Relaxed Nature Studies

You don’t have to read my blog for long to know that we love spending time out in nature at our house.  From going off-roading in Daddy’s truck to riding dirt bikes to hiking, we try to get out and explore our area as often as possible.

To aid us in our constant desire to learn more about our current location, we have purchased field guides for our specific area as well as the general southwestern region of the country.  These field guides allow us to try figure out what type of plant, bird, reptile, mammal, etc… we are looking at during our adventure.  Occasionally, we have found a plant or two that we have been unable to identify based upon field guides.  The field guides are still a great asset that we wouldn’t want to be without.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of nature studies is making sure that we are focusing on The Creator and not just the creation.  The Lord has blessed us with His awe-inspiring world.  (Can you imagine how amazing this world must have been before sin entered the world?  Wow!)  We need to focus not just on the beauty around us, but on praising the Lord for all that He has given us.  By thanking the Lord for giving us such beauty to enjoy, we are making sure that we are worshiping our Creator and not just His masterpiece.

Because we are blessed with the ability to be out and about often, I tend not to need to do formal nature studies with Munchkin.  She enjoys reading her field guides and other nature guides on her own.  She’ll take pictures and/or draw what she sees.  At times, she’ll journal her findings or write stories about our trips.  I like the relaxed approach to learning when it comes to our natural surroundings.

This post is part of this week’s TOS Crew Blog Cruise: How do you do nature studies where YOU live?