We decided to repeat last year’s Winter Challenge on a recent hike. This homeschool nature study is perfect for the season.
Our Winter Homeschool Nature Study
We had planned on leaving in the early afternoon but it actually started to rain so we postponed it for a few hours. The rain stopped eventually and it was amazing how beautiful everything was as we hiked along the trail.
The colors were vivid and we noticed a few outstanding things to share.
Green And Red In Nature
We found some beautiful green moss covering stones and trees. Isn’t so vibrant and bright? It stands out from the winter grey making it hard to pass by. If you come across some moss be sure to encourage your children to take a closer look through a magnifying glass.
Bright red berries on bushes along the way. Red berries add a splash of color to stark and frosty scenes when most of the trees have lost their leaves. They are a vital food source for animals and birds during these ‘hungry’ months. All the berries you see on your walk have grown and developed in autumn.
Interestingly, studies have shown that birds choose the order they eat the berries carefully to ensure that they have as much food as possible to last the winter.
Finally, we found some Manzanita wood. Isn’t it just so vividly red after it gets wet?
Finding green and red in our homeschool nature study was a wonderful way to blend learning with a celebration of the holiday season!
Here you will find some practical ideas for homeschool nature study in the city or in a small backyard. You will see just how much you can enjoy with your family!
I have been pondering over a question that someone asked about Outdoor Hour Challenge #10 from our free Getting Started in Homeschool Nature Study Guide. The commenter asked how I would suggest that they complete the challenges since they live in the middle of the city. I think you may have to be a little more diligent about your nature study but if you are up to the challenge I think it is well worth the effort.
Homeschool Nature Study in the City or in a Small Backyard
I live in an urban area. Can I still do this?
Whether your backyard is a rural patch, suburban yard, or a small city lot, you can participate in Green Hour activities and discoveries with your child. And if you don’t have a backyard, there most likely will be a nearby public park, community garden, nature center, or other green space accessible to you and your family. – Green Hour website
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How to Handle City Noise and Congestion During Nature Study
If you have trouble with noise, dogs, or traffic, try taking your walks at different times of day to see if it is any better. I know we live within earshot of a very busy highway. Sometimes I can hear the traffic clearly but at other times of day it is not even noticeable. We also live across the street from a school so during the weekday mornings and then during afternoon dismissal time, there is a lot more traffic and noise. We enjoy early mornings and early evenings relatively noise free.
How To Be Alert To Homeschool Nature Study Opportunities
Take advantage of any aspects of nature that you have on hand. The original commenter made reference to the wind blowing their napkins during their picnic. The wind could be a whole field of study during your nature time. Measure the speed, the direction, and the effects of the wind. Build on that for a study of the weather in your local area. Everyone has sky up above and you can watch the clouds and the sky each day as you go outside. I make it a habit to look up each time I go outside.
Make The Best of The Nature Surroundings You Have
Bugs were also mentioned in the question. Take a few minutes and observe the pesky little insects that disrupt your picnic. Each time you go out try to identify one insect and then record it in your nature journal. We focused on a study of insects last fall and I was surprised at how my attitude changed about them as the term went along. I was actually looking for insects by the time the nine weeks were up. If you have boys, insects may be just the ticket to their buying into a study of nature.
Adopt a Tree for Your City Nature Study
Adopt a tree in your neighborhood or a near-by park or near somewhere you go regularly like the library or the grocery store. Observe the tree each time you go by for changes and differences. You could start a year long tree study with the Outdoor Hour Challenge and this would be a great way to participate.
Set Up a Nature Study Habitat in the City
I know several city dwelling families that are able to put up a bird feeder outside a window in their apartment. You might be surprised at what you attract right to your own window.
Most big cities that I have been to have some sort of central park area that could provide a way to have a study of nature. Ducks, geese, or pigeons can usually be found in urban areas and are covered thoroughly in the Handbook of Nature Study. If there is a pond, look for tadpoles, turtles, or minnows. Study the plant life around the pond or the algae if there is any.
Notice the Trees
How about a collection of leaves? Leaves are something easy to collect and then press or make rubbings of when you get home. Collect leaves on your nature walk, while running errands, or anywhere else you visit during your regular travels.
