Keeping Company :: March Invitation

Have you all checked out the February Keeping Company link-up lately?  So much inspiration both for those of us already Keeping and those itching to start.  Please do go and take a look!

Monthly Feature

This month, I'd like to spotlight some ideas from Hwee at the Tiger Chronicle, who shared Foreigners are Everywhere.  She and her family have committed to keeping "firsts" this year, and they are doing a wonderful job!

I so enjoy reading her nature study observations and then seeing how those observations get put onto the page.  On their rural (and not-so-rural) walks lately, they have made lots of nature discoveries.  From squirrels and deer to a few foreign finds...

You'll have to click over to read the details!  And while you're there, you'll see examples from her and her son's nature Keeping.  I particularly admire her melding of Book of Firsts and nature journal--both lovely and functional.

Speaking of, spring officially begins this month!  (Or autumn, for all of you down under. :))  The change in seasons makes this a great time to start a Book of Firsts if you haven't already.  It can be as simple as notes scrawled in the back of your nature journal, or you can grab a pre-dated agenda (like Hwee has!), or you can make a mostly-blank "nature calendar" like I did a couple years ago.

The Handbook of Nature Study blog newsletter for this month featured our family's Calendar of Firsts, so if you want to read more about how we set it up, go and download your copy of the March newsletter.  (I also have our format available as a free download.)  And in the newsletter, Barb has a chart format available to print, if you prefer that.  So many easy options--just print and begin recording!

I know several of you have already begun Keeping firsts this year in one form or another, so...

For this month's optional prompt

Share a peek into your Book of Firsts!  How is yours arranged?  Is it a family or personal project?

If you have been keeping one for a while, how has your Calendar of Firsts made a difference in your nature studies?  If you're just beginning, what sights have you noted so far this late winter?

I'll be back here next Tuesday, March 10th, to post the link-up.  In the meantime, the February link-up will still be active until then, so feel free to continue sharing your posts there.