Barb, Author at Homeschool Nature Study

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Barb — 9 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival-January 2010 Edition

Welcome to the very first ever Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival!

I hope you are encouraged and inspired by all the entries that were shared in this special debut blog carnival. Please feel free to leave comments on any blogs you visit. We all know how encouraging it is to have other nature loving families comment on our experiences. Enjoy the carnival!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #1 and #2

Maria shares on her blog, Dirt Under My Fingernails, their very first Outdoor Hour Challenge. They were very happy to be Getting Outside.

Holli from Settled in my Home is just getting started with the Outdoor Hour Challenges and she wants to share their nature study time from Challenge #1, which includes a mouse, and Challenge #2 as well.

Quinn shares their first Outdoor Hour Challenge entry on her blog, On Just A Couple Acres. You are going to *love* her photos!

Photo from Michelle’s blog Delightful Learning

Winter Study of Cattails (Winter Series #1)

Michelle from Delightful Learning shares their wonderful entry for winter cattails. Theyfound a few surprises on their Outdoor Hour time as well. Don’t miss reading about their wonderful cattail experiment!

Angie shares their cattail study on her blog The One Thing. They had quite an adventure.

Kellie at the Blue House Academy shares their cattail entry…don’t miss the photos!

Amy at Together for a Reason shares their wonderful cattail nature study which was so much more than just cattails! Great job getting all those troops outdoors this week!

Michelle H. from Urban Cottage Homeschool shares their cattail entry which also included a little cross-country skiing! Love this idea!

Alex shares their family’s cattail entry on their Serendipity Homeschool blog.

Winter Tree Entries (Winter Series #2)

Michelle from Delightful Learning shares their family’s study of two trees, the flowering crab apple and the willow tree in their yard. Don’t miss their wonderful nature journals.

Kelsey shares their winter tree study on her blog Mud Puddles.

Amy at Together for a Reason shares their family’s fantastic tree study along with their nature journals.

Sarah shares their winter study of their dogwood tree on her blog: Sunshine Daydream. She has some unidentified creatures living on her tree if you would care to help identify them.

Angie shares the beginning of their year-long tree study. They also picked a dogwood! Here is her entry on The One Thing.

“There is no prettier story among the flowers than that of the bracts of the dogwood, and it is a subject for investigation which any child can work out for himself.”
Handbook of Nature Study page 680

Don’t forget to check in the Handbook of Nature Study for more about the winter tree that you study. The HNS has many common trees and lots of great ideas to use to study your focus tree.

Winter Sky (Winter Series #3)

Desiree from As Long As It Takes shares their very first Outdoor Hour Challenge entry. They had a fantastic time outdoors looking at the moon and stars!

Rachel blogs at United for Christ about their winter sky and stars study. They share how they have become familiar with their Texas winter sky.

Winter Wednesday Entries

Samantha‘s family completed a winter color walk and they share their entry on their blog, To Be Busy at Home. This is a very easy winter nature study to complete on the spur of the moment.

Michelle wrote about their winter journals and making winter nature observations on her blog, Delightful Learning. They also completed Winter Wednesday #1 here on this entry: World of Winter.

Andi at The Learning Pomegranate shares their wonderful winter bird study.

Angie at The One Thing shares their study of winter ice. This is a fantastic way to conduct nature study in the winter.

Martha and her family were also focusing on winter birds…especially migration. Read her entry at Sunrise to Sunset.

Andi has another entry to share on her blog The Learning Pomegranate. This time it is for their Winter Mammal study.

Aurora from Knitting Longies wants to share their first Winter Wednesday challenge where they went out looking for colors.

Michelle from Delightful Learning shares their Winter Weeds in a perfectly lovely entry…gorgeous photos!

What a great carnival!

Thanks to everyone for all the entries and photos and participation. Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries and your Winter Wednesday entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be February 26th and all entries from February are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK .

Just for fun I will give you the link to all of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Photos of the Week on Flickr in a slideshow. It is hard to believe that in a few short weeks we will be marking our second year anniversary of the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Photos of the Week Slideshow

I enjoyed remembering all the great families that have participated over the years. I think I have watched some of your children grow up over the last two years.

Thanks again,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Barb — 3 Comments

Bright Shiny Day Snowshoe Hike

The sun was out and we jumped on the chance to go to the snow for some fun and refreshment.

Let’s just say it was breathtaking….far too awesome for words.
(Not sure if you are on an email subscription if the video shows up, but you can click over to my blog and view a 30 second video of the landscape.)

It was so quiet and we had the whole place to ourselves. This is the best kind of hike…time to enjoy the quiet and the beauty. Look at those cattails. It reminds me that in the summer this place is hopping with red-winged blackbirds and egrets. This day we saw nuthatches, mountain chickadees, and a raven. It was surprisingly quiet.

