Barb, Author at Homeschool Nature Study

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Observer -February 2019

The month of February has brought with it a lot of SNOW! We haven’t thawed out completely since the beginning of the snow storms. There have been a few days of sunshine but the temperatures have been very cold; cold enough to keep the snow and ice piled up outside our door.

We’ve been trying to keep up with the birds that visit our feeders as part of Project Feederwatch and also during the Great Backyard Bird Count. From what I can observe, not only have there been fewer bird species but even the numbers of those birds has decreased. Some days I only see a handful of birds….far less than this same time period last year. Because we haven’t lived here very long, it’s hard to know if this is an unusual year or not. We’ll keep a detailed record of our observations and see how the year progresses.

I’ve kept up with my daily nature journal notes with our temperatures, snow amounts, and other interesting details from our observations. These simple notes help record just a little more thorough picture of the season.

Images from my Journal

I completed my January birds page. Now that I look at it, it needs a little more detail to make it a really good record of the month. Perhaps I’ll add the numbers of birds I observed (by looking at my Project Feederwatch data) and maybe compare this year’s January birds with last year’s list.

Here’s the page that I made to keep track of the January snow. I may just add February’s statistics to it as well since there’s room.

I used a Handbook of Nature Study newsletter printable grid to record some fun nature details in my journal. This is a super simple way to get started if you’re stumbling over a big ol’ blank page. See this entry for more information on using nature study grids: Using Printables from the Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter.

Here’s a look at my February birds page in progress. I’m keeping a running list of birds observed, left room for my Great Backyard Bird count details and thoughts, and I’m using a printable grid from the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter to encourage me to be on the lookout for birds of all colors. I will finish this one up by the end of the month.

We heard a pair of Great Horned Owls early one morning and I wanted to create a page that had all of the interesting facts about this bird in my nature journal. I find the process of looking up the information for a page helps me learn and remember things better. I’m not aiming for a fancy page but one that has meaning to me. I’m challenging myself to draw in my nature journal, not on every page but a few times a month.

One More Image

We’ve had a mountain lion roaming our neighborhood for a few weeks. Our next door neighbor snapped this image of the big cat right up in a tree in his backyard. It makes me a little nervous to have such a wild creature so near to our home, but we’re just taking precautions and being alert to any signs that he is back.

There are many, many nature journal ideas included in the archives of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletters. If you have any level of membership, make sure to download the newsletter index to make finding a topic easy.

76 issues of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter are available in the Discovery level of membership for only $20! You also get the Getting Started with the Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook in this level which makes it a super awesome value for your $20.

Download an index of topics here: Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter Topics and Printables.

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Spring 2019

“A simple spring nature study starts as soon as you start to notice the changes around you.”

In my part of the world, we’re not even close to seeing any signs of spring. But, last week I was in California and I greatly enjoyed the landscape turning green, the early spring bulbs starting to blossom, and the warm sunshine as I walked to the river.

You can complete this challenge at any time you note the first signs of spring in your neighborhood. It’s actually quite a life lesson for children to be aware of the changing of the seasons and what to look for when you’re taking your Outdoor Hour time.

Use the suggestions in the challenge linked below along with the free printables available to create a record of your family’s signs of spring.

Signs of Spring Nature Study

Make sure to click the link above to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.

This challenge is not found in an ebook but if you’re interested in an ebook of spring related challenges, you can check out the selections on the spring page in the Handbook of Nature Study linked below.

Are you just joining the Outdoor Hour Challenge? You can find the complete plan for the rest of the year by clicking the link below.

If you are already a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can download a detailed schedule of nature topics and ebooks from your membership.

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Barb — 2 Comments

Using Printables from the Handbook of Nature Study Newsletters

Using Nature Study Grids

One of the most common stumbling blocks to creating a nature journal page is the curse of the blank page. I have felt it myself. As you open your nature journal and gather your art supplies, suddenly you face the blank page and your mind also goes blank. You can’t think of what to do or where to get started.

This is the perfect time to use a tool from the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter!

Many issues of the newsletter have a printable nature study grid that can help get you over the hump of starting with a blank page. Print the grid and cut it out, then adhere it right on the page. Choose one or more of the prompts to do while you’re outside and then come back in to record your results.

You can check the boxes off.

Make notes about what you accomplished.

Sketch something that was inspired during your outdoor time.

Use the grid in a way that makes sense to you and your family!

Additional Idea

Cut Your Grid Apart: You can use the Weather Study Big Grid in the December 2012 newsletter for this project by printing it out and then cutting the desired squares to adhere into your nature journal. This will allow you to create a completely customized nature journal page that fits your local weather and your child’s interests.

Add photos, doodles, lettering, and captions to complete your page.

Download a sample copy of the January 2014 Newsletter:

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – Nature Table (with the Winter Nature Grid printable).

Download the Newsletter Index – includes lists of articles and printables

Did you know that the complete archive of 76 newsletters is available for immediate download in ALL LEVELS of membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study?

