Science in the early years of a Charlotte Mason (CM) education mostly focuses on Nature Study (outdoors) because it is believed to be the foundation for Science.
But it doesn’t mean that books are not read for the subject.
The books, however, in the early years, are more on the nature lore type, not technical science which, during CM’s time, were usually referred to as Natural History.
The real use of naturalists’ books at this stage is to give the child delightful glimpses into the world of wonders he lives in, to reveal the sort of things to be seen by curious eyes, and fill him with desire to make discoveries for himself. There are many… requiring little or no scientific knowledge for their enjoyment.
Volume 1, page 64
Curriculum/Book list
We used the following books for our Kindergarten nature lore.
- Nature Stories for Young Readers (Animal Life). This book is recommended by several CM curriculums. But I found it a bit boring (but that’s just me) because the sentences are too short nabibitin ako when I’m reading it. Haha. I realized a bit later, however, that it was a neophyte homeschooling mistake I made to drop and switch books but, oh well, it’s done.
- Finding Nature’s Treasures. We switched to and used this book starting the 2nd semester. It is about a group of kids hunting for nature objects. Accompanying them in their adventures is their uncle who answers whatever question the kids ask about the treasure (nature object) they found. I find this book engaging and I will definitely use this book again when I homeschool my dear son (DS), God-willing. I wish I was able to find this book sooner so we could have started with it from the start.
Philippine Nature Lore books
In addition to the books mentioned above, I specifically wanted to include local nature lore in our curriculum because a lot of the Natural History books available are mostly written for temperate countries and may not be applicable to the Philippines which is a tropical country.
Of course, I want my child to read something relatable and for her to be familiar with and appreciate our local species and environment first. How I wish we have nature lores similar to the works of Thornton Burgess and Arabella Buckley written in our local language (Filipino).
But while we didn’t exactly have what I was looking for (I did find a couple of nature study books set in the Philippines but I can’t remember why I didn’t end up using them), I came up with the following list after much research, which are actually just short picture books that you can easily read up in one to two lessons.
- At the Pond. A very short story about going on a nature trip. While the book can develop appreciation for nature and gives a hint of nature study as a fun, engaging activity, the book is very short and priced steeply that I feel I was short-changed. Maybe because its publisher, Kado Publishing, is an independent publisher that only publishes books on a small scale so they price their books on the high side. To be honest, I do not want to buy books from them anymore because I do not find value for my money in doing so.
- Sinag and Tala. A story about two friends where one likes the day while the other likes the night. I find this book very sweet and charming. My dear daughter (DD) loved this, too. It is one of the first books we read for school and even after several months, when I ask what books she liked best in school, my DD usually mentions Sinag and Tala.
- Whuush! A book about the wind.
- Munting Patak Ulan. A story that relates the concept of the water cycle.
- Ang Kamatis ni Peles. A fun, rhyming book on planting and watching a seed grow.
- Mister Beetle’s Many Rooms. A cute story about a plant growing.
- Lola Buena’s Garden of Miracles. A bit corny but this book relates the idea of plants as medicines.
- Philippine Native Trees kids series (5 books). Stories that relate how a tree have been a part of a child’s life.
- Luntian: Ang Bungang May Pakpak. A story about a seed transported to a faraway place where it was planted and eventually grew.
- The Adventures of Gabby Ghas. A story that relates the life cycle of rice.
- Mango Trees. A short story on the importance of trees.
- Munting Sinag-Araw. A story about the sunshine.
- Gusto ko ng Buwan at Bituin. A story about a boy who dreamed about travelling in outer space and seeing the moon and the planets.
- Kaibigan Ko ang Buwan. A story about a child amused with the different shapes of the moon.
- Polliwog’s Wiggle. A story that relates the life cycle of a frog.
- Hipon at Biya. A story about the symbiotic relationship between a shrimp and a fish.
- Diwa the Dugong. A short story of a sea cow looking for food.
- May Alaga Akong Butanding. A charming story about a girl who wants to take home a butanding for a pet.
- Olive Ridley Comes Home. A story about a turtle travelling home to lay eggs.
- Ang Iritadong Talaba. A story about an oyster making a pearl out of dirt. A bit corny, too.
- Diola. The story of the first artificially-bred eagle.
- The Kingfisher and a Can of Sardines. A story about a boy who tried to feed an injured bird with sardines.
- Bagwis. A story about a stolen and rescued baby Philippine hawk eagle. Based on a true story.
- Tag-araw ng mga Ibong Hilaga. A story about the migratory birds in Pampanga.
- Pipison the Pangolin. A very short and simple story about a pangolin who curls up when scared.
- Mayumi the Forest Pig. A short and simple story about a native pig lost in a forest. This book includes pictures of several endemic animals.
- Danao the Parrot. A story of a parrot travelling across different habitats or ecosystems looking for the perfect place to live. Along the journey, the parrot meets different animals of the Philippines. This book is very short and simple but it is a good way to introduce kids to our local animal species.
- Kain, Kumain, Kinain. A story that relates the concept of the food chain.
Insert picture of books
Narration sample
This is the only narration of my DD during her Kindergarten year that I recorded.
I didn’t ask her to draw. She just grabbed a pen and paper and started drawing while narrating. So I also grabbed my phone to record it.