Collect Seeds
You could do a study of seeds by saving seeds from your meals. Oranges, apples, tomatoes, grapes, watermelon, or any other seeds you come across can be examined and drawn into a nature notebook.
Here is an important quote from the book Last Child in the Woodsthat I think may be helpful. Read the entire quote and then think about somewhere you might have close at hand that can provide you and your family with a place to get to know even if at first it seems like an “empty” lot or a “weed patch” along the sidewalk of a city street.
” Your job isn’t to hit them with another Fine Educational Opportunity, but to turn them on to what a neat world we live in,” writes Deborah Churchman in the journal American Forests, published by the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization. She recommends re-creating all the dopey, fun things you did as a kid: “Take them down to the creek to skip rocks-and then show them what was hiding under those rocks. Take a walk after the rain and count worms…Turn on the porch light and watch the insects gather…..Go to a field (with shoes on) and watch the bees diving into the flowers.” Find a ravine, woods, a windbreak row of trees, a swamp, a pond, a vacant and overgrown lot-and go there, regularly. Churchman repeats an old Indian saying:“It’s better to know one mountain than to climb many.”
I love that saying. The Outdoor Hour Challengeswere started to do just that very thing: Get to know what you have close at hand, right outside your doorstep. I admit that for some this is more of a challenge but I know you can do it.
Maybe this will help those that are finding that the real challenge is to just find some sort of “green” to spend some time in. Keep me posted on how it is going for your family.
Join Our Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
You will find a continuing series of Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. Plus 25+ continuing courses with matching curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
Keeping a Nature Journal is a great homeschool nature study resource and contains a wealth of ideas that you can pick and choose to use as inspiration. This book is a tool like so many other tools we use in our family’s nature study.
Thisis a book that many of us own and is sitting on our shelf. It may also be a book that you have looked at online, have seen others using, or actually paged through at a bookstore. It is a familiar book that I have a love/hate relationship because of the perceived expectation that it creates for journalers.
Many of us struggle with perfection. We think that a nature journal should be a place of beauty and value…which I agree with wholeheartedly. But, it also can be a place that we experiment and mess up from time to time. A smear here or a misspelled word or funky drawing we don’t like can also appear on a nature journal page. Those “mess ups” shouldn’t keep us from striving to create pages on a regular basis.
Don’t let the great page examples overwhelm or discourage but allow them to create a reservoir of ideas to use over the years as you fill your journal.
Quick Thoughts About the Book
Note: page numbers are from the first edition
This is a book for all ages to use as they learn to keep a nature journal.
You will find ideas for using a nature journal in all curriculum areas on page 165 (A Curriculum Web for Nature Journaling).
The “Getting Started with Drawing” section (pages 139-153) would be a wonderful basis for an art course using nature as your subject.
I found the section titled, “Subjects to Observe, Draw, Record throughout the Seasons“, to be a wonderful inspiration and I intend to refer to it for my own use. Each season is listed in the chart along with ideas for drawing birds, animals, plants and trees, weather and sky, and seasonal celebrations.
***I see the second edition of this book has an expanded section showing more of Claire’s actual journal pages.
Keeping a Nature Journal by Claire Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth gives this long term nature journal mom some fresh ideas that I can’t wait to use in the upcoming summer season.
Nature Study in Your Own Backyard and Nature Journaling with Outdoor Hour Challenges
To get each Friday’s homeschool nature study Outdoor Hour Challenge and for access to a continuing series of new nature studies, join us in Homeschool Nature Study Membership. With homeschool nature study membership, you will have everything you need to bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool.
Use this bee balm herb nature study to learn all about how to grow this plant, its medicinal uses, its other names and more! Just one of a series in this herb homeschool nature study curriculum!
“The name ‘bee balm’ implies that the plant is attractive to bees. It is, but its long flower makes it less accessible to bees but easily accessible to hummingbirds.”
100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names
Outdoor Hour Challenge: Bee Balm Herb Nature Study
Read a little bit about bee balm using the links below.
Outdoor Hour Challenge! Please note that the challenge for cilantro is found in the sample for this curriculum. Your family is welcome to download the sample, use the suggestions for nature study, complete a notebook page for your nature journal, and perhaps even use the coloring page.