That means that for just $20 you can download, save, and use as many times as you want each of the newsletters in the archive!

Here is the Amazon affiliate link to the sketchbook I use for my nature journal.

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge -Looking for Spring Birds Challenge

Here’s the link to the challenge in the archives: Spring Bird Nature Study.

You’re going to find all kinds of helpful suggestions in this entry along with a printable notebook page, a complete coloring book, and links to learn more about identifying birds by their song.

Don’t miss this week’s nature study suggestion to take time to learn about a new spring bird in your neighborhood. If you’re really up to a challenge, your family can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count which is this weekend!!! You only need to commit to a few minutes of observation time to make this citizen science project a part of your nature study this week.

Find all the details here: Great Backyard Bird Count.

This is the perfect time to download the Learning About Birds ebook available in Ultimate and Journey level memberships. This ebook steps you through the study of birds by color and topic. Included in the ebook are notebooking pages, images, and links to help you study some of the most common birds here in North America.

Look for this ebook in your library if you’re a member or join now using the discount code below for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Discount Code: BIRDLOVER5

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Our Winter Cattail Observations

We can’t get too close to our winter cattails because they’re in a pond surrounded by icy waters. But, we saw them from a distance as we took a nice winter walk along the river and then down around the bend.

In the summer the pond is lined with pretty, sheltering willows and the cattails are growing from the edge out to the middle “island”. Often we can spy mallards and Canada goose in the water but there’s no sign of those birds right now. Instead, the pond is a frozen spot with some tracks zig zagging from side to side. We’ve seen coyotes, otters, signs of a beaver, and even a mountain lion in this area so it’s hard to say who is walking around on the frozen surface.

It’s never too late to start your own year-long cattail study, even if you didn’t start it back in autumn. Pick up here and join us! Click the graphic below to go to the original winter study challenge here on the Handbook of Nature Study. Click here for the Autumn Cattail Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Although the winter season is coming to a close, you may be able to squeeze in a few of the ideas from the winter ebook. Check out the list of winter nature study ideas by clicking above.

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

New February Printables for Members

Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:

Tree Study Nature Study Notebooking Set

Salt Nature Study Printable Set

(See the end of this post for more information on how you can become a member.)

Tree Study Notebooking Page Set – You are going to love this set of tree nature study notebooking pages. Here are the trees included: black walnut, buckeye, catalpa, cedar, eucalyptus, Joshua tree, lodgepole pine, madrone, magnolia, palm, palo verde, ponderosa pine, redwood, smoke tree, and Western larch. 15 trees, 30 notebooking pages!

Salt Nature Study Printables – This is a set that has been shared over on my daughter’s website, Hearts and Trees. This printable set will be a great way to learn more about salt for a nature study unit.

Note: If you have any subjects you would like me to create nature notebook pages for, please let me know in a comment here on the blog or in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.

Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Observer – January 2019

Nature Journal Project

This month is a fresh start to my nature journaling journey. I’m keeping several different journals as a way to become more of a naturalist specializing in my own habitat. This just feels like it’s the right time.

Although I’m still trying to keep things simple, I’ve created a new routine for recording my daily notes and statistics as a way to reach my Nature Study Goals for 2019.

Daily Notebooks

Every day I create a brief entry in the Naturalist Notebook which is really a five year record of daily details. You can see in the image how there is a very small box for each day running across the page. Then, down the column will be where I fill in information over the next four years. This way you can compare the daily events from year to year. Right now it feels very ambitious but I’ve learned that if you take it one day at a time it isn’t such a huge project.

The second place I’m recording daily information is in this planner/notebook. It has larger spaces for me to include more details or thoughts for each day. I’m still deciding if I like this particular notebook for this purpose, but time will tell if it works for me.

Note: It’s an 18-month calendar and so the first part has been unused. I’m trying to decide if I should just remove the pages or repurpose them in some way.

This entry includes affiliate links to Amazon.com.

Field Notebook

I have yet to make a single record in my field notebook. It’s super cold when I go outside and I usually wear gloves. This makes it hard to take the notebook and pencil out. That’s a pretty bad excuse for not giving this tool a try and I will be working on doing better. Maybe I should wear my fingerless gloves when I go out on my walks.

Personal Nature Journal

This is where I’ve really stepped up my nature journaling game this year. I’ve gone ahead and prepared several introductory pages for the year and then planned a few pages for January ahead of time.

If you follow me on Instagram, I’ll be sharing the month’s pages at the end of each month in a video along with an explanation.

Here’s an example of one of my January pages sharing my winter willow observations. You can see that I’ve switched to a larger size page for this year just to switch things up.

I have some of the pages planned out, but there’s still room to add in things that spring up during our nature walks like the river otter scampering across the icy river with a fresh fish in his mouth. What a great experience!

