emark on outdoor adventures with friends
natural History clubs
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About OUR clubs
nature study with friends
Looking to build or find community in your area? The Charlotte Mason Institute’s Natural History Clubs provide a fun and accessible way for you to practice a relational education with others and deepen your experience of creation. Sign up and then embark on outdoor adventures as a family or community for a year of monthly guided nature visits to three different ecosystems and habitats. Our natural history guides allow you to open and go, equipped with background info, observation ideas, and reflection questions. Club participants are also invited to attend periodic Zoom calls with experts to share observations, strategize, and ask questions as we grow in wonder together.
In The Guides
Year of activities
- Forest Guide (4 walks)
- Grassland Guide (4 walks)
- Wetland Guide (4 walks)
- The intro lesson provides background context for the habitat in each season
- Field activities include suggestions for activities during the walk as your group moves through the landscape
- Reflection and recap instructions provide the opportunity for narration and nature journaling
Begin today!
Natural History Club
$
50
Includes:
- Instructions & Activities for 12 Natural History Adventures
- Private Zoom meetings for leaders & club members
- Select extra resources on Nature Study
- Tips on organizing and leading your group
Sign me up
How does it work?
Register to receive access to the year's guides and extra tips and resources. Then organize your group and set out on guided adventures!
This guided help or "hand holding" in exploring nature and nature journaling is pivotal for teaching the kids to ask inquisitive questions on their own.
more information
FAQ
No! We want to make these resources as accessible as possible, so only the club leader needs to register for the group. Club leaders can then share resources and cost with other group members or just enjoy the resources as a family. We do ask that you refrain from sharing private resources with friends not part of your club. Encourage them to register their own family or community!
Anyone! These guides are suitable for your family, school group, church, neighborhood, colleagues, or just a few friends who want to get outside more! We see these guides as a great way to invite others to join you outside in nature and learn to love the outdoors and observe the world more deeply.
CMI Natural History Clubs are distinct from Alveary and are open to anyone, young or old, interested in learning to love and observe nature more closely. However, Alveary members will find that these guides dovetail with Alveary science lessons and give them an easy and natural way to invite friends and family into Nature Study with them.
These guides are written to for use across North America and so are purposefully broad and aimed at ecological themes rather than a lot of specifics. This year, the guides focus on encouraging participants to observe relationships within a landscape. What vegetation do you see? Do you start to notice that certain plants appear together, or in certain locations? What animals do you see? How are animals interacting with the vegetation? Do you see the same animals around the same type of vegetation? Ecologists refer to specific types of landscapes as ecological communities. A certain type of geology and elevation will result in a specific type of vegetation, and specific animal species adapted to that environment and vegetation. While this guide does not use textbook language, the goal is for participants to begin understanding landscapes as a community.
register
Start a Nature Club
Register today, and we’ll send you an email with access to everything you need to start your nature club tomorrow!
