Fall Nature Study

Fall has finally arrived! The leaves are beginning to turn colors and my house smells of apples and cloves as I bake and diffuse. Although we started school way back in mid-August, many of our extra activities didn't start until late September, so we are really getting into a groove with school, which also makes it feel like fall.



One of our favorite activities for the year is our Tuesday "Home Team" day. We privately homeschool to allow our family more freedom to learn as we choose, and this year, were able to find a semi-local school that provides some wonderful extracurricular activities. One of these is a P.E. Day for my older children. We started going to it last spring, and while my son would play football or soccer with the other high school students, my youngest two and I would sit near a creek and sketch or play.

Kingfisher Nature Journal, courtesy of @raisinglitlleshoots

Because our time there studying nature was so lovely, I wanted to offer a nature club to the other young students in the school. This year, I have a small group of K-3rd-grade students and their mamas, hanging out with us as we observe, draw, and create.

Sometimes getting young children to actually observe nature, requires giving them a craft that involves natural materials. This allows them to slow down enough to actually observe the leaves, bark or feathers that they are supposed to be studying.

One of the resources that we are using this year, is the e-book, Exploring Nature With Children, by Lynn Seddon. This manual includes activities, book suggestions, an overview of the topic and even poem and art suggestions to go along with the theme of the week. 

We have also used the book, Look What I Did With a Leaf for our annual leaf creatures, and one of the girls in our group, made this fabulous horse, using ideas from the book.

Another family fall tradition that we have is a visit to Apple Hill. We don't live as close as we used to, but purchasing fresh apples and fresh apple donuts is worth the drive. 

As I evaluate the activities that we are involved in, and the choices that we make on a daily basis, I am constantly keeping our family vision in mind. As a family, we strive to live within our means so that we can be free to give. This might mean saying no to certain activities so that we can leave room in our budget and in our time to do the things that our dearest to our heart. 

I pulled together my best ideas for saving, and for building a vision for a course that I am offering for a limited time. This course, "Bountiful, Homeschooling on a Budget", will walk you through planning a family vision, creating a budget, getting debt paid off, and living within your means. 

The course includes;

• Recipes and tutorials
• Budget and vision forms
• Interviews with other moms on a budget
• Inspiration to find your purpose

In addition to all the helpful insight you will gain about living on a budget, 100% of your purchase is funding on the ground ministry we are doing this January in Tanzania, Africa. By living on a budget, we were able to save enough to purchase 9 airplane tickets to Africa so that our children can experience loving and encouraging people from another culture and continent. You can accomplish the dreams that God has put on your heart as well, and this course can help you do that.

Affiliate links included in this post.