Home Schooling - Teaching Science in the Mountains

If you are a homeschooler, and you live in the mountains, and you are not using the great wondrous gift of nature that God has Blessed us all with, then you need to grab your kids, a few plastic bags, a camera if you have one, and a note pad and pen and head outside for the greatest adventure in science that you could possibly give to your children, and best of all... IT'S FREE!!! What a field trip you can have outside, no matter where you live, but if you live in the mountains, oh my, there is a great wealth of scientific adventure just waiting to be discovered!

Let me share a couple of our adventures with you. Living in the mountains there are a lot of wild animals, and wild animals tend to leave tracks in sand, loose soil, and snow. We like to take a walk at least once a day, (phys ed), along the roads and hills here where we live, so we use our exercise walks as part of science class, and track the animal tracks, and see how many we can identify.

Another good outdoor science adventure is pine cone collecting. Do you have any idea how many different types of evergreen trees there are? I had no idea until we moved up to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. There are so many different types of evergreen trees, and each has it's own unique pine cones. A pine cone hunt is a great way to learn about the different types of evergreen trees, and their pine cones.

Rocks are another scientific discovery and adventure to be had in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Obviously being the "Rocky Mountains", there are TONS of rocks, and oh my, some are absolutely beautiful! Some will also fool you into believing they are something they are not, like gold! These mountains are full of gold, but even fuller of fools gold, so beware. There is also a lot of quartz here, as well as different colors of Mica. Colorado is a rock hounds paradise.

So, if you homeschool, and are fortunate enough to live in the woods, mountains, near the ocean, or in the country, then don't waist the wonderful resources that God has given us to teach our children with. Get out there and have fun, the children will really love it, you will love it, and the learning experience is just awesome for everyone, and you'll be healthier too!