Just last week I previewed the e-book Creative Nature Study from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  Now that I’ve had the chance to see all 18 of the included “Scavenger Hunt” pages for use in nature studies I’m even more impressed.

Ranging from observations about the environment, erosion detection, track identification, leaf types, seed types, eggs, mammals, plants, clouds and more; these ready to go forms will save busy homeschool moms time, energy and planning.  Just print a form and head out with pen in hand.

Each scavenger hunt page presents space for recording observations from explorations in nature.  Room is available for labelling or longer written work, drawing, and some sheets have large blank areas that can be used for either.  Writing and drawing prompts are often included on the page itself, and the descriptions provided as a jumping off point can lead into an on the spot homeschooling lesson in and of itself.

My 5 year old was so excited to see the colourful pages arrive by email that she promptly asked me to print off the “seeds” page.  After she finished one, she asked for another – and we hadn’t even been out nature walking that day (I think it was 30 below if memory serves correctly).  We had a discussion about the different types of seeds, how they are distributed and examples we had encountered together in the past.  Voila – science credits, homeschooling can be as easy as that!

Families who already incorporate notebooking in their homeschools will love these ready to go pages.  Even if you are unfamiliar with notebooking – just read the prompt to your children, pass them the sheet and they’ll know what to do.

While I already held Creative Nature Study in high esteem, the value per dollar spent has increased exponentially with the inclusion of these time-saving, creativity-sparking sheets.  You’ll have to wait awhile longer to get your hands on them though – this e-book isn’t slated for release until the beginning of February.