, minimal water is used so that paint must be applied slowly and carefully.
- In keeping with the detailed nature of the dry brush technique, the paintbrush should be held like a pencil and kept at a neat point. If the brush is treated carelessly and is smashed, it quickly becomes unusable and will need to be replaced. The point can be maintained by gently turning the brush on its side on a piece of scratch paper.
- Painting with the tip of the brush helps assure the use of the proper amount of water. The paints and brush should be wet enough that the paint slides easily off the brush. However, there should be no puddles in the paint set or on the paper. Puddles in nature study are messes (such as spills, smears, and “bleeding” colors) waiting to happen. If water spills, quickly pick up book.
- The colors in the paint set should be kept clean. Students should always rinse their brush when changing colors. New colors are mixed in the paint set lid. We instruct our students to mix green (and only green) in the large center section because it is the most commonly used color. When a child finishes painting, leave the box open until the paints are dry and then the child can re-use the paint in the compartments by adding a tiny bit of water. Color mixtures can be tested using scratch watercolor paper. Using any other type/color of paper could result in the colors not matching from the scratch to the art work.
- We have found it is best to avoid the pre-mixed green, orange, and black colors that come in paint sets. The green is not the color of plant matter, the orange is like a bright pumpkin, and the black is very dark and inky. Thus, our students learn some valuable points about color theory in nature study. They learn to mix green in the very first class. They also learn that adding more yellow makes the green “lighter” and adding more blue makes it “darker.” As the colors are needed, they also learn to make pink from red and red-violet, orange from red and yellow, and a grey-ish tone from blue and brown (a deep grey is made by adding more blue and a wonderful dark brown is made by adding more brown). If they don’t mix enough color the first time, a new mixture may be a slightly different shade.
- Students should freehand their nature studies (rather than tracing with paint or sketching in pencil first) so that they learn hand-eye coordination and to pay special attention to the specimen’s shape. It is a good idea for the students to outline the shape in light yellow before beginning to paint with other colors. This allows them to get a “feel” for the specimen they are working with and create a workable outline. Students should paint only what they see on their specimens without adding any other colors or embellishments. Painting should be as close as possible to the same size, shape and color of the specimen.
- Students are helped by seeing “demonstrations.” I mix colors in my paint set while they watch so that they can see how the mixing works. I often draw a quick line sketch on the board (especially if a tricky-shaped leaf such as the red maple is being studied). For odd-shaped leaves, painting the veins first makes it much easier to complete the outline by providing a “skeleton” of the specimen.