What are Special Studies?

A special study is a seasonal study of one object or group of objects — a plant or animal generally. Still, things like stars, shells, or rocks are sometimes included. Usually, two or three such studies will be attempted each term, and they can either run concurrently or back to back.  

That’s the short definition I came up with, but let’s look back at the P.N.E.U. Programs to get a closer look. Beginning in Form 1, we see the first “Natural History” assignment:

“Keep a nature notebook.”

I discussed nature notebooks in several articles in this series, as they can be started before the child starts school.

The second assignment is as follows:

“Find and describe (a) wild fruits; watch, if possible, and describe (b) ten birds, (c) five other animals.” — Program 91, September to December 1921, Form 1.

The above is for an autumn term, but the only change we see in the winter and spring terms is to find and describe the twigs of trees (winter) and wildflowers (spring) instead of wild fruits. This pattern, or something similar, was repeated year after year.

In Form 2, the words “Find and describe” were replaced with “Make special studies for the season with drawings and notes.” Also, in those later terms, we see the types of studies become more complex, such as: 

• “climbing plants and plant protection; wild fruits and seeds” (Form 2,) 
• “migratory birds and their songs, make daily records of some part of a river bank, wood or common” (Form 3-4,) and 
• “ecology, roots and conifers” (Forms 5-6).

The advancement in the study made, and the progression of a student’s observational abilities is described in A Nature Study Guide by W. S. Furneaux:

“In the lower forms the children will observe, think about, and describe only the more obvious characteristics of a natural object. A year or two later, their powers of observation and reasoning having considerably developed, they will look upon the same object with different eyes, see a great deal more than they saw before, and think over problems that were formerly quite beyond their grasp.” (ch 9)

How to Choose Special Study Topics.

Years ago, I worked with Emily Kiser, my co-host on A Delectable Education podcast, to create a plan for all twelve years of a student’s education. After considering Miss Mason’s assignments and the increased complexity required over the years, we devised a rotation we could use in our own homes — and something we could share with you. Feel free to print a copy of the rotation for personal use.

Form 1 (grades 1-3) begins very similarly to Miss Mason’s Form 1 assignment: very general with lots of wildflowers, birds, and trees, and a sprinkling of other plants and animals. At this time, students are looking at broad categories. For instance, when “wildflowers” are listed, students look at any wildflower they might come across. 

In Form 2 (grades 4-6), we want them to look more closely at one particular object. For example, where a Form 1 student assigned wildflowers would look at all of them, a Form 2 student would look at a specific species, such as the Queen Anne’s Lace. In addition, while a Form 1 student would look at any bird that comes near, a Form 2 student might follow a family of Robins as they make a nest, lay eggs, and feed baby birds.

Then in Forms 3 and 4 (grades 7-9), we want to take advantage of their more advanced powers of observation and attention by suggesting they look at distinct characteristics that cross species. For example, pollination, migration, or animal behavior.

Continuing the example above—when the younger children are studying wildflowers in general (Form 1) and Queen Anne’s Lace in particular (Form 2), the Form 3-4 student may consider the seed dispersal of all plants. And when the younger children study birds in general (Form 1) and a family of Robins in particular (Form 2), the Form 3-4 student may consider the migration of all birds or all animals, or maybe animal babies and parenting. 

Finally, in Forms 5 and 6 (grades 10-12), we tie in a bit of ecology by suggesting they look at a whole region for an entire year. We include a woodland biome, an aquatic biome, and a grassland biome. Of course, we know that the ecosystem of your region is of one kind, but we hope that even if you live in a desert, you can find a stand of trees in a park or a body of water. The goal is to see the big picture of that environment—how each species works together in a habitat or what problems there are, such as a diseased plant or a polluted waterway, and how that may affect each species.

You can see that there is still room for some personal choice at every level. For example, the student asked to study birds in Form 2 can study the specifics of any kind of bird local to him. A student asked to study migration can learn about the migration of a multitude of animals, or maybe just insects or birds. 

