In my early days of Charlotte Mason homeschooling, I remember us walking out the backdoor on a mission to do nature study with somewhat confused looks on our faces. What exactly were we supposed to do out there? What precisely constituted this “nature study?” We knew about the nature notebook, so it became our goal to find something to draw in that notebook. My middle school aged brother chose a twig every single time. His nature notebook was just page after page of twigs!

And that was it: walk outside, find an object, bring it in, and paint it. I knew there had to be more, but it took a super long time for me to figure out all the details and eventually to realize that we were pretty much doing it all wrong.

These days, I have a whole series about nature study on my website. I also have a teacher training video on the ADE website, and Liz, Emily, and I have done several podcasts about the subject. Yet, I wonder if it is all still a confusing mess for you. Maybe it would help if I just narrowed it down to a simple list.

So, that is just what I’ve done here. As you get started with school this year, maybe this list will help you see what you have left out, or perhaps it will give you confidence that you are doing all the things. Either way, I hope it eases some of the confusion.