The beavers have actually dammed up the regular waterway and it is now flowing around the right side instead of straight through. Fascinating.

Some of the creek is actually all covered over with snow…you can see openings where the water is frozen over. As many years as we have been coming here in the winter, we have never seen this before.

Not very many tracks in the snow this time…

As usual, we end up spreading out and just taking the trail at our own pace. We are usually all within eyesight of each other but keeping a nice distance in between.

As much as I hate to miss a day of regular schoolwork, we really needed this day to wander out in the sunshine and fresh air.

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Winter Series #4 Winter Weather

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Weather

Winter weather is usually pretty interesting to children. Observing snow, ice, rain, fog, hail, or just feeling the cooler air is enough to get them interested in going outdoors for this week’s nature study challenge.

I have a vivid memory from my childhood of taking a walk in a raging downpour. I challenge you to experience your weather outdoors at least for a few minutes this week. Properly dressed, your children might just make a fond memory of their own.

“There is no reason why the child’s winter walk should not be as fertile in observations as the poet’s; indeed, in one way, it is possible to see the more in winter, because the things to be seen do not crowd each other out.”
Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 86

Inside Preparation Work:
You can read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on water forms to arm yourself with some basic weather information. Pages 808 to 814 have lots of fun ideas for learning about different aspects of our winter weather.

Optional Inside Preparation Work:
More ideas for winter weather study are found in chapter two of Discover Nature in Winter. There are so many great ideas for studying snow in this chapter that you will find at least two or three that you would like to try with your family. Use your highlighter or sticky notes to mark the places that you find with interesting information or ideas for including in your winter nature study.

Check out the Winter Wednesday entry from last year to glean some ideas for your Winter Weather study: Winter Snow.

Outdoor Hour Time:
This week you can use your time to enjoy the winter weather in your backyard. If you have chosen some weather related activities to complete outdoors, make sure you bring any items you need for your study. You may wish to bring along your weather notebook page or your nature journal with pencils to take a few minutes of your outdoor time to record the weather conditions. If your children are enjoying their time outdoors, you probably want to wait until you go back inside to talk about the weather.

Follow-Up Activity:
Be sure to complete your Seasonal Weather notebook page. You could talk about the differences between what you observed in autumn and those things you recorded this time.

How is the scene you drew this week different from the autumn scene?
How are the temperatures different?
Is there a difference in the number of hours of daylight?

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Barb — 4 Comments

Winter Series #3 – Winter Sky

We have had nothing but cloudy, rainy, snowy weather since this challenge was posted. There has been no opportunity for much stargazing or moon watching. But, my son noticed this beautiful sunset a few weeks ago and we both had a grand time taking photos of the ever changing light and color.

He took just as many photos as I did I am sure of it. We both remarked that you really need to be watchful for opportunities like this one because they don’t happen every day.

What a wonderful way to marvel at the gifts we have in the every day if we are open to seeing them.

Here is a moon shot we have from a few days ago at sunset. We have some clear weather in the forecast so we hope to get out past sunset and work on our constellations.

We are prepared.

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Barb — 6 Comments

Winter Hike to the River

Before all our rain and snow, we had the opportunity to visit one of our favorite spots on the river.

We chose the Long Valley Trail this time which is a little less than two miles down to the river. It is a long sloping walk so it is very enjoyable even on a chilly, hazy day.

The first thing we noticed was that their were many brown cattails along the trail where there is a little creek running. Of course we had to stop and take a look.

You see right where the water runs because the cattails are growing along the edges of the creek.

About half-way to the river, there is an old homestead with some lovely old oaks. The tree swallows were swarming in the tops of the trees and we enjoyed stopping to watch them and listen for a few minutes. I love the silhouettes of the winter oaks.

The greens and reds on this rock caught my attention and I loved the composition of the various mosses, lichens, and plants growing together on the rock. Very pretty.

Once we reached the river, the kids and our dog were all off and running. Some climbed rocks, some skipped rocks on the water, the dog went swimming for sticks and I spent some time enjoying the reflections and ripples in this little eddy off the main part of the river.

How do these trees grow so large out of the middle of a huge rock? Perseverance.

Eventually we all sat at the river’s edge and watched the water flow by on its way down the mountain. This is the American River where gold was discovered in 1848. We all joke about someday finding a gold nugget along the edge but for now we are content to marvel at all the different types of rock found all together in one spot.

One last photo to share of our day. Winter weeds can be quite lovely if you really take a look at them. I found these growing on the edge of the water and with the nice backdrop, it makes for a nice photo.

Well, there are a few of our experiences from last weekend. What started out as a chilly, dreary day turned out to be quite refreshing. We headed home hungry so I was glad I had planned a big spaghetti dinner.

