Saturday, February 28, 2009

Winter Nature Study


Charlotte Mason recommended that children study nature in order to understand, appreciate and be good stewards of the world around them. Since I come from a long line of nature lovers this hasn't been too difficult for me, but it can be somewhat of a challenge in winter. I recently discovered a great resource for the Kansas City area in the Walt Bodine Show.
The Walt Bodine Show covers local happenings and produces a quarterly show called Nature in the City. Listening recently I heard information about Snowy Owls which people in our area usually can't see but have a opportunity to see right now due to the owls normal prey being unavailable in their area. There was also information about foxes and other wildlife and flora in the area. If you live in the Kansas City area I suggest you check it out.

To use this program as nature study I download it and then I went to youtube and found video of the animals described in the show. My children can hear local experts discuss nature in our area and see visuals to help them identify those birds and animals when we are out driving or walking. There is also an archive of previous shows and I plan to do the same with other shows in the future. Very praiseworthy indeed!