Paideía & Praxís - Nature Studies

Nature Studies

Nature Studies is organized as a 4-year cycle, with topics scheduled for each term (Term 1: Weeks 1-11; Term 2: Weeks 12-20; Term 3: Weeks 21-30). While Nature Studies is for all ages, the majority of the topical studies are geared toward Forms 1-2 to be done around 2 days per week, while Forms 3-4 will have suggested Nature reads that can be done alongside their heavier science studies. Most importantly, go out in nature!

“St. Silouan urges us to ‘love every created thing'; and emphasizes the beauty of nature. From my childhood days I loved the world and its beauty. I loved the woods and green gardens, I loved the fields and all the beauty of God’s creation. I liked to watch the shining clouds scurrying across the blue sky.

If we lose our sense of wonder before the beauty of nature, so he believed, this suggests that we have at the same time lost our sense of God’s grace"

~Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware)

See Sciences rotation

See Physical Geography rotation

See Nature Studies below

By Cycle:

(See in-progress booklists on this page below, until individual pages are complete)

Cycle 1: Nature Studies

*C1 Form 1 Nature Studies & Science Spreadsheet schedule HERE

[Habitat: Sky]

Term 1: Stars & Skies

Term 2: Climate & Weather

Term 3: Birds

Booklist & Resources:

*Books marked with an asterisks can often be found at the library; also check archive.org

Term 1: Stars & Skies

Science & Nature Notebook (used for the whole year for recording observations, star book, weather charts, bird log, etc.)
Star Stories for Little Folks (Warner) *Optional to go with Nature Journaling *PDF/ Audio
Star Stories: Constellation Tales from Around the World (Ganeri)
Discovering the Stars (Santrey) *PDF
Sunshine Makes the Seasons (Branley)* *PDF
The Sky is Full of Stars (Branley)* *PDF
On a Starry Night (Kinsey-Warnock) *PDF
The Planets in Our Solar System (Branley)* *PDF
The Sun, Our Nearest Star (Branley)*
What Makes Day and Night (Branley)* *PDF
Next Time You See the Moon (Morgan)* *Flipbook
Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights (Miller)*
The Fiddler of the Northern Lights (Kinsey-Warnock)
Extra Term 1 resources:
- A Star Finder (for your hemisphere)
- Star app (e.g. SkyView)
- The sky tonight: EarthSky.org

Term 2: Climate & Weather

Wonders of the Seasons (Brandt) *PDF
Dear Rebecca, Winter is Here (George) *PDF
Snowflake Bentley (Martin) *PDF
What Will the Weather Be? (DeWitt)* *PDF
The Storm Book (Zolotow)
Next Time You See a Cloud (Morgan)* *PDF
What Makes the Wind? (Santrey)*
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll (Branley)* *Flipbook
When Spring Comes (Kinsey-Warnock) *PDF
Extra Term 2 resources:
- Outdoor thermometer (extra features, a bonus)

Term 3: Birds

The Burgess Bird Book (Burgess) *PDF
What Makes a Bird A Bird? (Garelick) *PDF
Thunder Birds: Nature's Flying Predators (Arnosky)
The Peregrine’s Journey: A Story of Migration (Dunphy) *PDF
Amazing World of Birds (Caitlin)*
A Nest Full of Eggs (Jenkins)* *PDF
The Eagle and the Wren: A Fable (Goodall) *PDF
Great Northern Diver: The Loon (Esbensen) *PDF
Owl Moon (Yolen) *optional *Flipbook
- OR Ruby Throat:The Story of a Hummingbird (McClung) *PDF *optional
Extra Term 3 resources:
- Bird Field Guide (for your area)
- Binoculars
- Bird feeder

Term 4 or Summer: Habitat

Among the Night People (Pierson) *PDF/ Audio

[Habitat: Sky]

Term 1: Stars & Skies

Term 2: Climate & Weather

Term 3: Birds

Booklist & Resources:

Term 1: Stars & Skies

[Lessons]

- A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends (Heifetz)
- The Stars (Rey)
- Handbook of Nature Study (Comstock)
- Optional Guide (Nature Study Hacking)

[Observation]

- A Star Finder (for your hemisphere)
- Star app (e.g. SkyView)
- The sky tonight: EarthSky.org

Term 2: Climate & Weather

Rain, Hail, Sleet & Snow (Larrick) *PDF; & Optional SM2 Guide

Term 3: Birds

Term 4: Habitat Read

Nature Read Options:

Cycle 2: Nature Studies

Fish & Water Creatures
- The Burgess Seashore Book for Children (Burgess)
- Optional Guide (CM Simple Studies)
Water Forms & Brooks
Cultivated Crops & Weed

[Habitat: Ocean, River, & Stream]

Fish & Water Creatures
Water Forms & Brooks
Cultivated Crops & Weed

[Habitat: Ocean, River, & Stream]

Nature Read Options:

Under the Sea Wind (Carson) (~6.5 hrs)

Nature Read Options:

The Sea Around Us (Carson) (~9 hrs)

Cycle 3: Nature Studies

Flowers & Flowerless Plants
- The Burgess Flower Book for Children (Burgess) *PDF
Amphibians & Reptiles
- x
Insects
- x

[Habitat: Pond & Meadow (or Desert)]

Flowers & Flowerless Plants
1. Wildflower Folklore (Martin)
2. Plant Families (Lerner)*
3. Optional Wildflowers Guide (by Nature Study Hacking)
Amphibians & Reptiles
1. Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles (Arnosky)
2. Wildlife Folklore (Martin)
3. The Moon of the Salamanders (Craighead-George)
Insects
1. Creep and Flutter: The Secret World of Insects and Spiders (Arnosky)
2. Insect Adventures (Fabre)
3. Optional Insects Guide (by Nature Study Hacking)

[Habitat: Pond & Meadow (or Desert)]

Nature Read Options:

A Girl of the Limberlost (Stratton-Porter)
The Strange Lives of Familiar Insects (Teale)

Nature Read Options:

Roger Caras' Treasury of Classic Nature Tales: PART ONE- The American Wilderness: The Nineteenth-Century Observers [Ch. 1-10] (~5 hrs)
OR Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Dillard) (10.5 hrs)

Cycle 4: Nature Studies

Mammals
- The Burgess Animal Book for Children (Burgess) *PDF
- Optional Guide (CM Simple Studies)
- Burgess Animal cards
Rocks, Minerals, Soil, & Magnets
Trees & Shrubs
- The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups (Ingoglia)

[Habitat: Forest]

Mammals
Rocks, Minerals, Soil, & Magnets
Trees & Shrubs

[Habitat: Forest]

Nature Read Options:

High, Wide and Lonesome: Growing Up on the Colorado Frontier (Borland)

Nature Read Options:

Roger Caras' Treasury of Classic Nature Tales: PART TWO- Creatures Great and Small: The Twentieth-Century Naturalists [Ch. 11-27] (10.5 hrs) *PDF
OR The Keeper of the Bees (Stratton-Porter) (~14 hrs)
OR Our National Parks (Muir) (~10 hrs)