Nature Study

ETC’s Nature Study Club, His Handiwork Hikers, is an opportunity for group nature studies in the Charlotte Mason fashion. Check the calendar for specific times and locations.

Outings often include a hike, careful observation of the natural world, and recording of observations through nature journaling. Sometimes we may have a guest speaker or a guide for a hike. Nature Studies will usually be followed by a picnic and a time of play and fellowship.

Read about the Nature Study Guidelines and then check the calendar for upcoming nature studies.

Contact the Nature Study Coordinators for more information.

Nature's Lessons" - a mother's journal

God's creation is always a marvel!

The view of the hillside was unencumbered by the
trees, which have yet to dress for spring. My little
anglers really enjoyed fishing, even though we only
got a couple of nibbles between us.

Everyone was excited to see a sandy killdeer fly down
to where most of the children were playing on the
ground. He made a lot of commotion and then hobbled
away as if injured to lure the children away from his
"territory". I have read about this but have never
actually witnessed it. It was a great little nature
lesson, and boy did it work. All the children jumped
up and chased the bird several yards until it finally
climbed into the sky and then met its mate down the
rocky shore.

We saw tiny caterpillars, ruby ladybugs, and a spider
hiding inside a vacated shell. The daffodils were my
favorite; they always announce spring's arrival, which
never comes soon enough for me.

After several hours we watched the clouds roll in over
the mountains and listened to the thunder become
louder and deeper. Finally, the blue-grey clouds
dropped a blanket of rain over the pavilion. It's
beautiful how the heavy pellets dimple the water's
surface. Far more quickly than it came in, the rain
disappeared leaving us with a shower-fresh view of the
mountainsides.

Clothes got muddy, hands got wormy, and hair got wind
blown... but we had a wonderful time. The children
all fell asleep in the van on the way home and I got
to check science off my to-do list for the week,... so
what's a little extra laundry.