Get Your Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum Sample
Included in the new Herb Curriculum are eight brand new Outdoor Hour Challenges for you to complete as part of your nature study lessons with your children. These challenges are not based on information in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You will be using internet links and field guides to glean information about each topic.
This 49-page digital ebook curriculum has 8 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some popular and common herbs you can easily grow in your garden.
There are multiple custom notebooking pages for each of the topics. You can choose from simple notebook pages or more advanced notebooking pages.
There are 6 coloring pages.
Here are the specific topics included in the Herb Nature Study Curriculum ebook:
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these herb homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
This week we’ll be studying mint as part of the herb nature study series. This plant is an easy plant to grow for beginners and younger students.
Pictured above: Tricia’s family has several variety of volunteer, native mountain mint!
Outdoor Hour Challenge:Mint Herb Nature Study
Here are a few observation ideas for you to get started:
Note the mint’s square stalk and the opposite pair of aromatic leaves. Feel the stem. Crush the leaves between your fingers for a more intense scent. Does it smell like toothpaste?
Note the color and height of the stem.
Look at the leaves and observe the shape and veins. What is the texture of the leaf? Taste a few of the fresh leaves if possible.
Observe the flowers if they are present. What is their color and size? Do they have a fragrance? Did you see any insects on the plant or flowers? Bees, hover flies, and tachinid flies all are attracted to mint flowers.
Advanced Study: Grow and then study two kinds of mint. This link has a list of a variety of mints you could choose from: Mint Plant Varieties.
Remember that the rest of the challenge is available to members here on the Handbook of Nature Study.
Outdoor Hour Challenge! Please note that this challenge for cilantro is found in the sample for this ebook. Your family is welcome to download the sample, use the suggestions for nature study, complete a notebook page for your nature journal, and perhaps even use the coloring page.
Get Your Outdoor Hour Challenge Herb Nature Study eBook Sample
Included in the Herb Nature Study Homeschool Curriculum are eight Outdoor Hour Challenges for you to complete as part of your nature study lessons with your children. These challenges are not based on information in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You’ll be using internet links and field guides to glean information about each topic.
There are 6 coloring pages.
This 49-page digital ebook curriculum has 8 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some popular and common herbs you can easily grow in your garden.
There are multiple custom notebooking pages for each of the topics. You can choose from simple notebook pages or more advanced notebooking pages.
Here are the specific topics included in this Herbs Curriculum:
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these herb homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
Here we are at the start of another new series of nature study topics! For the next weeks, we’ll be studying common herbs that most families have used and may have access to in their gardens. Cilantro is one of my favorite culinary herbs, especially in Mexican food. It’s easy to grow, so look for it at your local garden nursery.
Cilantro Herb Nature Study
Brand New! Outdoor Hour Challenge! Please note that this challenge for cilantro is found in the sample for this ebook. Your family is welcome to download the sample, use the suggestions for nature study, complete a notebook page for your nature journal, and perhaps even use the coloring page.
Get Your Outdoor Hour Challenge Herb Nature Study eBook Sample
Here are some observation ideas from the Cilantro Herb Nature Study challenge
Observe your cilantro plant using all your senses.
Touch–Describe how the leaves feel? Is the stem stiff or bendable?
Fragrance–Smell the leaves. Crush a few leaves and note the difference in aroma. Do the flowers have a fragrance?
Sight-How tall is your plant? Note the shape of the leaves. Do you see any insects on your cilantro plant or flowers?
Taste-Rinse a few of the leaves and then taste them. It has been described as tasting “bright, lemony, or a little peppery”. What is your description of the taste?
Included in the Herb Nature Study Homeschool Curriculum are eight Outdoor Hour Challenges for you to complete as part of your nature study lessons with your children. These challenges are not based on information in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You’ll be using internet links and field guides to glean information about each topic.
This 49-page digital ebook curriculum has 8 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about some popular and common herbs you can easily grow in your garden.
There are multiple custom notebooking pages for each of the topics. You can choose from simple notebook pages or more advanced notebooking pages.
There are 6 coloring pages.
