Author: Tricia Hodges

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Joy of Nature Study For Your Homeschool Year

We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!

“Make this a time to learn a little something new about your world. Finding time for these challenges will help this season be one that your child will not only learn something new but make special memories for a lifetime.” – Barbara McCoy (founder of The Outdoor Hour Challenges)

We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!

When Barbara McCoy retired, I knew that these gentle nature studies needed to still be available to homeschool famillies like mine.

These are the very nature studies my children and I started homeschooling with. To us, they are deliberate delight!

I shared a short introductory video, below:

That is why we are now offering Homeschool Nature Study and your Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, Shirley Vels, has joined us!

Homeschool nature study annual plan. We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!

Outdoor Hour Challenges Schedule of Nature Study

The plan for the coming year is now available to members! In the photo above, you can see a preview of the courses and homeschool nature study curriculum we look forward to using! These plans were prepared by Shirley Vels, your Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess!

Shirley and I are always planning something new for you! The new plans for the homeschool year are available each July so that members will know the topics ahead of time and can plan even more fun learning.

We even have some new series coming soon!

Autumn Handbook of Nature Study outdoor hour homeschool curriculum

NEW Autumn Outdoor Hour Challenge Homeschool Curriculum

The new Autumn Outdoor Hour Challenge homeschool curriculum is available to members. It is also now available for purchase in our nature study store.

The Outdoor Hour Mom - nature study with Homeschool Nature Study series

New Outdoor Mom Series

Because nature study is for parents too, we have a new series starting in membership. These simple prompts will bring you joy, help you notice beauty and encourage you as you model nature study for your children.

Outdoor Hour challenge Nature Crafts

New Nature Crafts Series

In addition to the Outdoor Mom series, we will also be offering a new Nature Crafts series for members. We are so excited about both of these offerings!

New Outdoor Hour Challenge Every Friday

Shirley Vels, your Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, shares about how there is a new Outdoor Hour Challenge Nature Study each Friday. She also talks about how these nature studies bring The Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool.

Nature journaling series at Homeschool Nature Study

Monthly Nature Journal Activities

In this continuing series for members, monthly nature journal activities take your outdoor experiences, your thoughts, new ideas or facts, and make them tangible. Here are some ideas to get you started nature journaling.

We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!

How to Get Started in Homeschool Nature Study

You can download Getting Started – Nature Close to Home for FREE which helps you get started in homeschool nature study and outlines how to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!

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.

Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors

Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

We are excited to announce several fun resources that will make is easy for you to add the joy of nature study for your homeschool year!
Posted on by — 2 Comments

A Beautiful Lupine Wildflower Nature Study for Your Homeschool

Enjoy a beautiful lupine wildflower nature study for your homeschool! Don’t miss the free lupine resource download and the free, live event! Details, below.

Enjoy a beautiful lupine wildflower nature study for your homeschool! Don't miss the free lupine resource download and the free, live event!

Lupine Wildflower Nature Study

This Homeschool Nature Study is part of the Wildflower Course with an accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum ebook.

The lupine nature study includes:

  • indoor preparation and Handbook of Nature Study references
  • Outdoor Hour suggestions
  • additional resources on the host plant and butterflies that love lupine
  • custom notebook pages to use for the lupine flower and the pea family
  • advanced studies
  • drawing lesson

You may wish to watch this short video of lupine (including a bee visit): Lupine.

Make Your Homeschool a Little More Beautiful – A Free Event with a Lupine Nature Study!

Make your homeschool a little more beautiful with literature, art and nature study! Explore the beloved picture book, Miss Rumphius, with Sarah, Nana and Tricia. What a FUN way to kick off your homeschool year!

YOU are invited!

  • When: Wednesday, July 27th at 11AM PT/2PM ET
  • Where: Zoom platform

Sign Up To Participate

Get your free resources + info on the Live Event!

