Artist Study and Nature Study Overlap with Audubon
Was John James Audubon a sketching naturalist or a nature loving artist?
Actually, his bird drawings were intended to be scientific sketches instead of art. But most people would agree that his careful observation of birds brought a realism and detail to his sketches that elevated them to the level of art.
If you chose Audubon for your Charlotte Mason styled artist study, be sure to incorporate what you learn about birds into your nature studies as well. Simply turn the focus of your nature walks to studying birds and make the most of your Audubon unit study.
Below are ideas, resources, and photos to inspire your study of Audubon.
Audubon's Birds
Audubon's Birds Of America
STEP ONE If you're going to study Audubon as an artist, you'll need access to several of his prints.
You can use the slideshow on this page. Here are some directions to make it easier to use the images. First click on the thumbnail you want. That will bring it up into the top spot. Then right click and select "copy image location." Then open a new tab on your browser and paste (Ctrl V) the copied address into the new tab. By following these steps, you'll have only the single image visible in that new tab.
Or use these other online resources:
- An online version of Audubon's Birds of America can be found at Audubon.org.
- Another online option is Audubon's Birds of America at the University of Pittsburgh.
- And, of course, Google Books has Audubon's The Birds of America available for full view.
Audubon's Birds Of America (Tiny Folio)
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 11/20/2009)
Planning Your Audubon Lessons
STEP TWO After you've selected some bird prints, find a suitable biography of Audubon - either an online version or one of the excellent books written especially for children.
Although a Charlotte Mason artist study does not have to incorporate the artist's biography, learning about Audubon will enrich your understanding of his bird prints and better enable you to make connections to your nature studies.
Additional Helps
- American Flamingo is a PDF from Picturing America. It includes a small image of the artwork plus background information and discussion questions.
- Famous Floridians has a section on Audubon -- a biography (web or PDF format), teacher notes, student questions, a map of FL, and a prereading guide.
- How Audubon Came to Know About Birds, a chapter from Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by Edward Eggleston (a book in the public domain)
A
udubon painted almost 500 species of the approximately 700 regularly occurring North American birds.
Boy Who Drew Birds
Picture Book Biography
Homeschool Share has an entire FREE unit study for this book.
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 11/20/2009)
I have this book. It's a beautifully illustrated picture book that tells the story of John James Audubon.
More John James Audubon Biographies for Children
Audubon: Painter of Birds in the Wild Frontier
a biography for grades 2-5
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream
a picture book biography for grades 3-5
Amazon Price: (as of 11/20/2009)
John James Audubon: Wildlife Artist (First Books - American Conservationists Series)
for ages 9-12
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
Audubon Printables
STEP THREE After reading about Audubon, have your child narrate back what he heard.
For narration you can use notebooking pages or minibooks. Or act out Audubon's life in role play! Do you have any bird puppets around your home? Pull them out and have fun.
- Snowy Heron Coloring Page
- Print this GIF image for a simple coloring page.
- Audubon Notebooking Pages Set
- I created these notebooking pages especially to go along with the picture book The Boy Who Drew Birds. The bird featured in the pages is the Pewee Flycatcher (also called the Eastern Phoebe), the bird that Audubon watched and banded to prove the homing behavior of birds.
- Free Bird Notebook Pages
- This set is from Notebooking Nook and will be a nice complement to your Audubon study.
- Peakmore Academy's Free Audubon Notebooking Page
- Number 30 on the list, this file is hosted at Mediafire.
- Backyard Birds Lapbook
- Free printables for making a lapbook all about the birds you see in your own backyard.
- The Great Backyard Bird Count Coloring Pages
- Four realistic bird images -- cardinal, woodpecker, robin, and chickadee.
- The Bird Coloring Book
A free PDF of images drawn by the noted bird artist and ornithologist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes.- Exploring Creation with Zoology Free Notebooking Pages
- Click on the red covers (large for proficient writers, small for younger children) for free notebooking pages to accompany Jeannie Fulbright's Exploring Creation curriculum. Even if you don't have this textbook, the notebooking pages can stand alone.
- Bird Minibook Templates
- These were designed by a mom as part of a Girl Scout badge program.
Trying Your Hand at Drawing Birds
STEP FOUR Then BE an Audubon! Go outdoors and watch the birds. Draw what you see and collect your drawings in a nature journal.
