Julie Naturally
healthy, natural living for Christians
Earth Day is an opportunity to exercise good stewardship and show kids how to care for the planet God gave us. But, you want to use fun Earth Day activities that are easy for kids to do. We want kids to learn the importance of plants, the benefits of the outdoors, and develop a real …
Everyone knows that flowers have petals and smell nice. You probably also know that bees and butterflies land on them and gather their nectar. They also spread flower pollen. But, there are other interesting facts about flowers for kids who really want to dig in to learning about these amazing structures. Here are five things …
We tend to take trees, and plants in general, for granted. Most children know that trees are shady and pretty, but how about the importance of trees for kids and adults everywhere? Why should we care about trees and think twice about cutting them down? Let’s find out. The Importance of Trees for Kids, and …
I haven’t really met a kid who hated all trees. But, I have met kids who hate certain trees because of the way their fruits smell. I have also met children who hate certain trees because they are allergic to them. Because of these things, sometimes kids decide to avoid trees or decide that they …
As I’m sure you know, most high schoolers take three science courses. These are: Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. Some students may also take a Computer Science course. But, in all of those courses, they rarely get advanced Botany. In fact, most children never study Botany again after third grade and can’t even name ten plants …
Does your teen love plants? Is he looking for something a bit off the beaten path to do after high school? Maybe one these careers in botany is a good choice. After all, botany is important, perhaps the most important science of all. Without botany, the world starves. Want to solve world problems? Want to …
When my children were younger, one of my favorite places was the library. We regularly brought home stacks of books, as I’m sure your family does, too. Sometimes, I had a list compiled from browsing catalogs and recommendations. But other times, I just did a library search and wrote down call numbers when I got …
Planting a garden with kids can be one of the most rewarding ways to teach them about plants. It provides a custom made nature study experience and it offers many other benefits as well. For example, planting a vegetable garden can help children appreciate their food more. And, that is probably the most common type …
When we share facts about plants for kids, we often start out with dry, boring stuff like how to define botany. Unfortunately, that’s how most textbooks present plants. But, that’s not how to teach kids about plants. I certainly didn’t come to love plants because of the diagrams and hard to pronounce vocabulary words. In …
One of the great things about summer is the abundance of plants. It seems like the trees suddenly sprout leaves from one day to the next. But, the first signs of life are our lawns turning green and then, the flowers. Tulips, daffodils, lilies…their bright blooms fill us with joy and hope. Our green friends …
We know our kids should spend more time outdoors in the warmer months, but sometimes it’s hard. It can feel like pulling teeth to get them to get off their devices to spend some time in nature. After all, teens may spend as much as nine hours a day looking at screens, according to the …
Have you ever tried to define botany for your kids? How did that go? Did you get the eye roll? And then did you say, “But you need to learn this! Hey, I’ll try to make it fun. Here’s this cool curriculum I found.”? I bet you got a reluctant, “Ok.” And what kid wouldn’t …
I live in northern Illinois, where right now, there is close to two feet of snow on the ground! It’s been a while since we’ve seen so much snow, but hey, we shouldn’t be surprised. The Arctic Jet Stream often blasts us with some deep freeze temperatures and brings a LOT of snow with it. …
First of all, winter doesn’t have to keep you cooped up inside. There are plenty of things to see in the winter that are harder to see in summer when trees are full of foliage. Even so, most animals hibernate, birds migrate, and trees and plants go dormant or die. So, maybe you might need …
With all the focus on technology careers, math, and science, we might wonder, why is botany important? Why bother teaching kids about plants? Isn’t it enough that they know the basics? As a Master Herbalist, I’m biased, of course, but I have a definite list of answers to the question of why is botany important. …
I really hate how schools teach kids about plants. It’s soooo boring! If you really want to know how to teach kids about plants, don’t use a textbook. And, don’t make it a short little chapter in a biology book, either. I certainly didn’t develop my love for plants from those types of resources typically …
In my homeschooling journey, we read a LOT of books. We use other things, too, such as videos or YouTube channels, field trips, hands-on projects and handicrafts, classes, and nature. But, until high school (and even then, only for specific subjects), we don’t use textbooks. However, it is really hard to find good living books …
It’s in a kids nature to run around and explore the outdoors. I see this in my two year old granddaughter every day. She can’t wait to get outside. She wonders at anthills, the whispering trees, soaring birds, cackling squirrels–all of it. It offers no end of delights. But, we can extinguish a love for …
Now that we can get outside and enjoy nicer weather, our spirits rise. But, what do we do outside? There are many benefits to outdoor play, but what if your kids are older? What can they be learning outside? Farmers and gardeners might not have this problem because there’s always something that needs to be …
I love fall. Usually, it’s still warm enough to get outside for fall nature activities but cool enough that I’m not sweating buckets. I hate feeling sticky and lethargic. But, I love cool, crisp mornings with a hot drink and wrapping myself in fuzzy softness. Can you tell I’m a northerner? I also love fall …
Here in the northern hemisphere, it is summer and since I live near the Great Lakes, it is precious. For three months, it is warm enough to swim in Lake Michigan (although I don’t think the lake ever gets warmer than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.) When I was a kid, the streets swarmed with kids, we …