Make Your Homeschool Year a Little More Beautiful

​

    Sign Up To Participate and For Your Free Resources

    When you sign up you will receive:

    • Information for joining us for the live July 27 event
    • Your Read Aloud Revival Family Book Club Guide on Miss Rumphius
    • A Homeschool Nature Study lupine Outdoor Hour Challenge
    • Access to the replay for one week after the event

    Please note: A replay will only be available to those who sign up. Be sure to fill out the form, below!

    Here’s How to Be Ready for the Event

    For your literature time with Sarah, reserve or pick up your copy of Miss Rumphius at your local library or order online today!

    For your art time with Nana, you will just need a very few suggested supplies, below:

    • a starter set of chalk pastels (Our favorites are here).
    • construction paper (Nana suggests white construction paper for this lesson)
    • baby wipes or damp paper towel for easy clean up

    For your nature study time with Tricia, have your lupine download on hand.

    Remember to sign up, above!

    Enjoy a beautiful lupine wildflower nature study for your homeschool! Don't miss the free lupine resource download and the free, live event!

    Share On Social Media!

    Be sure to share your Make Your Homeschool A Little More Beautiful time on social media and tag @readaloudrevival @outdoorhourchallenge and @chalkpastelart – We can’t wait to see you participating and to see your paintings!

    And please invite your friends!

    Posted on by — 5 Comments

    Monthly Nature Journal Activities For Your Homeschool

    Monthly nature journal activities take your outdoor experiences, your thoughts, new ideas or facts, and make them tangible. Here are some ideas to get you started nature journaling.

    Monthly nature journal activities take your outdoor experiences, your thoughts, new ideas or facts, and make them tangible. Here are some ideas to get you started nature journaling.
    Photos by Amy Law

    The Value Of Nature Journaling In Your Homeschool

    Paging through the completed journals gives such a sense of accomplishment, each page a nugget of learning from your nature study.

    This time of year is an opportunity to reflect on our goals and habits. I don’t know about you but one thing that has been a little neglected over the last year is my nature journal.

    Monthly Projects For Nature Journaling

    Our Homeschool Nature Study members will receive new nature journal activities each month! I jotted down a list of journal ideas for each month of the year. Creating a  page a month will be a simple and reachable goal and I hope it will help you and your family to complete a few pages too.

    Monthly nature journal activities take your outdoor experiences, your thoughts, new ideas or facts, and make them tangible. Here are some ideas to get you started nature journaling.

    Homeschool Nature Journal Supplies Needed?

    Let’s keep it simple. Pull your nature journal off the shelf or out of your backpack and take a look at what you have done so far and decide if your journal choice is inspiring you or hindering you.

    Or, if you are new to nature journaling, take a trip to the office supply store and look over your journal choices. It is important to like the feel and size of your journal. I like to use sketchbooks but some people like to use fancier journals.

    Here are a couple I have used in the past and really liked. They lie flat, are spiral bound, and they hold up to just about any medium I want to use (including watercolor with varying results).

    Some links may be affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

    Nature Journals

    The point is not to get hung up on choosing a journal but just pick one and get started!

    Monthly nature journal activities take your outdoor experiences, your thoughts, new ideas or facts, and make them tangible. Here are some ideas to get you started nature journaling.

    Art Supplies for Writing and Sketching

    I use a variety of things to write in my journal.

    • If you have a good black pen you like pull that out and keep it with your journal.
    • Gel pens
    • Prismacolor markers and Prismacolor watercolor pencils round out my nature journal writing and sketching choices.
    • Don’t forget a good old No. 2 pencil is always handy for making quick sketches in your journal.

    Other Journaling Supplies

    Other items that may be helpful for your nature journal activities include a small ruler, a jar lid for making circles, double sided tape to adhere items in your nature journal, a pencil sharpener, and a small cup and paint brush for working with watercolor pencils.

    More Encouragement

    Handbook of Nature Study nature journaling

    Nature Journal Series Overview By Month

    The first months of nature journal activities is ready for Homeschool Nature Study members in the Nature Journaling course in membership. This will give members the rest of the month to spend some time outdoors as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge or other family activity and then create a journal using the suggestion.

    Each lesson is filled with ideas and how tos for your family:

    • June – