Think the winter months mean an end to your outdoor nature studies? Think again! Let’s talk about the best ways to embrace a Charlotte Mason nature study in winter!
Winter’s beauty is a wonder, but its frosty embrace is a huge challenge for this Charlotte Mason homeschool mom. My children and I adore the wonders of nature and eagerly embrace the idea of long walks outdoors throughout the year. However, the frosty grip of this time of year often puts a damper on our enthusiasm, making it quite a challenge to indulge in our love for a nice long nature walk. (can you relate?).
Yet, despite the cold, we are determined to capture the unique enchantment of winter with its glistening frost, delicate snowflakes, and hushed landscapes.
Following Charlotte Mason’s wisdom, we are invited to embrace winter’s beauty and become naturalists year-round. This approach encourages us to explore plant and animal life with open hearts, even in the cold. It challenges us to uncover the hidden wonders of winter, observe nature’s resilience, and discover beauty in every frost-covered branch and starlit night.
So, as we embark on a winter nature study inspired by Charlotte Mason, let’s journey together to find warmth, nurture habits of observation, and deepen our connection with the natural world in this captivating season.
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Benefits of a Charlotte Mason Winter Nature Study
Winter nature study is a wonderful way to enrich your homeschooling experience and connect with the natural world in a different and delightful way.
Here are some of the benefits of doing nature study in winter:
Encourages observation: Winter reveals to us the hidden beauty of nature. During the warmer months, the leaves and flowers take center stage. But in winter, we get a closer look at nature’s delicate details. Such as the patterns and shapes of trees, the colors and forms of snowflakes, the footprints of animals in the snow, the cycles and locations of the moon and stars, and the variations in light and shadows throughout the day.
Inspires imagination: Winter fosters the use of imagination and creativity to fill in the gaps and mysteries of nature. It is so much fun to encourage your children to imagine what lies beneath the snow or ice, think about what the animals are doing in their burrows or nests, and imagine where those burrows and nests may be located.
Cultivates gratitude: Winter reminds you of the gifts and blessings of nature that you might take for granted in other seasons. It really helps you to appreciate the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the snow, and the freshness and crispness of the air.
Planning Your Winter Nature Study Lessons
Now that you know some of the benefits of doing nature study in winter, you might be wondering how to plan your winter nature study. Here are some of my favorite tips on how to prepare and enjoy your winter nature study:
Choose a location: You don’t need to go far or spend a lot of money to do your nature studies. You can study nature anywhere: whether that be out in your own backyard looking at your old garden flowers, or a fast walk around the neighborhood.
On days when the weather has been intolerably bad, my kids and I have even set up in front of a big window in our living room and witnessed plenty of nature. (mostly a lot of spiders, and bugs, but once my kids even found an old bird’s nest in the bare branches of a tree that we never even knew was there) On days when the weather is nicer a trip to a nearby park, forest, or lake, is well worth the trip.
A bird feeder outside of a window (even a simple handmade one with some sunflower seeds) would be such a great idea to get a great look at the winter birds.
Decide on a topic: It is completely up to you if you want to focus on a specific topic on your nature walk or not. I have found personally that my kids have learned best if we just explore and see what we discover. The spontaneity and allowing them to focus on the nature around them has led to some of our best lessons and some of my favorite memories. However, if you enjoy a more focused approach I will give you some of my favorite winter nature study ideas shortly. Another really fun way to make the most of a nature walk is by having scavenger hunts. I made this free winter nature scavenger hunt just for you!
Gather materials and resources: Make sure you have all of the supplies you are going to need before you set out. During the fall, spring, and summer months we bring our nature notebooks along with us on our adventures. However, during the cold winter months, we choose to draw pictures inside the house where it is cozy and warm. It is just so much more enjoyable for us that way. We make sure to take some pictures on a camera (or phone) so that we can remember exactly what we saw outside. However, it is completely up to you and your children if you want to draw on location. Some other materials that you might need are:
mittens
scarves
water bottle and snacks
tissues
binoculars
magnifying glass
compass
camera
field guides, including animal and bird books
Winter Nature Study Ideas
Let me share some of my favorite wintertime lesson plans and ideas to enrich your Charlotte Mason-style study of nature, during this winter season.
