Using “Sing a Song of Seasons” Within the Abiding Wild Curriculum
There’s something deeply grounding about opening a book of poetry and letting the words settle into your day like a soft hush. Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year is one of those rare books that slows you down, draws your gaze toward beauty, and reminds you and your children to savor the present moment. In the Abiding Wild curriculum, we’ve intentionally woven this poetry collection into our rhythm, not just as a lovely extra, but as a way to cultivate wonder, presence, and a relationship with the natural world.
Why We Chose Sing a Song of Seasons
Nature study is at the heart of Abiding Wild. But nature isn’t only to be observed with the eyes—it’s meant to be felt, experienced, and sometimes even sung. Poetry gives language to what a child might feel when watching a fox slip through morning mist or when noticing frost lace the edges of a leaf.
This anthology, curated by Fiona Waters and beautifully illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, provides a poem for every single day of the year. Some are playful, some reverent, some humorous, some hushed—but all are tied to the turning of the seasons. It’s a rich pairing with our nature study themes, whether you’re deep in a unit on migration, seeds, hibernation, or wildflowers.
How to Use It in Your Daily Rhythm
In the Abiding Wild lesson flow, we suggest a weekly poem (often) from this book, to be read alongside the weekly topic.
That said, Sing a Song of Seasons also makes a beautiful daily read-aloud, and we recommend enjoying the day’s poem during your Morning Time. There’s no need to analyze or break it down—just let it be what it is: a breath, a pause, a simple moment of noticing.
You might:
Read it aloud slowly and let the words hang in the air.
Ask your child what image or feeling it brought to mind.
Invite older children to copy it in their nature journals or write a response.
Return to favorite poems again when they match the weather or mood outside your window.
Connecting It to Your Nature Study
Let’s say you’re in a week focused on birdsong or tree buds. The poem for that day might mention robins, breezes, or rain. Let it be a springboard. Ask, “Do we hear those sounds here today?” or “Can we find what the poet saw?” This gentle prompting keeps your child in a posture of observation—something central to both poetry and nature study.
If the daily poem doesn’t match your topic, that’s okay too. Sometimes the contrast invites curiosity. Why is today’s poem about autumn when everything around us is green and buzzing? That tension itself can stir deeper reflection on place, time, and change.
Seasonal Anchoring for the Heart
The slow repetition of daily poetry forms a rhythm that becomes part of your home. Children begin to anticipate it, to look forward to it, to remember certain lines and request favorite days. Over time, they start to associate the passage of months not just with holidays or weather, but with language and imagery—fireflies in July, the scent of earth in April, the stillness of December twilight.
And perhaps most beautifully, you’ll find that this simple practice helps anchor you as the guide and mother and teacher. When the day feels rushed or distracted, pausing to read a poem brings everyone back to center.
A Gentle Invitation
We didn’t include Sing a Song of Seasons in Abiding Wild as an obligation—we included it as a gift. A gentle invitation to slow down, to breathe, and to behold. In a world that moves too fast, it offers a whisper of peace. A way of saying, “Look. Listen. Notice the goodness of God.”
Each week, the selected poems from Sing a Song of Seasons align with our Abiding Wild topics, drawing attention to the rhythms of nature that reflect the intentionality of the Creator. Whether we’re studying seeds, migration, or snowfall, these verses help us pause and see God’s handiwork with fresh eyes.
So if you’re wondering how poetry fits into your homeschool day, start here. Open the book. Read the poem for today. Let it speak to your heart and shape how you see the world just outside your door. Let your children watch you marvel.
Because in the end, this journey is not just about gaining knowledge—it’s about forming hearts that are tuned to wonder, worship, and the wild beauty of God’s creation.
If you don’t yet own Sing a Song of Seasons, it’s one of those books you’ll return to year after year. Keep it on the table. Leave it open. Let it become part of the landscape of your days.
Just so you know—this post includes Amazon affiliate links. If you shop through them, Abiding Wild may earn a small commission (think nature walk snacks), at no extra cost to you!
