Homeschooling: Learning Through Nature

by Danica Davidson

Many of us have stories about sitting in classrooms on beautiful days and wanting to get outside. With what we were learning in school, it usually wasn’t practical to put our classroom out of doors, unless we were having P.E. But the style of education called homeschooling can also be outdoors-schooling.

Think about it. Going outdoors would be great for numerous science lessons. It could also work for art lessons, allowing a student to draw or paint what they view. In fact, why couldn’t a person take their books outside and do their work under a tree? Weather permitting, it can be a great idea.

Many of us, especially city-dwellers, feel apart from nature. But many of us feel an urge to be outside, even if it is outside in the city, because we can still look up at the sky and breathe in fresh air. I find days with sunshine to be especially hopeful and inspiring to me and I am usually able to get more accomplished on these days.

I love to sit outside while reading or writing in a notebook. Likewise, I’ve done some drawings of nature. And yes, of course nature is an excellent way to learn more about science. Students could learn about all the plants and animals living in their areas by seeing and studying them firsthand. This really brings the lessons to life.

Laurel Springs knows the importance of making lessons “real” for its students, just as this school is dedicated to nature. In fact, Laurel Springs offers courses like Kids 4 Earth (www.kids4earth.org) that can help teach environmental protection and get kids personally involved with recycling and helping the planet. With all the recent worries about what we’ve done to our lands and atmosphere, it’s very important we do all we can to fix our mistakes and build a better future. We can’t just look at nature and admire it; we ought to help take care of nature.

Few schools are as involved as Laurel Springs is with environmental issues. Marilyn Mosley Gordanier, the founder and director of the school, has been a speaker at the Earth Summit in Brazil and the 1995 Global 500 Forum International Conference in Malaysia. Thanks to her work (and the work of her dedicated Laurel Springs students!) the school has been honored with the President’s Environmental Youth Award, the Earth Prize and the United Nations Global 500 Award.

Learning from our environment and protecting it go hand-in-hand. Science experiments and lessons can easily take on an environmental edge, not only teaching students, but letting them help out as well. People are known to say that in homeschooling the world is the classroom. I think the world is the classroom for everyone, and while we learn for the world we can always feel good giving back to it. So the next time it’s a really beautiful day and you want to go outside . . . go ahead. There’s plenty to learn out there.

About the Author: Danica Davidson is a professional writer and recent graduate of Laurel Springs School. She enjoys spending her days writing, reading and learning, even though she's not 'technically' in school now.

About Laurel Springs School

Laurel Springs School, founded in 1991, is an accredited, college prep private school offering distance learning programs and teacher services for students in grades K-12. Located in Ojai, California, Laurel Springs serves students across the United States and in 43 countries. Current enrollment is 3,000 students, with more than 2,000 students enrolled in the online high school program. Laurel Springs uses web-based communication tools, a standards-based curriculum, and personalized instruction to offer students the highest quality home education experience.