We started our study about North American Birds for the first time! I have four kids that spend a lot of time in nature and it’s one of the highlights of our lifeschool days! Just this past year we launched a Forest School and we have learned so much about creation. Our study about North American Birds with Gather ‘Round has been our favorite!
Nature sparks curiosity and imagination
Encourage your kids to get outside and study North American Birds in their own backyard
I have a 14 year old daughter, two 10 year old boys, and a 9 year old daughter. They all love being in nature. We spend many of our days outside learning. Since we started homeschooling they have become more curious and aware of nature. We now structure our days to be outside. Most days my kids are outside catching toads, digging in the dirt, building forts, or watching the birds in our feeder. At the end of the day they are covered in dirt and sweat. Yes, this includes my teen, when she’s not on the porch reading.
What if my child doesn’t like being outside?
I believe that it’s our duty as parents to foster a desire to know more about God’s creation. Therefore, kids need to be in nature and the research shows that it’s vital. We bought our sons a Boy’s Book of Adventure and they love doing the outdoor activities. Recently, they made the bird feeder! Encourage your children by giving them opportunities. We bought a pair of nice binoculars and put a big bird feeder in our backyard and our kids love sitting by the window and looking through the bird identification books and cards to identify what’s on the feeder.
References & resources for your study of North American Birds:
One of my favorite parts of the Gather ‘Round North American Birds unit is the added references and resources! Included in the app are several recommended YouTube videos, website links, and craft or art tutorials. We’ve been streaming the videos to our television while we are working. I’ve also added the Teacher Guide to my IPad for my high school and middle school level children to click the reference links when researching. I also have a basket full of great books for reference. You can find some of my favorites linked below!
Notebooking about the study of North American Birds
My kids love keeping a sketchbook or notebook with their drawings. This unit we have been documenting all of our bird sketches in our books and then doing some labeling. We love Art for Kids Hub on YouTube and will use their tutorials frequently. If you are sketching from a drawing I highly recommend some recipe holders to keep the book open and flat. We use them for all our copy work too! My kids are obsessed with Prismacolor pencils and water colors for their drawings.
we are loving the Gather ‘Round curriculum!
It fits perfectly with our lifeschool philosophy.
Overall, teaching all of my kids together from themed units has been refreshing. I’ve seen my kids thrive learning the same content and working together. The curriculum requires very little prep work for the parent too! I love how easily the lessons flow between all content areas. After our first week my kids knew what to expect in each lesson.
I’m also happy with the support for my older kids on researching and preparing for writing. I’ve used very few additional resources! My older children are using the Super Grammar book for their editing and writing. I’ve also found that we use our atlas frequently when doing the mapping and geography work. I’m very impressed with the level of geography and mapping work included in this unit! We are spending a lot more time on copy work and memorization without complaint too!
I highly recommend the Gather ‘Round units!
Modern Classical Homeschool Shop on Etsy has the best Guess Who Cards for each unit!
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