Homeschool Room: Our Nature Nook

July 7, 2024

Since we began homeschooling five years ago, nature has always been one of my children’s favorite subjects. We enjoy following a weekly nature study theme and taking walks outdoors to seek out the topics we cover within their natural environment. Every now and then, we stumble across an item to display on our nature shelf, giving it a home with our other treasured findings. Our nature nook is simply a corner of our homeschool room, though it could be anywhere you have space in your home. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for a linked list of supplies we use for our personal nature display area, including the easiest floating shelves I have found to install and items for storing nature finds. You can also view our refresh video on Instagram.

My children have been collecting nature finds for quite a while now, things such as feathers, small bird nests, seashells, pinecones , special rocks, dead insects and more. Some finds are from our travels, some from our daily walks, and some beautifully preserved and curated from small shops. Having these nature finds stored in clear jars on our shelves invites my children to observe them with a closer eye and shared curiosity. They are encouraged to pull items down from the shelves to the surface of their nature nook for observation and discussion. I typically rotate the items by season, placing items that pair with the current season at eye-level. Our nature collections often serve as conversation starters when friends come over and are an exciting place for our family to explore over and again to be reminded of life's simple beauties.