Nature Study with June: Spring

About this printable

Spring is nature's busiest season. Buds burst, seeds sprout, frogs sing, bees hum and birds build nests, and every day there's something new to notice.

Nature Study with June: Spring is an 8-week, 65-page printable nature study for ages 5–10, built around permaculture: designing like nature does. Every week has a story, real hands-on science, and a recipe, formula or project to try at home.

8 weeks, one big idea each

• Spring Wakes Up: buds, first sightings and phenology
• Seeds Wake Up: inside a seed, a bean jar and egg-carton seed starting
• Spring Rain: a rain gauge, the water cycle and the roof-rain formula
• Busy Bees and Blossoms: flower parts, a pollinator count and wildflower seed balls
• Nest Builders: kinds of nests, a nesting-material station and exploring edges
• Frog Song: listening for frogs, the frog life cycle and a mini tub pond
• Plant Partners: the Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash)
• Plant a Tree: planting a tree the right way, just in time for Arbor Day

Every week has 7 pages

• A story to read together: an illustrated scene with June and Nana, Find Dot the ladybug, and a true Nana's Note fact
• A grown-up page: the big idea, supplies, steps, questions to ask, and easier and harder options
• A kids' worksheet: sighting logs, a bean diary, rain and pollinator tallies, a cut-and-glue life cycle, a Three Sisters match
• A labelled diagram: bud to leaf, inside a seed, the water cycle, parts of a flower, kinds of nests, a frog's life, the Three Sisters, planting a tree
• Spring Kitchen & Workshop: a permaculture principle plus a real recipe, formula or project (herb butter, egg-carton seed starting, how much rain your roof catches, wildflower seed balls, a nesting station, a tub pond, a Three Sisters hill, tree planting)
• A coloring page of the week's scene
• A nature journal page

Also inside

• How-to guide and "Permaculture, kid-sized": 8 of Holmgren's design principles, including 4 that Winter didn't cover
• Spring walk kit, nature-walk rules and Dot's 24-item spring hunt
• 12 Montessori 3-part vocabulary cards
• Find Dot answers, worksheet answers, and an "Official Spring Naturalist" certificate

Made for real families

• Ages 5–10: easier and harder options on every lesson, so siblings learn together
• Little or no shopping: seeds, jars, egg cartons, rain and kitchen herbs
• Any yard, any size: a balcony, a park or a schoolyard works
• Facts checked against university extension, USDA, the National Park Service, Cornell Lab and museum sources

Pairs with winter

Spring picks up where Nature Study with June: Winter leaves off, with the same adopted tree. Summer and Autumn are coming soon.

What you get

• 65-page PDF in two sizes: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and A4, portrait
• Print in color, or print worksheets and journal pages in black and white
• Reprint worksheets and journal pages as often as you like

This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped. Download from Purchases and Reviews on etsy.com in a web browser (the Etsy app can't download files).

Good to know

• Personal-use license: print as many copies as your household needs. Teachers and co-ops: please buy one copy per classroom. Please don't resell or share the files.