Creative Nature Study is one of several e-books offered from The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. Nature study is something I've always wanted to incorporate into our homeschool but never knew how. Sure, we took walks, and my kids played outside a lot, but we never did anything to warrant calling it nature study. How can something that seems so simple never get done? Well, when I received Creative Nature Study to review, I found out just how easy it can be.

Written by several homeschooling moms, Creative Nature Study has a wealth of ideas to help you incorporate nature study into your everyday life. There are 100 pages full of inspiration from moms who are in the homeschooling trenches just like you. The contents are as follows:

•  What is Nature Study and Why Do It?

•  How to Get Started, Where to Go and What to Pack

•  Creative Walks

•  Creative Projects

•  Creative Writing in Nature

•  Nature Notebook Ideas

•  Scavenger Hunts Galore

•  Nature Study with Allergies or Asthma

•  Appendix A: Great Resources

•  Appendix B: Scavenger Hunt Pages

Some of the activities include: Keeping a Perpetual Calendar, Bird Watching Centers, Nature Study Scavenger Hunts, and Group Walks. I really liked the idea of keeping a perpetual nature calendar. I don't think this is something I would have thought of on my own. The idea is to fill a binder with paper and then write the month and date at the top of a page. You can then let your children, or anyone in your family, record what the weather was like that day by writing an observation, drawing a picture, or gluing photos on the page. What a great way to look back through time and not only see what the weather was like but how your children have grown in their penmanship and learning. Another idea I really liked was creating a bird watching center. All you need to do is hang a bird feeder outside of a window, print off some pictures of birds that are common in your area and paste them to a poster board. Then when your children see one of the birds, they place a tally mark underneath the picture of that bird. Simple, easy, and a great way to incorporate nature study!

Creative Nature Study has given me not only inspiration but actual ideas and activities. The ideas are easy to implement, fun, and educational. Another plus is not having to wait for it to arrive in the mail. For just $12.45 you can instantly download the e-book to your computer and begin your journey in nature study!

Product review by Stacy Rocha, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2011