Here are the specific topics included in this Herbs Curriculum:
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these herb homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
The effort you put into creating outdoor space for creative play will be seen in your child’s happy face and heart. Time outdoors is essential to your child’s development. It is an investment in their mental and physical health.
“Indeed, research suggests that children, when left to their own devices, are drawn to the rough edges of such parks, the ravines and rocky inclines, the natural vegetation. A park may be neatly trimmed and landscaped, but the natural corners and edges where children once played can be lost in translation.” Last Child in the Woods, page 117
Last Child in the Woods is an important book and is on my summer reading list again. It is an easy read and each time I glean a few more points to apply to our family and refine my thinking about getting outdoors. Reaffirming my belief that all children need to be outdoors every day keeps me actively working on the Outdoor Hour Challenges and other related projects.
Being Drawn to the Edges: Outdoor Spacefor Creative Play
We are in the middle of planning a big front yard makeover and I have decided that for our family we will incorporate native plants, some rocky outcrops, and more shelter and food for the local wildlife. My boys are more interested in watching birds and animals than they are with a large expanse of grass. Our wild side has taught us this spring that we enjoyed observing the insects, flowers, and grasses more than we ever enjoyed the well manicured lawn.
Creating Outdoor Space for Creative Playfor Your Children
I once read a post written by a mom who had little by little converted her suburban backyard into a wild place for her children. Here are her ideas for creating outdoor space for creative play:
She brought in some rocks for lizards and insects to take shelter in.
She included a big log so the kids could watch the decomposition and the living creatures that lived in, under, and on the log.
She made a sand pile for digging with pails and shovels at the ready.
There were places to play in the hose and make mud.
It has always stuck with me that with a little effort on her part she offered a place with interesting and attractive edges for creative play even in a small backyard.
When my boys were young, we planted herbs, edible things like berries, and each child had their own garden box. We kept tree stumps for child size tables. We planted trees for climbing and swinging. On hot summer days we spread out blankets underneath the trees in the shade. Our current butterfly garden with its colorful flowers and bushes shelters not only insects but hummingbirds.
Allowing some room for exploring in our backyard has given us endless nature study opportunities as well as a place for the children to wander during their own time, to dream and play and wonder.
Look at the edges when creating outdoor space for creative play…..see if you can make some changes today.
Edit to add: I received a comment and some email about becoming a National Wildlife Federation Certified Habitat. We did that for our backyard some years ago and that is really what brought this sort of idea to my head in the very beginning. Now I am anxious to get started in the front yard.
Homeschool Nature Study Members enjoy a printable Wildlife Habitat Plan with the Requirements for a Certified Wildlife Habitat!
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these spring homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
Enjoy a rosemary herb study and learn about this popular culinary herb in the mint family used in many common dishes. Use your senses to discover more during your outdoor hour!
In many areas, the rosemary herb is a particularly popular landscape plant that is drought resistant. It is also used for herbal sachets, soaps, creams and lotions.
RosemaryHerb Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge
Inside Preparation:
This evergreen perennial shrub has opposite, leathery, narrow needle-like leaves. The leaves are dark green on top and downy white on the bottom. There is a prominent vein that runs down the middle of the leaf. The stem is woody. The fragrance is pungent and slightly pine-like.
The blossoms are pale blue and about a half inch long.
Outdoor Time: Use Your Senses To Learn About the Rosemary Plant:
Observe your rosemary plant using all your senses.
Touch– What do the leaves feel like? How would you describe the stem? Is the stem square?
Fragrance- Smell the leaves. Crush some leaves and see if you can tell the difference. Do the flowers have a fragrance?
Sight– How tall is the plant? How wide is your plant? Use your best description for the colors, shapes and sizes for your rosemary.
Taste– Taste the fresh leaves and then bring in some leaves to dry. Does the dry rosemary taste differently than the fresh?
Are there insects in your rosemary? Common insects are the honeybee and the spittle bug. See my entry showing spittle bugs on my rosemary: Up Close Insect Observations.
Does the plant grow mostly upward or outward?
Follow Up Rosemary Study
Create a nature journal entry for your rosemary plant. For beginners, keep it simple and include a sketch of your rosemary plant and a caption. There is a notebook page for members here on Homeschool Nature Study: Herb Study-Rosemary.Look for it the Herbs Course in your membership.