A. Bird Watching in Winter: Bird watching in winter is a great way to connect with nature and learn about the feathered friends that visit our backyards. If you are not seeing a lot of birds, setting up a bird feeder is a simple and effective way to attract winter birds like blue jays, dark-eyed juncos, and cardinals. Using a bird guide, you and your children can identify the different species and learn interesting facts about them. Encourage your kids to observe the birds’ behavior and take notes on their observations. With a little patience and attention, bird-watching can be a really fun and exciting educational activity.
B. Tracking Animal Prints in the Snow: In my homeschool, tracking animal prints in the snow is a favorite winter activity. Searching for tracks left by animals like raccoons, squirrels, deer, and skunks is the best kind of nature hunt. With some practice, your kids will learn to identify the different types of animal tracks and even figure out which direction the animal was moving.
C. Identifying Evergreen Trees and Their Adaptations vs. Deciduous Trees‘: Winter is a great time to learn about the adaptations of evergreen trees vs deciduous trees in winter. Taking your children on a walk through the woods to see bare branches on some trees vs. green needles on others is the perfect way to begin a lesson about winter changes in trees. Taking your children to a Christmas tree Farm is another great place to talk about all of the evergreen trees’ amazing adaptations.
D. Winter Pond and Stream Study: There is a lot to study at the pond, even if it is frozen over. I love to talk with my kids about how the water freezes as well as the unique adaptations that fish and other aquatic animals have developed to survive in the cold water. You can also look at the beautiful patterns in the ice and for animal prints in the snow from local animals looking for a drink of water.
E. Snowflake Observation Study: Snowflakes are a lot of fun to study during the cold weather months. You can teach your children all about the science behind snowflakes and how they form in the atmosphere, and also observe all of the different shapes and patterns of snowflakes.
I usually save our snowflake study for a day during a snowstorm so that I can get my kids outside to see if someone can catch a single snowflake on a glove and use a magnifying glass to examine it up close and then draw it as accurately as possible in their nature journal.
This book is really great for everything you want to know about snowflakes and has some of the most beautiful snowflake photography I have ever seen. And of course, Snowflake Bentley is a favorite in my house, as well.
F. Winter Solstice: The winter solstice is a special time of year that can be a great topic for a Charlotte Mason homeschool winter nature study. You can start by discussing the science behind the winter solstice and how it affects the amount of daylight we get each day. I like to take some time and encourage my kids to reflect on the meaning of the winter solstice and what it represents in terms of rebirth, renewal, and the changing of the seasons.
G. Observe the Stars and the Moon: Winter is the best time to study the stars and the moon because the nights are longer and the moon is higher in the sky so reflects more sunlight. On a clear, cold night, you can bundle up and head outside to observe the constellations and learn about the different stars and planets in our solar system. You can also observe the phases of the moon and discuss how they change throughout the month.
Tips for an Enjoyable Winter Time Nature Walk
A winter walk out in the cool fresh air is such a great way to help your children connect with nature and a perfect way to further encourage their love of nature. Here are some tips to make it just as enjoyable as your nature walks during the warmer seasons.
Be flexible: It can be hard to plan a nature walk in advance, during the winter, We all know how fast a nice day can quickly become cold and stormy. So if you happen to have some nice weather, it is perfectly fine to reschedule that math lesson for another day and go out on a nature walk instead (your kids will appreciate it as well).
Choose the right time of day: Plan your outdoor nature activities for the warmest part of the day. Usually, mid to late afternoon is a great time to go out and about.
Dress appropriately: The most important tip is to make sure you and your children are dressed as warmly as possible. I usually dress my kids in lots of layers so they can easily take off layers as they get overheated. We use lots of zip-up sweatshirts, scarves, hats, and mittens for our NJ winters.