However, the objects to be studied must be local and seasonal. In other words, the student has to be able to study them! They cannot “find and describe” an elephant unless they plan to go to the zoo multiple times a week. Nor can they “make a special study, with notes and drawings” of cultivated plants in winter. You could pick some up from the grocery store each week, but it would defeat the purpose. Instead, students need to become acquainted with the seasonality of the world around them and come to know when to expect the melon plant to sprout, flower, and bear fruit.  Furneaux said that “every subject must be taken in its proper season, so that the whole scheme is in perfect harmony with the daily experiences of the children.”

You’ll also notice that we built in some connections between forms. This is not always the case, but we tried to coordinate the forms where we could.

How to Make a Special Study

Nature Books

“The real use of naturalists’ books [nature lore] at this stage is to give the child delightful glimpses into the world of wonders he lives in, to reveal the sorts of things to be seen by curious eyes, and to fill him with desire to make discoveries for himself.” -Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 64 

The first tool for doing a special study is a living book. These books open the children’s eyes and help them know what to look for. For example, did you know ants keep cows and milk them? Do you know that they go to war and enslave ants from other colonies? I often say, ‘we don’t know what we don’t know,’ and that is particularly the case in the realm of nature. Nature lore provides our children with clues that inspire detective work during their outside time and nature walks!

In these books, students also learn about the object’s basic structure, life cycle stages, what they do to survive winter, how they are classified, and much more.

Charlotte Mason didn’t have a specific name for this kind of book, but I call it the “special study” book just for clarity. On the program noted above, Charlotte Mason has included the following:

[The Changing Year by F. M. Haines or Countryside Rambles by W. S. Furneaux: April to July. Furneaux’s A Nature Study Guide may be used for Special Studies and for reference.]” — Program 91, September to December 1921, Form 1.

Countryside Rambles and A Nature Study Guide, both by W. S. Furneaux, have been brought back into print by Yesterday’s Classics. Don’t be put off by Furneaux being a British science teacher and nature writer. He has a lot to teach you!

The Changing Year by F. M. Haines is a collection of articles initially included in the Parents Review but not easily accessed today. (Though you can check out Living Charlotte Mason in California for a sample.) 

In addition, Living Library Press has brought back to print, The Year Round: A Book of the Out-of-Doors Arranged According to Season by Clarence John Hylander. Hylander was a Professor of Botany and an American. 

Beyond these seasonal collections, many excellent living books about plants and animals have been printed since Charlotte Mason’s time. Books published during the Golden Age of Children’s Literature by incredible authors such as Robert M. McClung, George F. Mason, and Olive L. Earle. While many of these are expensive to purchase today, your local librarian can often request a copy through an interlibrary loan. Several publishers are also working hard to get some of these beautiful books back in print. Check out my Nature Lore Books page for lists of books, authors, and publishers.

Forms 1 and 2 (grades 1-6) are allowed 10 minutes weekly in the morning school schedule to read these Special Study books, but students in Forms 3-6 (grades 7-12) must read them in the afternoon.

Nature Walk Goals

“June 17th. Today we went on a nature walk. We intended searching for grasses and contrasting one with another …” (May Openshaw’s Nature Notebook)

In the article “Nature Walks, Excursions, and Rambles – part 2” you learned the importance of having a goal for each nature walk. A goal gets the children to look diligently for the objects, such as all the wildflowers they can find, Queen Anne’s Lace in each stage, or all the wildflower seeds they can find.

Object Lessons

A weekly 10-minute object lesson will help your child to look much more closely at the thing, but object lessons warrant their own article in this series, so check that out next.

Nature Notebooks

“The reports of conducted walks bear too large a proportion to the written notes of independent search and observation.” (Agnes Drury, PR 50, p. 139) 

Students must keep a record of the walks taken in their nature notebooks, but maybe more important are the notes related to their special study. What was seen, where, and when? What was it doing, and in what stage of life? What was noticed, both the big picture and things so minute it can only be seen with a magnifying glass? Charts can be made, as well as diagrams and graphs. Students should be allowed to include their observations however they would like, but whether to include information is not open for debate.

Drawings

Students will learn to paint during their brushdrawing lessons. Still, there is an interesting correlation between their assigned drawing lessons and their special study. For example, when students were given the following special study: 

“Find and describe (a) wild fruits; watch, if possible, and describe (b) ten birds, (c) five other animals.” — Program 91, September to December 1921, Form 1.