Bring a sprig or two inside for your nature table. If you have a mortar and pestle, let your children grind up the rosemary and have them describe the fragrance.
Advanced Study for Older or High School Students
Create a nature journal page to record the many uses of rosemary. More advanced students can include a sketch of the stem, leaf, and flower. Here is a link for your research: Uses and Benefits of Rosemary.
Long Term Rosemary Project
Potted Rosemary can be a long term garden project for even a young child. Look for a small rosemary plant at your local garden nursery. Rosemary likes lots of sun so find a sunny windowsill if you are not planting it outdoors.
Rosemary can take a bit of snow but it doesn’t do well where it has long days of cold and/or freezing. Rosemary is usually grown from a cutting and not from seeds. Here is some information on growing rosemary from a cutting: How to Propagate Rosemary (with images).
Recipes With Rosemary to Try:
Grilled Bread with Rosemary Dipping Oil:This is amazing! Super simple and even if you don’t grill your bread but still dip it in the flavored oil it will be a treat.
This Herbs course in Homeschool Nature Study membership includes:
Outdoor Hour Challenge printable curriculum
Herb Study Planner Page
Resource and Supplies List
Herb Study Planning Page
Instructions For Using The Herbs Curriculum
Planting Herbs to Attract Insects
Herbs in a Child’s Garden
Herbs from Renee’s Garden
Notebook Pages: Regular and Advanced Versions
Coloring Pages
Outdoor Hour Challenges Included:
Cilantro
Basil
Bee Balm
Oregano
Dill
Thyme
Sage
Mint
Bonus: Rosemary
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these spring homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
Creating an edible garden can make even the fussiest of kids happier! Tips for kids helping to grow edibles in the garden.
I think I forgot the sounds that come in open windows in the mornings and evenings. Winter requires the house to be shut up too much but with open windows I woke this morning to a an owl hooting in the neighbor’s tree.
“I’m awake! You Too!” he was calling.
What a great sound and it makes me wonder what all I have been missing closed up in the house for the winter.
This evening I am hearing crickets for the first time and the call of the tree frogs from across the street. It makes me happy to think we have reached the point where we can have open windows and doors to bring a little of nature back into our house. The mosquitoes are buzzing tonight too….found one in my bedroom and had to give him a swat. Now that I could do without.
We are busy working on weeding the garden walkways and preparing beds for seeds. This is a joyful, hopeful time. Our Garden and Garden Flowers Outdoor Hour Challenge courses include choosing and planting flower seeds and I thought our family might include that as part of our first challenge for the month of May. (With membership, you will have that challenge and corresponding notebook pages to go along with it.) There is much to learn about seeds as well.
Creating an Edible Garden: Gardening with Children
In the meantime, I thought I could share a little of the edibles in our garden landscaping. We try to mix edible plants with our flowers so we can harvest a little homegrown yummy-ness when the time comes. It also is such a treat to have a little handful of something each afternoon when we are outside…a couple of blueberries, a strawberry, or a grape popped in the mouth make even the fussiest of kids happier when they are helping to work in the garden. (You can read more of my tips for nature study and gardening with very young children).
The blueberry bushes really are not all that happy looking. They are all covered in fresh green leaves but I am needing to read up on what a blueberry needs to really get established. I seem to remember something about how they like a pine needle mulch.
Crop Plant: Growing Strawberries in Your Edible Garden
Mr. A’s strawberries are looking incredible and there are dozens of blossoms and little baby strawberries filling the box. These are an easy crop to get started and we purchased ever-bearing and June bearing plants so we will have a longer harvest. (There is a challenge for strawberries if you are interested.)
Pears Nature Study
We were very surprised to see so many blossoms on the pear tree this year. We had pruned it way back to keep it out of the neighbor’s yard and this seems to have been agreeable to the tree. We might get a dozen pears this year….well, we can hope for that.
Figs….does anyone really like figs? This tree was here when we moved in 25 years ago and we have tried to cut it down several times, just to have it grow back more lush than ever. We have finally come to grips with it and we share the fruits with those in our lives who enjoy them. The birds like them too so I guess it is worth the mess.