Combining Winter Nature Study with Other Subjects
One of my favorite things about a Charlotte Mason homeschool is the fact that all of the subjects fit together seamlessly. Of course, nature study is no different. These are some easy ways that I have incorporated our winter nature study into our other homeschooling subjects:
Math: There are so many different ways to incorporate math into a winter nature study, I had my children record temperatures throughout the entire winter season. We then observed when the temperatures dropped below freezing and studied the resulting impact on the weather. We measured the depth of the snow after snowstorms, as well as the length of icicles, and even made a bunch of snowballs and compared their sizes. As a bonus, you can then use those snowballs to build a snowman and discuss why the bigger snowballs have to go on the bottom vs the smaller ones on the top.
History: We have talked about how people have handled bad winters in the past. One of our absolute favorites is “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It really helped my children to understand how people in the late 1800s survived severe blizzards on the plains of South Dakota with below-freezing temperatures while surviving with limited supplies, and food shortages.
Geography: Bring out the maps of your state, country, and the world and discuss climate zones, the seasons, and the weather patterns of different regions of the world. You can explore how winter affects the flora and fauna, the natural resources, the economy, and the lifestyle of people in different places as well.
Foreign Language: Last year, I took a break from our regular foreign language lessons to teach my children winter/nature-related words and phrases. I even made simple coloring worksheets to go along with our lessons. It was the perfect addition to our winter nature studies and my kids had so much fun with it.
Living Nature Books: Perfect for Winter Nature Studies
These are some must-have living books to include in your winter nature study
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin: Snowflake Bentley is a children’s biography about Wilson Bentley, a farmer from Vermont who loved snow and became the first person to photograph snowflakes. The book tells the story of his passion, perseverance, and discovery of the beauty and uniqueness of snowflakes.
Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Librecht: Secret Life of a Snowflake is a book that combines art and science to explore the fascinating world of snowflakes. The author, a physicist and snowflake expert, shows how snowflakes are formed, why they have different shapes, and how to photograph them. This book features absolutely stunning images of real snowflakes that make it a must-read for any snowflake study!
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock: A classic guide for Charlotte Mason homeschooling families, looking for a guide that includes everything you need for a comprehensive nature study. It contains great information about plants, animals, the earth, and the sky, as well as suggestions for observing and exploring nature. This handbook is also available for free here in the public domain.
All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Gayle Boss: This is actually the book we used during Advent last year. While it is broken up into 25 short chapters, one for each day of Advent; it does not have to be used specifically for Advent. It would actually be perfect for a winter nature study about animal and their winter adaptations. My kids really enjoyed this one and have specifically requested that we read it during Advent this year again.
Burgess Bird Book by Thornton Burgess (chapters 39-45 specifically talk about winter birds and their adaptations): The Burgess Bird Book teaches children about the birds of North America through the adventures of Peter Rabbit and his friend Jenny Wren. It introduces different bird species, their habits, behaviors, and songs, in a fun and interesting story. While most of the book takes place during spring and summer the end of the book does a great job discussing birds in the winter months.
Are you looking for even more living book suggestions for your Charlotte Mason Winter Nature Study? Check out my post on 17 of the Best Charlotte Mason Winter Living Books for some amazing recommendations that you are going to want to read to your children this year!
With a little planning and preparation, you and your children can explore the beauty of winter and deepen your connection with nature. And please don’t forget to download this free winter nature scavenger hunt printable to make your nature walks even more fun this winter season!
I'm Karen, a homeschooling mom and a lifelong learner who is a passionate advocate of Charlotte Mason's timeless educational philosophy. I have been homeschooling for over a decade, using Charlotte’s methods of living books, nature study, copywork, dictation, and narration. I've found that Charlotte Mason's holistic approach to education resonates deeply with my values and goals as an educator and parent. Through my blog, I aim to inspire and support my fellow homeschoolers as we explore the beauty and wonder of a living education that nurtures the mind, heart, and soul.
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