At the moment I'm collecting resources for a very last-minute fall and winter tree study. I'll post those plans when they're complete, but in the meantime I wanted to share what I've discovered thus far.

A tree and forest study for younger kids can be found at Small Things; Pinterest also has some fun ideas. Exploring Nature with Your Child by Dorothy Edwards Shuttleworth has a lovely chapter entitled "Trees and How to Know Them" and the second and/or third book below would be perfect.

Projects: Gelatin Leaf Prints, Pressed Leaves, Leaf Relief, Wax Dipped Leaves

Tree Information

• A Year Among the Trees, or, The Woods and By-Ways of New England by Wilson Flagg (1890)
• Among Green Trees: A Guide to Pleasant and Profitable Acquaintance with Familiar Trees by Julia Rogers (1902)
• Trees That Every Child Should Know: Easy Tree Studies for All Seasons of the Year by Julia Rogers (1909)
• The Secret Life of Trees by Colin Tudge
• A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America by Donald Culross Peattie
• A Natural History of Western Trees by Donald Culross Peattie

• Tree Identification Book: A New Method for the Practical Identification and Recognition of Trees by George Symonds
• The Sibley Guide to Trees by David Sibley -- Simply the best!
• Trees of North America (Golden Field Guide Series) by C. Frank Brockman
• Northwest Trees by Stephen Arno
• Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope by George Sudworth

Just for Fun

• The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet by Jim Robbins
• American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation by Eric Rutkow - How America's trees and forests shaped the nation.
• The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston
• The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant

Other helpful resources:

• How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook by Susan Leigh Tomlinson
• Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie
• New Eyes for Plants by Margaret Colquhoun
• Drawing from the Book of Nature by Dennis Klocek
• Draw 50 Flowers, Trees, and Other Plants by Lee Ames
• A Crow Doesn't Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry from Nature by Lorraine Ferra
• The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing by Christian McEwan, Mark Stratman
• Words in Place: Reconnecting with Nature Through Creative Writing by Paul Matthews

This was all hastily pulled together, a mere two weeks ago, because I was far too busy enjoying our summer break. There are a few small details that I'm still working on, but I'm mostly pleased with M's schedule this year. For the first time, she'll be my only student at home and she's quite excited about that!

Morning Work

• Morning Exercises and School Recreations by Charles W. Mickens
• Lives of the Saints for Everyday of the Year [Library of Catholic Devotions] 
• 'Round the Year with the Poets by Martha Capps Oliver
• The Gift of Music by Jane Stuart Smith
• A Book of Golden Deeds by Charlotte Yonge
• The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell
• Stories from Shakespeare by Marchette Chute
• Essays Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Mabie Wright

Religion

• Baltimore Catechism No. 2
• Bible History and Bible History Workbook 
• Introduction to the Bible by Fr. John Laux
• Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt 
• You Can Understand the Bible by Peter Kreeft
• Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Genesis and Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Exodus
• Walking the Bible: A Journey Through the Five Books of Moses + DVD by Bruce Feiler

Language Arts

• Lepanto Grammar [Voyages in English] 8
• Wordly Wise 5
• Writing With Skill
• Sing Me The Creation and Words in Place: Reconnecting with Nature Through Creative Writing - two amazing books by Paul Matthews
• How to Read a Book + DVDs
• Year-long poetry study (details TBA)

Memory work was selected from a list of "Poetry Suggested for Learning by Heart" in an 1897 pamphlet, "Stray Thoughts for Mothers and Teachers" by Lucy Soulsby.

Math

• Saxon Algebra 1/2

This program is brand new to us as we've been loyal Teaching Textbooks users over the years. However, M is excellent at Math, so I decided to go for something more rigorous this year.

History / Geography

• Connecting with History, Vol. 1: A Guide to Salvation History - Old Testament and Ancient Cultures Through 63 B.C. 
• The Old World and America by Bishop Furlong
• The Book of the Ancient World and The Book of the Ancient Greeks by Dorothy Mills
• Readings from Heritage History's Ancient Greece CD and Ancient Rome CD
• Map Trek: The Complete Collection

Additional Literature (+ 1 Novel Inquiry Guide per quarter):

• The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
• Gilgamesh by Bernarda Bryson
• Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green
• The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty
• Behold Your Queen! A Story of Esther by Gladys Malvern 
• Warrior Scarlet by Rosemary Sutcliff
• God King by Joanne Williamson 
• The Spartan by Caroline Dale Snedeker 
• The Foreigner: A Story of Ruth by Gladys Malvern 
• String, Straight-Edge and Shadow: The Story of Geometry 
• The Boys' and Girls' Herodotus 
• Lives from Plutarch by John McFarland, Pleasant and Audrey Graves
• Caesar's Gallic War by Olivia Coolidge
• The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Dale Snedeker

Foreign Language

• Getting Started with Latin by William Linney

Given that we've tried (and failed) to get into Latin a number of times, I thought this nice gentle approach might be just the thing we need.

Science

• Natural Science Through the Seasons by James A. Partridge

In addition to the seasonal nature studies suggested by Natural Science Through the Seasons, we'll be spending a year getting better acquainted with our local forest ecosystem. This includes an in-depth exploration of its plant life. Books on our shelf include an array of field guides (I  highly recommend Donald Culross Peattie's incredibly poetic classics, Flowering Earth, A Natural History of Western Trees and/or A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America) and many other assorted books which I'll be discussing in a separate post.