Crop Plant: Tomato Nature Study in Your Edible Garden
Tomato in a pot to cover the ugly stump….sounds like a good idea and if it doesn’t do well we can always move it. We also have seedless grapes planted there on the fence to shield the ugly propane tank from view when we are sitting on the back deck. They vines get so green and climb all over, producing little sweet bites to nibble when I am out in the back watering in the hot summer sun. (There is a challenge for tomatoes if you are interested.) Do you have a place for a tomato in a pot?
Bats Nature Study
Another reminder to us: Keep the back door closed in the evenings. This bat made its way INTO the house last week. The cat may have brought it inside but we aren’t entirely sure. We had a comedy act going on trying to get it to fly back outside. My boys ran and got the butterfly net and we were able to get him in the corner and inside the net.
He really calmed down and just hung in the net long enough for us to get a good look at him. We released him outside and he fly away so gracefully. (There is a challenge for bats if you are interested.)
We are ready to start doing some nature study and the boys have been discussing what subjects we will study for the month as part of the new format of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Don’t forget you can pick from any of the topics: wildflowers, garden flowers, birds, and/or mammals. You can chose one from each category or stick with one topic and study four of them in a row. Please feel free to make the challenges work and build on interest you find with your children.
Gardening Projects for Kids – Gardening Projects for Kids by Whitney Cohen and John Fisher is much more than a “how to” garden book. It is more than suggestions for getting started with gardening with your children. It is in fact a book that encourages a gardening way of life..spending lots of time with your children in the outdoors in your backyard working and playing together. I love this message found throughout the book.
100+ Ideas to Use in Creating a Backyard Habitat – Here are 100+ ideas to use in creating your backyard habitat! This list is for all of us to use in creating a backyard habitat designed to attract birds, bees, and butterflies. I’ve heard from so many of my readers that they think their backyard space is boring or nothing out of the ordinary.
How to Create a Winter Garden with Shelter for Wildlife – Here are a few of the ways we keep our yard as a wildlife habitat in winter. We have structured our garden to help encourage wildlife to visit all year long. Create a Winter Garden and add shelter for wildlife with these easy and effective resources and tips.
Planting a Rainbow Book Activities: Flower Craft and Nature Game – This book is a fun way to introduce children to gardening. Each page has vibrant illustrations of bulbs and flowers. Children can see how different plants and flowers come in all different colors—-all the colors of the rainbow.
Best Tips for Starting Seeds for a Flower Garden – Growing plants from seeds is easy! Here are the best tips for starting seeds for a flower garden. If you are new to gardening and need some tips, I will give you some step-by-step instructions.
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these spring homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
It is very important for those of us who take our children out into the woods for nature study to be able to recognize poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.
Where we live we have an abundance of poison oak and this time of the year it is actually very pretty and easy to identify. I know in other parts of the country there is poison ivy and poison sumac as well.
Identifying Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac
This video does a great job of explaining everything you should know before you take a walk in the woods and potentially come into contact with poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac. Knowledge is always a good thing.
Poison Oak First Aid Tips
My husband says that in his job as a wildland firefighter, they use Tecnu after any exposure. We are going to get some and have it on hand for those times we think we may have come into contact with poison oak. I would hate for you to unknowingly expose anyone to something potentially dangerous. On the other hand, don’t get too worried either.
Just remember the “leaves of three, let it be” rule and you should do a good job of avoiding contact.
We have had our share of poison oak rashes in our family and I think most of our exposure comes from our family pets. Don’t miss that part of the video.
Poison Oak Nature Study: Creepy Things Curriculum
Homeschool Nature Study members enjoy a course fills with fun topics to explore. In the Creepy Things curriculum, you can take a deep dive into Leaves of Three Awareness Study with Poison Oak. Filled with
resources
a printable information sheet
Outdoor Hour time suggestions
information on birds and animals that eat the poison plant and its berries
first aid information on exposure
notebooking pages for follow up journaling activities
Advanced studies: creating a nature journal about poisonous plants (includes a printable)
Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support
Can you believe all of these spring homeschool resources you will find in membership? You will also find a continuing homeschool nature study series plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!