Al in all, I think I’ve been successful in getting started with my new routine of nature journaling. It takes a few minutes a day to keep up with the daily notes and maybe 30 minutes or so to create a new nature journal page in my personal journal. With this little effort, I’m loving the feeling of getting to know my habitat better with each passing week. Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges gives me a framework and inspiration to learn something new! This knowledge is not only fun to learn but very encouraging to pass along to my friends and family.

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Do you want some more specific nature journal ideas? Click over to my nature journal page and scroll down for the Once-a-Month Nature Journal Project idea buttons. There’s a lot there to keep you busy!

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Small Square

Winter may not seem the best time to start a small square study but it’s not impossible. Someone asked in the original challenge how to complete this study when there’s a lot of snow on the ground and here is my response:

“I know when we have snow we shovel a path from the door to the street. Perhaps extend that path a little out into an area where there is dirt underneath. I would also try to get to an area that’s under a tree, since up next to the tree there’s usually a little space between the snow and the tree trunk.”

One family commented this after completing the Winter Small Square Study:

“We had an hour that we needed to be out of the house, and this seemed like an easy way to dive back into outdoor hour challenges after hibernating most of the winter. Thanks for changing my attitude (once again) about getting outside. This is do-able!”

Winter Small Square Nature Study

Make sure to click the link above to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.

Please note this challenge is found in the Winter Series ebook, included in the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Log into your membership and scroll down to the ebook download link.

Included in the ebook, there’s a custom notebook page for this challenge.

Have you ever seen the One Small Square books from Donald Silver? I own the whole series and we’ve used them numerous times in our nature study. My boys loved the illustrations and I appreciated the simple activities suggested in each book. Check them out at your local public library or online at Amazon.

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Salty Experiments

Salt Nature Study – Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 212, pages 753-754

Make sure to click the link above to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.

In addition to the suggestions in the Handbook of Nature Study, you may wish to conduct this simple winter experiment to enhance your salt study.

If you have freezing temperatures in your area, conduct an experiment where you try to freeze salt water outdoors in your own backyard. Take two pie pans. Fill one with tap water and one with saltwater. Compare the time it takes for each to freeze.

Please note this challenge is found in the Winter Series ebook, included in the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Log into your membership and scroll down to the ebook download link.

Included in the ebook, there is a custom notebook page for this challenge.

Salt Experiments Printable Shown Above is Available to Members!

If your family is interested in conducting even more salt related experiments and you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can download the Salt printables shown above and use the pieces in your nature journal. This printable unit comes complete with instructions for four simple experiments using common household items.

Look for the printable in your Ultimate and Journey level memberships in the Misc. Category.

If you’re not currently a member, you can use the links above to learn more about the benefits of a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

Note this is an Amazon affiliate link to a product I own and love!

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Barb — Leave a comment

Winter Bark Patterns Hike

Even though it’s been cold, wet, snowy, and icy, we ventured out to the local state park to walk along the river. We didn’t get very far because with my new hips, I didn’t want to take a chance of slipping on the ice. But, it felt good to be out in the fresh air looking at trees once again. I miss my long river walks!

Winter is the perfect time to focus on tree bark and see the beauty of each tree’s particular bark. It reminded me of a number of years ago when we studied trees in our family and my son and I decided that not all tree bark is brown. In fact, my son noted that most tree bark is more gray than brown. In the case of our ponderosa pines, the bark is more reddish than brown.

As we were observing the bark of this ponderosa pine, we also noted the colorful and interesting lichen growing there. The bright green lichen is my favorite!

Just a reminder: Be open to nature topics in addition to the week’s subject when you’re taking your outdoor time. We started off looking at tree bark but didn’t pass by the opportunity to enjoy the lichen.

So did your family do a bark pattern study? It’s a simple nature study activity that you can do even in the winter time.

If you’re completing the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Winter Trees, you can add a bark pattern study along with that one. See the Winter Tree challenge here: Looking at Trees in Winter.

If you’re a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, the notebook page shown above is available to use in your nature journal.

The benefits of having a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study make it a great value for your homeschooling, nature-loving family. There are 21 ebooks available for downloading, over 120 printable notebook pages and activities, and 76 newsletters. New printables are added every month and there are 4 new ebooks set to publish in the next year.

If you would like to have nature study ideas and printables available for immediate downloading, please consider an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate membership.

Author: Barb

Nature Observer -February 2019

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Spring 2019

“A simple spring nature study starts as soon as you start to notice the changes around you.”

Outdoor Hour Challenge -Looking for Spring Birds Challenge

Find all the details here: Great Backyard Bird Count.

Discount Code: BIRDLOVER5

Our Winter Cattail Observations

New February Printables for Members

Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:

Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.

Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!

Nature Observer – January 2019

Nature Journal Project

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Small Square

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Salty Experiments

Make sure to click the link above to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.

Salt Experiments Printable Shown Above is Available to Members!

Look for the printable in your Ultimate and Journey level memberships in the Misc. Category.

Winter Bark Patterns Hike

If you would like to have nature study ideas and printables available for immediate downloading, please consider an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!