Act like Audubon, and on your next nature walk, take along some paper and pencils. Try to find a quiet place to sit and watch birds come near you. Sketch them as best as you can in their natural habitat. If you find their frequent motions makes them impossible to capture on paper, take a few photographs and try to draw in more detail at home. Or use a reference book that you already have on hand.Here are some tutorials and tips for drawing birds.
- Visual Manna's Audubon Page has some nice diagrams of Audubon's work with grid marks to help you sketch your own versions of the famous bird drawings.
- Draw Your World -- a swan
- How to Draw Birds for a Naturalist Journal
- How to Draw a Flamingo
- Video from Expert Village -- How to Draw a Bird's Wing
- Drawing Birds poster tutorial part 1, part 2, and part 3 -- These are retail, but click on the image to enlarge, and you can see the tips right on your screen.
Draw 50 Birds
Draw 50 Birds: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw Chickadees, Peacocks, Toucans, Mallards, and Many More of Our Feathered Friends (Draw 50 Series)
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
We have a couple of the Draw 50 Series. They are really great books -- realistic images with easy to duplicate lines. These books will really encourage your child to be a better artist.
More Audubon Ideas
- Harmony Art Mom
- Did you know that Charlotte Mason referenced John James Audubon in her writings? Read Barb's blog entry to read the quote.
- Free Bird Images
- Black and white collages of various birds, with names labeled. These two sheets would make nice nature journal pages.
More Artists for Study
Plus Some Great Books About Nature
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Cassatt Artist Study
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Mary Cassatt is an excellent choice for your homeschool artist study. She is one of the few women Impressionists, and commonly portrays domestic scenes of women and children. She was American by birth, but lived for much of her life in France, surro...
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Monet Artist Study
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Claude Monet is sure to be at the top of your homeschool artist study list! His paintings are everywhere and his contribution to art history is unparalleled. It is his own painting Impression-- Sunrise that gave Impressionism its name! Monet's subje...
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Picasso Artist Study
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Study the artwork of a modern artist whose very name has come to mean a masterpiece of art-- "a Picasso." If your children have been studying more traditional artists, the works of Picasso may be a most welcome change of style. Dabble into the arti...
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Vermeer Artist Study
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Vermeer is a rather mysterious artist. We have no portraits to tell us what he looked like. Even the facts of his life are few. We do know that he left only thirty-five paintings, and his creation of a few of them is still disputed. With little back...
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Nature Tales
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Of course, the best way to learn about nature is through first hand experiences. Nothing can substitute for a nature walk. But a living book with nature themes makes for a great read when you're not out exploring the woods or the beach. Fortunately f...
Audubon Guestbook
Your comments, relevant links, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.
(HTML is allowed.)
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- Michey Michey Jul 3, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
- This is a lovely lens, kids work is amazing, thanks
michey
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- C-Joy C-Joy Jun 3, 2009 @ 9:31 pm
- What a wonderful resource - thank you!
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen May 29, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
- Lovely lens. Audubon is one of my favorite people in history. His work was awesome.
5* and Lensroll to John James Audubon.
Lizzy
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- CCGAL CCGAL May 23, 2009 @ 6:38 pm
- Beautiful lens full of interesting and useful information! 5*!
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- EverythingMouse EverythingMouse May 22, 2009 @ 10:36 am
- Beautiful lens with so many excellent resources as always
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- Peggy707 Peggy707 May 10, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
- What a beautiful lens.
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- seashell2 seashell2 May 4, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
- Beautiful job... reminded me of my grandpa who loved birds, could name an amazing number of them! Thanks for this lens!
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- kiwisoutback kiwisoutback May 4, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
- Audubon made some of the most distinctive art of his era. I've always admired his work. His art looks great on some of the prints you can find online. Excellent job, Squid Angel blessed!
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- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda May 4, 2009 @ 10:19 am
- Nicely done & blessed by an Angel.
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- GrowWear GrowWear May 3, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
- Loved the slideshow, too. Loved the children's work, too. Very nice resource!
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by Jimmie
Hello! I am a homeschooling, stay at home mom who loves to teach and learn. I enjoy cooking from scratch, blogging, photography, and traveling, but I...
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