Explore Science and the Seasons with Beautiful Feet Books

Disclaimer: I was compensated for my time in exchange for my honest review.

This is not our first time using Beautiful Feet Books. In fact, you’ll find a review in this very blog on their Around the World with Picture Books Part 1 Curriculum, and on our social media, Around the World with Picture Books Part 2. I’ll link both of those below. Beautiful Feet Books is a staple in our Homeschool for gorgeous, Literature Based Learning and I’ll battle anyone who says differently. A huge piece of our Eclectic Unschooling journey is rooted in Nature Schooling. So how do you marry the Natural Sciences and Literature in a Curriculum? You look for Beautiful Feet Book’s Seasons Afield – A Literature Approach to Natural Science for Primary Grades.

Seasons Afield is a full, year long curriculum in Natural Science for Grades K – 3 written to encompass the changing of the Seasons through Field Guides. It uses the German, Schullandheim approach, which joins school, nature, and home to embrace science in a wholistic pedagogy in the way a child learns naturally. Using Books, artistic expression, handcrafts, and poetry, this curriculum challenges both teacher and student to make discoveries abut themselves and the natural world around them. Long story short, this curriculum is homeschool nirvana.

Worried about rigor? Don’t be. Seasons Afield meets Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and a number of ELA Standards as well. Though written for Primary Grades, it can easily stretch into grades 4 – 6 without modification. If you’re working with a kid that needs to slow down and go deep (ahem, Parents of gifted children, are you listening?) this curriculum is calling for them. Early on in the lessons, you’ll find out quickly that Seasons Afield covers a lot more than what it’s billed for.

So, What’s in the Box?

Since I’ve been looking at resources for homeschoolers, Beautiful Feet Books as never failed to make me feel like a kid during Christmas when unboxing their stuff. I do a little happy dance as soon as I cut the tape and reach in. This curriculum was no different. In Seasons Afield I received:

  • The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem
  • Watercolor With Me in the Forest by Dana Fox
  • Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature by Rachel Williams
  • Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler
  • Tales of the Mushroom Folk by Signe Aspelin
  • Fall Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow
  • The Golden Glow by Benjamin Flouw
  • Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
  • Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story by Sean Taylor & Alex Morss
  • The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston
  • Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
  • Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler
  • Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution by Diane Stanley
  • Albert by Donna Jo Napoli
  • Pond by Jim LaMarche

Each carefully curated tome was added to the curiculum as a beautiful complement to the lessons and most were hardbacks or special editions. When you finish the year, these volumes should go directly to your home bookshelves and the completed work should be added to your homeschool portfolio.

Have a few of these titles in your collection already? You can customize your curriculum pack by removing up to three books. Need additional Notebooks or Fieldnotes? You can add those to your curriculum and receive a small discount for volume.

Seasons Afield has 72 Science lessons included, and each lesson should take between 30 – 60 minutes.

How Do You Use Seasons Afield?

The most important piece of the puzzle is The Seasons Afield Teacher Guide written by the Mother and daughter team of Tami Kruse and Taylor Baehr, educators that have personal experience using Schullandheim methodolgy, homeschooling, and a litany of accolades and degrees in the sciences. The Year long curriculum can be completed using two lessons per week, working with literature, field science, notebooking, and outdoor exploration. Each nature study has four lessons with a foundation of The Complete Brambly Hedge – a collection of stories by Jill Barklem following the lives of the mice that live in that community written over 40 years ago. Looking for the science? Our first lesson included an Autumn story where an older character among the mice mentions “Bad weather’s on its way, I can feel it in my bones.” which initiated a deeper discussion about synovial fluid and change in barometric pressure. I even went on to conduct an air pressure experiment with my STEM loving kid. What would have been a dry, forgettable science fact, suddenly has life and forms a permanent learning synapse. Good literature isn’t just magical, it’s scientific.

Seasons Afield doesn’t just end with the Science and Literature. Let’s not forget the importance of the Art and Writing. Using your logbook, the important thoughts and terms are written down along with the art created using “Watercolor With Me in the Forest”. You’re encouraged to find a place to think and create, near a window or outside, and Dana Fox’s book does a beautiful job actually teaching the techniques needed to make the work museum quality.

We received the materials for review in Spring, but still decided to began the study right from the beginning. If you start this in the fall, you should be able to complete it along with the changing of the seasons. The curriculum is very flexible and can be used as standalone science or as a supplement. For an older or advanced child, add in more technical terms and experiments, as well as pay close attention to the Library Connections (additional reading outside the included books). You’re also encouraged to forage, make jam, go for nature walks, make felted acorns, explore leaf chromatography, and study the art of Kandinsky. if that’s not learning, I don’t know what is.

Season Afield by Beautiful Feet Books, did not disappoint. My kid’s favorite subject is math but he now prefers to start our day Natureschooling with Seasons Afield. I’m not only nurturing his mind but his soul as he enjoys the mental health benefits, sunshine, and fresh air encouraged in this curriculum – especially as we “Slow Down and Wander”. Seasons Afield is truly amazing.

Want to experience Seasons Afield for yourself? Head to Beautiful Feet Books! You’ll not only find this curriculum but a number of other enriching studies for grades K – 12 homeschooling.

Beautiful Feet Resources mentioned:

That’s not all we have for you. As a Thanks for taking a look at our Review of Seasons Afield, get FREE shipping for all orders $150+ (standard offer) and First-time customers can use promo code IgniteWonder for free shipping on first your first order of ANY size!

Leave a comment

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