If you are looking for some winter nature study ideas, you may want to check out the entry I wrote last year giving some simple ideas for winter nature study…most indoors.

Winter Nature Study-Taking it Inside

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Barb — 8 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series #3 Winter Sky and Stars

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Sky and Stars

Inside Preparation Work:
There is a section starting on page 823 on the Winter Stars. The clear explanations of the constellations in the Handbook of Nature Study make it an excellent first resource for families. For example: The lessons on page 820 explaining the North Star and the Big Dipper are clearly put down for anyone to follow and are timeless. The language used in the Handbook of Nature Study makes it enjoyable to read.

“After the polar constellations are learned, we are then ready for further study in the still earlier evenings of winter, when the clear atmosphere makes the stars seem more alive, more sparkling, and more beautiful than at any other period of the year.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 823

“Orion is one of the most beautiful constellations in the heavens. It is especially marked by the three stars which form Orion’s belt, and the line of stars below the belt which form the sword.”
Handbook of Nature Study page 825

Read pages 823-829 in the Handbook of Nature Study. These pages outline a study of the winter stars along with some ideas for observations and activities.

Read pages 855-859 in the Handbook of Nature Study. This section on our moon is a delightful lesson showing some basic facts about the moon and its make-up. On page 858 there are 16 suggestions for observing the moon. If you purchased the Winter Nature Study ebook, you may wish to print out and take the Moon Observation Notebook Page so you can record your nightly moon observations this month. Otherwise, you can record your observations in your nature journal.

Additional Preparation Work:
Read chapter three in Discover Nature in Winter. Read the chapter with a view to picking some winter stars to learn about and observe as a family. Start with the North Star or Orion’s belt if you are not sure what you are doing yet. You can also choose to view the moon in the winter sky. Please note this link to Amazon is an affiliate link.

Page 37 give this advice, “Unlike owls and other nocturnal creatures, our eyes are not well designed for seeing in the dark. After leaving a lighted building at night, it takes about thirty minutes for our eyes to become adjusted to the lower light levels.” Allow plenty of time for your eyes to adjust and to take in the night sky.

Our family decided to make sure we can find these four constellations in the winter sky:

Big Dipper (North Star as well) page 44
Ursa Major page 45
Cassiopeia page 47
Orion (using Orion’s belt) page 49

Outdoor Hour Time:
Use your outdoor time this week or any week this month to observe the stars and moon. Our family bundles up with blankets to observe the winter sky. We use our binoculars to observe the moon especially when it is full or near to being full.

If you can’t fit in some night time star gazing, how about some sunset observations? Being able to name a star or constellation is a great skill but it can be just as satisfying to spend some time contemplating the universe while gazing up at the winter sky.

Follow-Up Activities:
Follow up with the notebook pages (Winter Sky and Moon Observations) in my Winter Nature Study ebook or with any of the general notebook page from my Freebies Page. You can also record your observations and thoughts in a blank journal of your choice. Star gazing is something you can do at any time of the year and we try to make it a habit in our family to observe the moon as it makes its full cycle.

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Barb — 4 Comments

Winter Tree Study: Tuliptree

We completed our Winter Tree Study a few days ago before all the rains started. Last fall we chose our Tulip tree or Tulip Poplar to observe in every season for the next year. It is the tallest tree in our front yard. It lost quite a few branches during our December snowstorm so it has a little different shape than it did back in October.

There are virtually no leaves left on the tree at this point.

The boys noted that there are still a million helicopter type seeds left on the tree.

The ground under the tree is covered in seeds. The boys are going to sketch some of the seeds into their nature journals.

Mr. A wanted me to note that he had to spend the better part of an afternoon last week cleaning out the rain gutters and downspouts and the bulk of the mess was from this tree with its helicopter seeds. They are just thin enough to sift through the screens over the rain gutter.

Here is a small cluster of the seeds on the ground under the tree. We noted they look like wooden flowers.

The most interesting part of our winter tree study is the moss and lichen growing on the trunk. It is really noticeable now that the tree is bare. We took a few minutes to observe the moss. Words like soft, fluffy, bright green, and spongy were used to describe the moss. It is most definitely more prominent in the winter and far greener than the fall.

Here is a link to our Fall Tree Study so we can compare the two seasons. What a difference! Now we will wait until spring to make our official study of the changes in this great tree in our yard.

As a sidenote…

Here is something that made me smile. Look at those bulbs peeking out of the ground already! I know that underneath the ground there are dozens and dozens of bulbs just waiting to pop out in flowers before long now.