Keeping portfolio samples
Nature Study and journaling
…every child has a natural interest in the living things about him which it is the business of his parents to encourage.
Volume 1, page 58
…a love of Nature, implanted so early that it will seem to them hereafter to have been born in them, will enrich their lives with pure interests, absorbing pursuits, health, and good humour.
Volume 1, page 71
If there is a subject we “failed,” it is Nature Study, which I regret because Nature Study is one of the things that attracted me to CM. I loved that CM emphasized spending time in nature to develop a love and appreciation for God’s creation.
It is easy to underestimate doing Nature Study but the skills it develops are actually foundational not only for the Science in the succeeding school years but for life as well.
Consider… what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun—the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for?
Volume 1, page 61
Years, hence, when the children are old enough to understand that science itself is in a sense sacred and demands some sacrifices, all the ‘common information’ they have been gathering until then, and the habits of observation they have acquired, will form a capital groundwork for a scientific education.
Volume 1, page 63
Unfortunately, we tackled Nature Study rather haphazardly. It should be a relaxing occupation, I know. But being a solo parent with no nanny or helper (I will always play my solo parent card whenever I fail in doing something, haha) who literally does everything at home, I hate to say but Nature Study is quite burdensome for me because it involves getting out of the house.
Yes, I know that spending time in nature is a stress-reliever, but I still fail to make it a priority.
So what I did was, I told my DD to observe random nature objects, draw it on her nature journal, and told her to write whatever she observed about it.
Which she did, in fairness to my DD.
But because I just let her do it on her own (I do not join her), she does not do her observations intently but just looks at an object for maybe a minute and, that’s it. There is no “study” involved.
And so her observation skills and appreciation for nature is not being developed.
Additionally, I get intimidated looking at the resource book, the Handbook of Nature Study (which is for the parents’ use, not the students’), because it is such a thick book. I get intimidated just by looking at it that I can’t even start reading it. It is actually the only book (among the resources parents are required to read) that I didn’t try to read because just looking at it makes me feel insecure.
Googling sample nature journals didn’t help either. It makes me more insecure when I see how beautiful the drawings of others are.
So, yes, we need to get out of the house more and do better in this area.
Provincial living
Thankfully, we live in the province and our backyard is a bit forest-y so we see a lot of wildlife, so, somehow, my kids are familiar with different creatures that are not commonly seen in the big city.
Back in my hometown, when my nephews visited one summer when they were still very young, when they visited someone in the countryside, they got so excited when they would see farm animals like cows, chickens, etc.
Well, even I when I relocated to the province.
But, to be honest, I’m animal-phobic. As in I’m scared of most creatures. And that’s maybe one more reason why I “failed” my DD in Nature Study.
But in our backyard, we used to regularly see a bayawak and a tuko. We also occassionally see a very interesting bird which, according to a neighbor, is a Philippine Hawk eagle. Crows are also a common sight.
And it is common for us to see butterflies, hairy caterpillars, tree skinks (locally known from where we are as tabili but in my hometown we call it a bangkalang), flying lizards, bees and wasps, grasshoppers and praying mantises, dragonflies, worms, millipedes, slugs, ladybirds, and a whole lot of other flying insects and creepy crawlies which I am very much afraid of.
We also have a neighbor who have chickens in their yard. And once, during a Christmas season, we saw a neighbor who had a goat which I’m sure turned into a kaldereta as I never saw it again after the holidays.
We once caught a caterpillar but, unfortunately, it died before it could turn into a butterfuly (because I do not know how to take care of it).
Another time, while already in bed, we saw something flickering. It was a firefly which I tried to catch in a bottle. My kids were so amazed with it and so was I (it was my first time).
There was also an incident when my DD saw a snake in the bathroom of our ground floor! I thought that was just an isolated incident but she saw another one inside the house, again, this time on the 2nd floor (where our rooms are located) just a few weeks ago. They were super scary experiences.
I bought an observation jar and try to catch something when there is a chance to so my kids could observe nature objects more closely. But it is now full of dry, dead creatures (as I haven’t cleaned it up).
When my dear husband (DH) was still alive and he still drove us around the countryside, we would also see different farm animals such as cows, horses, carabaos, sheep, and pigs gazing sometimes just along the sidewalk.
We also live at the outskirts of the city so a mountain is in view from our house.
And on very few occassions we were able to go to the beach and the mountains.
I regret that my DH in no longer around. If he is, I’m sure we would be travelling around for nature trips. Still, I am thankful for those few experiences as it, somehow, made my kids see and be familiar with the different landscapes and creatures God created.
Another thing that we did was plant. I am not a plantita but would like to be one. I just could not find the time to do so right now.
When my DH was alive I bought a few ornamental plants and was able to take care of them. But when my DH died, so did the plants.
But, as I said, we planted. We planted the seeds of the papaya we once ate. Actually, I just tried to see if it would grow. I have never, in my entire life, planted anything at all, not a fruit- or vegetable-bearing plant. Not even in school.
So I didn’t know if I would find success in planting. But I figured I’d just try and see if it would grow.
Well, it did.
And when it sprouted, I told my DD that it would be her baby and she should take care of it. So she waters it everyday.
Nature journal samples
Featured image by Anna Shvets.