Joy and Nicole talk about the challenges and joys of doing nature study in a homeschool setting. They talk about getting started when you don't know the names of anything and how to help older children engage. Grab Nicole's free nature study starter guide here: https://sabbathmoodhomeschool.com/hipJoin the Screen Free Kids Get Outside Challenge: https://www.howeverimperfectly.com/ScreenFreeChallengeStart the 5-day Nature Journal challenge here: https://www.howeverimperfectly.com/opt-in

Principal #20: “We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and ‘spiritual’ life of children, but teach them that the divine spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their continual helper in all the interests, duties, and joys of life.”

Get the reflection questions and resources that go with this episode over on However Imperfectly on Substack here.

Principle #19: Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need.

Head over to However Imperfectly on Substack for the reflection questions and show notes.

**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, join the Screen Free Kids Get Outside Challenge. Head over to HoweverImperfectly.com/ScreenFreeChallenge to download your free packet!**

Principle #18: “The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.” Vol 6, Mason

To see the reflection questions and notes from this episode, head over to However Imperfectly on Substack. --**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, join the Screen Free Kids Get Outside Challenge. Head over to HoweverImperfectly.com/ScreenFreeChallenge to download your free packet!

“There are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, [the first] we may call 'the way of the will'...

The way of the will: Children should be taught, 

(a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.' 

(b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. 

(c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. 

(d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. ” (Vol 6, p. 128)

To see the reflection questions and notes from this episode, head over to However Imperfectly on Substack. --**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, join the Screen Free Kids Get Outside Challenge. Head over to HoweverImperfectly.com/ScreenFreeChallenge to download your free packet!

"A single reading is insisted on, because children have naturally great power of attention; but this force is dissipated by the re-reading of passages, and also, by questioning, summarizing, and the like."

**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, check out my Nature Study Hacking Guides at www.howeverimperfectly.com. Learn how to get outside and use those lovely nature journals which will help you and your children cultivate the habit of attention with ease.**

Principles 14- Narration: The Art of Telling Back: “As knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced, children should 'tell back' after a single reading or hearing: or should write on some part of what they have read.” (Vol. 6, xxix)

Check out the sample narrations and reflections questions over at However Imperfectly on Substack.

**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, check out my Nature Study Hacking Guides at www.howeverimperfectly.com. Learn how to get outside and use those lovely nature journals.**

Principle #13 “In devising a SYLLABUS for a normal child, of whatever social class, three points must be considered:

(a) He requires much knowledge, for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body.

(b) The knowledge should be various, for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite (i.e., curiosity).

(c) Knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language, because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form.” (Vol. 6)

Read and find links on However Imperfectly on Substack

Have you ever wondered how to help your child truly love learning? In our latest podcast episode and Substack article, we dive into Charlotte Mason’s Principle #12: Education is a Science of Relations.

Children are born with a natural desire to connect—with ideas, history, nature, art, and even the materials they use in their hands. Our role as parents and educators is not to force information upon them but to introduce them to a vast world of meaningful relationships. Whether it’s through books, tangible experiences, or friendships, a full and flourishing life comes from these rich connections.

In this episode, we explore:

• How to cultivate a love for learning through real, living ideas.

• Practical ways to encourage deep engagement with knowledge.

• How to guide teenagers toward meaningful pursuits.

• The role of parents in fostering a broad and full education.

Get the show notes and reflection questions here: https://open.substack.com/pub/howeverimperfectly/p/principle-12-education-is-about-relationships?r=37a62&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

**If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, check out my Nature Study Hacking Guides at www.naturestudyhacking.com. Learn how to get outside and use those lovely nature journals.**

“But we, believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, give him a full and generous curriculum; taking care only that all knowledge offered him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas.”

Read the article and get the reflection questions over on ⁠Substack ⁠⁠.

This episode is sponsored by Nature Study Hacking. Head over to ⁠⁠NatureStudyHacking.com ⁠⁠to learn more.

“Such a doctrine as e.g. the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education (the preparation of knowledge in enticing morsels duly ordered) upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching with little knowledge; and the teacher’s axiom is, ‘what a child learns matters less than how he learns it.”

Read the article and get the reflection questions over on ⁠Substack ⁠.

This episode is sponsored by Nature Study Hacking. Head over to ⁠NatureStudyHacking.com ⁠to learn more.