Earlier this year, we attended the Florida Home Educators Association annual homeschool convention. By the way, if you are anywhere near Florida on Memorial Day weekend (or if you’re in need of a great vacation spot), COME to the FPEA convention! It’s the largest in the nation, and you will be blown away! Our favorite class this year was a hands-on class that showed us how to make four awesome Busy Bags for our littlest people. We are both raising toddlers at the moment, and this class was so helpful. The facilitator for this class was an inspiring homeschool veteran, who has raised a gaggle of kids herself but has also spent 25 years as a Florida homeschool evaluator, working with many families. What we loved most about listening to her speak was how practical she was. Everything she offered was real, hands-on, and fun for kids!

You might want to grab a notebook for this podcast because our guest is going to download a mountain of ideas for nature study and science in general, and you will not be able to remember them all -- but you are likely to be inspired by them all!

Cheryl Bastian is an author and speaker who encourages parents to embrace the education and training of their children as they journey through life together. She is the mother of eight children, ages 4 to 30, including four home graduates. She is a frequent speaker at the FPEA Convention, a regular columnist for Homeschooling Today, and the author of Celebrate High School and her new book More Than Credits: Skills High Schoolers Need for Life. Cheryl's practical helps, teaching tips, and free resources are available at her site, cherylbastian.com.

“Ask questions! We are not a society that asks questions, but questions invite relationship.”

You can also connect directly with Cheryl in her Facebook group Celebrate High School. While you’re there, be sure to hope over to her Facebook page and like it so that you can keep up with all she has to offer.

And if you are as inspired by this podcast as we think you will be, here are some related posts from Cheryl that will help you launch into a powerful year of nature study:

• Nature Study Resources to Foster Curiosity
• Post about nature-related living books
• Post about Porch Science
• Post about Citizen Science
• Post about Puddle Fun

Cheryl guest blogged for us this week as well. Her storytelling style sucks you right in, and while you’re having a vicarious experience right beside Cheryl and her kids -- in awe of the heron stalking the lizard -- you will surely be inspired and may even glean a few new ideas.

During this podcast episode, Cheryl shared a big list of awesome resources to supplement and supercharge nature study. We added a few more here that Cheryl had suggested off air as well.

• Field Guides and Resources

  • Take-Along Guides
  • Florida’s Fabulous Series
  • Peterson Field Guides
  • A Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock

• Books

  • Gail Gibbons books
  • Let’s Read and Find Out Science
  • Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
  • Eric Carle books
  • Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney
  • Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran

• Supplies and Materials

  • Brock Magiscope
  • Carolina Biological Supply Company (a great resource for owl pellets)
  • Educational Innovators (dolomite samples and owl pellets)
  • Nature Gift Store (ant farms and live ants, butterflies)
  • Home Science Tools (magnets and more)

• Nature Study Adventures

  • Additional resources and nature classes

“You don’t have to have the whole plan of the bird study or the ant study. All you do is ask a question, and it keeps their minds curious. And so therefore, you don’t have to be a scientific expert to bring science to your kids.”

Cheryl Bastian

As you tune in, you’ll get to hear our super cool theme music. All of the music on the C2C Podcast was written, performed and produced by Jenni’s daughter Sky. Be sure to visit her on Instagram.

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