Hope you get to your Winter Tree Study soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series #2 Winter Tree Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:
Now that winter is upon us, let’s take this week and observe the tree we chose last autumn to study during each of the four seasons. This week you will use the suggestions on pages 624-625 of the Handbook of Nature Study to make general winter observations of your tree. You may wish to read through the suggested ideas for studying your tree before heading outdoors so you will have those in mind. If you started a year-long tree study a few months ago during the Autumn Series of challenges, you may want to pull out your nature journal and refresh your memory about your particular tree. Hopefully when you go outdoors you will observe some big changes.

Also, if you have the Discover Nature in Winter book, turn to pages 76-81 for valuable information on branch patterns, tree silhouettes, twigs, and seed containers.

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take your 10-15 minute outdoor time to study your tree. If you are just starting out with a tree study, pick a tree from your yard that you can watch through all four seasons. Have your children make as many observations as possible, perhaps comparing the appearance to how it was during autumn. Another way to record your tree changes is to take photographs in every season. This makes for a very easy nature journal entry once you get back indoors. If your weather is too cold or snowy to go outdoors, you can pick a tree to observe from your window or you can bring in a twig or cone to study from your tree instead.

Simple Suggestions for Winter Tree Study:
1. Pick a tree in your yard or on your street and view its branch patterns and silhouette.
2. Find a tree that has lost its leaves and sketch its shape in your nature journal. This activity can be done from a window if your weather is too cold or snowy.
3. Collect some seeds from trees that may still be left over from last season. Look for sweet gum, locust, yellow poplar, ash, mimosa, or sycamore.
4. Collect twigs from different trees and compare them.

Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, complete a nature journal entry. If you purchased the Winter Nature Study ebook you will have a custom notebook page or there are several free alternatives by using a general notebook page from the sidebar of my blog, the original Seasonal Tree notebook page, or your own blank journal. You can take photos of your tree to put in your nature journal as well. The Handbook of Nature Study suggests sketching your tree to show its shape as it stands bare. File your nature journal page as a record of the season.

Additional Project:
Anna Botsford Comstock in the Handbook of Nature Study suggests on page 624 to take a twig from your tree in February and look at it carefully. She suggests placing the twig in a vase of water and then leaving it in a warm, light place and see what happens to the buds.

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Barb — 3 Comments

Winter Cattails-Surprised Again!

We started our cattail study last fall with this entry: Cattails in Autumn.

We had two locations to visit for this study….one within walking distance and another up on our regular walking trail on the other side of town.

Here are the cattails near our house.

Our cattails are starting to look a little ragged. The water that was there in the fall has now completely dried up. The stalks of the cattails are dry, stiff, and hard. The leaves are stiff as well.

Here is our cattail area that is along our walking trail. I think that someone came and cut a lot of the actual cattails. Even thought they are still growing in water, the leaves and stems are all brown and stiff.

There is still a little water in this area that flows down to a creek. We all noticed that the water was a little smelly this time of year….hmmmm. We enjoyed having a purpose to our walk today and it was nice to focus on something other than the cold air. 🙂

The other interesting thing that we noted on this walk was that there were lots of mushrooms growing. Here are three different kinds that we stopped and looked at.

There were lots of this kind pushing up through the leaves.

There were some that were really white.

Then we saw this cute little yellow mushroom.

We are off to another hike today but this time down to the river. We will keep our eyes out for anything interesting.

Hope you get a chance to look for your cattails.

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Barb — 12 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series: Cattails in Winter

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Cattail Study-Winter

Inside Preparation Work:
Read the section on cattails in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 500-503. Pay close attention to suggestion #7 on page 502. If you completed an autumn cattail study, you may wish to pull out your nature journal page and refresh your memory with how your cattail looked a few months ago.

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take your Outdoor Hour Time and visit your cattail location if possible. Many of us were surprised that we actually had cattails close to our homes and it will be fun to revisit the area now that winter is upon us. (If you do not have cattails in your neighborhood, see the alternate activity below.)

You may wish to take along your nature journal or your camera to record how your cattails look during the winter. Use your best observation skills and observe as much about your cattail as possible.

You might include:

Is your cattail still growing in water or has it dried up?
What does the “cattail” parts of the plant look like now?
What color and shape are the leaves?
Do you see the cattails seeds or balloons?
Can you pull some of the fuzz from the cattail and observe it more closely?
How do you think the seeds spread, by wind or water?
How crowded are the cattails growing together?

Follow-Up Activity:
Follow up your outdoor time with a chance to draw the cattail in the nature journal. You can use the notebook page I created for the Winter Series (available only with the ebook or notebooking page purchase-see link below), the notebook page from Autumn, a blank page in your journal, or any other general notebook page listed on my sidebar of my blog.

Alternate Study:
If you don’t have a cattail study started or you do not have cattails in your area, you can choose another plant to observe over the course of a year if you would like. Just about any plant would make a great subject if you observe it closely. The idea is to start to see how the seasons and plants change around you.

Author: Barb