Exploring Nature With Children {Curriculum Review}

Exploring Nature with Children is a fitting title for a beautiful, rich way to feel inspired and organized to get out in nature with kids! I have dipped in and out of this curriculum for four years, since my oldest was 3. He’s now entering 2nd grade and we’re excited for another round of the curriculum, diving in a little deeper.

To keep myself accountable (oh the excuses I can find to avoid “bad weather”!), I’ve organized a few families to go through the curriculum together. We have a set time and place to hike once a week following the weekly topics. Each family will take a turn leading a brief activity or read aloud (10 minutes) and then we will enjoy a nature walk together. We are all excited– especially my Second Grader who has a countdown till September “When nature group starts!”

PS. There’s no reason ENWC should be limited to homeschoolers– this is a fantastic resource for anyone who would like to.. explore nature with children 🙂

Click here to visit the Exploring Nature with Children website. 

I’m planning to post our book roundups for each topic on my Instagram account, so follow along if you’re over there.

So, what exactly is Exploring Nature With Children?? 

A 242 page curriculum with 48 weeks of topical studies to guide your nature walks. You can keep it simple by just hiking with your weekly focus in mind or you can add in the resources included. (And it’s so affordable! It’s a PDF download, and costs less than $20.) Each week includes:

• Background info/brief teaching about the weekly topic
• A book list (fiction, nonfiction, and biography as applicable)
• Page references to The Handbook of Nature Study— This is a comprehensive guide written in 1911 by Anna Comstock, who was the founder and first head of the Dept of Nature Study at Cornell, available as a free download or printed through Amazon (aff). This is a fantastic way to increase your own knowledge of the topics you’re studying with your kids– it’s over 800 pages and packed with facts!
• Extension activities
• A poem and piece of artwork

How do you use it in your home?

In the past, I’ve chosen topics that my young kids were interested in, gathered books on the topic, and taken a walk to explore the area with that focus in mind. For example:

Week 1 is about Seeds. I checked out a stack of books from our library that featured seeds.

We read through those and then kept our eyes peeled for seeds both on our walks and at home. My boys got really into it and started a seed collection (which they still have a year later!).

We cut open some fruit and examined seeds under the microscope.

That’s about as far as we went in a typical week over the past years. This year, we’ll add in both consistency (yay for accountability!) and a deeper dive. We will (of course) read books on the topic, but we will also enjoy a nature themed Teatime immediately after our group walk. We will each sketch one of our finds from our walk into our nature journals, and then we will enjoy the poem and art piece that are suggested in the curriculum.

Click here to visit the Exploring Nature with Children website. 

When my first was little, I came across the book Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it changed our lives and the way we parent (my husband read it, too, and continues to recommend it!).

It opened my eyes to the importance of spending time outdoors, and over the years I’ve come to really see the stats and research come alive in my own family. It’s been a slow unfolding for me, as a former “climate controlled” type. I have felt conflicted between my desire to get my kids outside and learning about the natural world, and my desire to not be eaten by bugs and lose sensation in my limbs in the cold/pass out due to heat stroke. I’m excited to use ENWC this year in a more intentional way!

How do you value outdoor time with your kids and family? Do you get out consistently? Or do you think it’s for the birds? 😉 Connect with me in the comments below, or on my Facebook page or Instagram account.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  ENWC is a very affordable curriculum, less than $20! 

You may also enjoy our Tips for Getting Started with Teatime, the seasonal collections I shared in my Rooted Childhood Review (handicrafts, recipes, songs, and fingerplays),  and our favorite Nature Themed Books.