Their brushdrawing assignment was as follows:

“Six wild fruits, and (from memory) six wild animals you have been able to watch; and pictures of people read about in your tales, in brushwork.” — Program 91, September to December 1921, Form 1.

These drawings can be made directly into the child’s nature notebook or not. Allow your child to make that decision. 

Also, note that many of these drawings were made from memory; therefore, bringing an object home from every walk is unnecessary. For example, in the very next program we see: 

“Find and describe (a) 6 twigs of trees; watch, if possible, and describe (b) ten birds, (c) five other animals.”  — Program 92, January to March 1922, Form 1.

But notice that their twig drawings were also to be made from memory this term:

“6 twigs of trees (from memory); six animals you have been able to watch; pictures of people read about in your tales, in brushwork.” — Program 92, January to March 1922, Form 1.

Drawing an item while looking at it or after a close enough inspection of the object to allow a memory drawing will set that image in the mind’s eye more than any other activity.

Other ideas

Other ideas for making a study of your object include:

• Take a field trip to your local state park or nature reserve to listen to a naturalist program about the subject.
• Making a collection, such as a pressed flower or seed collection.
• House the object in a terrarium or aquarium for a time. Ants can be kept in an ant farm, and worms can also be kept in an indoor habitat.
• Bring an object inside for closer scrutiny. For example, use a mushroom to make a spore print. 
• Purchase a Monarch Rearing Kit and release them once they become butterflies. Ladybugs can be purchased in bulk for the garden as well.

A Note About Collections

Let us beware of collecting for the sake of collections, however. Furneaux said:

“it must be remembered that the object of the ramble is not the collection of specimens for the illustration of the lessons to be given in the school, but rather the close observation and study of natural objects in their natural surroundings; and we must be careful that the children do not develop into mere collectors, but rather into keen observers. (A Nature Guide, ch 3)

Exams

Special studies are part of students’ assigned program of work, so we should not be surprised to find related questions on their exams. 

The exam for Programme 91 Form 1 includes the following questions:

Natural History — 1. Describe two kinds of wild fruit you have found and two birds you have watched. 

Brushdrawing — 2. A branch of wild rose with hips.

The exam for Programme 92, Form 1 includes the following questions:

Natural History — 1. Describe three kinds of tree-buds and two catkins you have seen. 

Brushdrawing — 2. An ash or some other twig.

Biology Class

By following this practice and utilizing the Special Study Rotation above, your children will learn about all of the primary classes of plants and animals. Charlotte Mason said:

“Now take up a natural object, it does not matter what, and you are studying one of a group, a member of a series; whatever knowledge you get about it is so much towards the science which includes all of its kind. Break off an elder twig in the spring; you notice a ring of wood round a centre of pith, and there you have at a glance a distinguishing character of a great division of the vegetable world. You pick up a pebble. Its edges are perfectly smooth and rounded: why? you ask. It is water-worn, weather worn. And that little pebble brings you face to face with disintegration, [today we would call this erosion]  the force to which, more than to any other, we owe the aspects of the world which we call picturesque––glen, ravine, valley, hill. It is not necessary that the child should be told anything about disintegration or dicotyledon [two-leafed], only that he should observe the wood and pith in the hazel twig, the pleasant roundness of the pebble; by-and-by he will learn the bearing of the facts with which he is already familiar––a very different thing from learning the reason why of facts which have never come under his notice.” (Home Education, p. 70)

“Small things may teach Great” (Home Education, p. 72)

Charlotte Mason understood that “out-of-door nature-study lays the foundation for science” (School Education, p. 281), but it also IS science. In fact, one popular homeschool science textbook for high school spends a considerable amount of time covering these topics. On the other hand, our students will learn them—little and often—throughout their education, allowing time to cover many other biology topics in high school.

Related:
Special Studies Guides
ADE Teacher Training Video: Special Studies & Object Lessons
A Nature Study Guide (Yesterday’s Classics) by W. S. Furneaux

Return to An Overview of School Science

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