Favorite Nature Spots Archives

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5 Tips for a Successful Nature Walk with Kids {#3 Choose the Right Spot}

Hopefully you’ve already read my first two tips for a successful nature walk with kids. If not, you can do that here: 5 Tips for a Successful Nature Walk with Kids #1 Find a Buddy #2 Make it a Habit Once you’ve got a nature buddy and you’ve settled on some sort of schedule for…

Always Keep a Change of Clothes in the Car

This post is dedicated to my friend Teresa, who taught me to Always Keep a Change of Clothes in the Car. Just the other week, we were having One of Those Days. You know the ones. Everybody was getting on everybody else’s last nerve. It was almost time for dinner and

It’s Back: The Sunday Evening Nature Walk {Tuscarora Creek Park in Leesburg}

Hooray for spring! Our crew celebrated last week’s newly arrived beautiful weather with our first family nature walk of the season. We picked a new spot, packed a picnic dinner and our nature gear and set off for some explorations.

Exploring Nature with Kids: Discovering our National Parks

Have you seen Handbook of Nature Study’s December 2013 Newsletter about National Parks? Once again, I was honored to serve as a contributing writer. And this month I was excited to see that Debi Huang–one of my favorite nature bloggers–contributed an article as well.

Sunday Evening Nature Walk: Edwards Landing Park {Leesburg, VA}

The Sunday Evening Nature Walk Most Sunday nights when the weather permits, our family can be found exploring a nearby trail or nature spot. It’s one of our favorite things to do together! We usually pack a picnic dinner, our DEET-free bug spray and some favorite nature guides and gear–like these magnifying glasses–and head…

2 Favorite Folk Singers and 1 Fantastic Venue {Part Two}

Did you catch this post: 2 Favorite Folk Singers and 1 Fantastic Venue {Part One}? If there are any children in your life, I highly recommend the two musicians–and their CD’s–discussed in that post. This part is for the locals, or for visitors to our nation’s capital… Do you live in or near Northern Virginia (outside…

Identifying Local Wildflowers: Chicory

The boys and I love to identify local wildflowers, trees, bushes, etc. Last year, we identified this beautiful blue wildflower–and now it’s back again, growing all over the place here in northern VA. Have you seen it? Chicory grows really well along roadsides and in fields. Blooming from about June through September, it often teams…

Spring Wildflowers and a Great Online Identification Tool

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is the ability to emphasize Nature Study. We get to study nature up close and personal as opposed to learning about it from a book. Don’t get me wrong–we do learn quite a bit about Nature from books. Our large home library includes an ever expanding stock of…

Winter Nature Walk on the W&OD Trail (& excellent nature biography for kids)

Background Info: Older Brother and I just finished reading this awesome book, The Flower Hunter, about William Bartram, America’s first naturalist. His father, John Bartram, was America’s first botanist. So, so fun to read about their explorations as they studied and gathered plants. As a botanist, John Bartram taught his son William to observe nature…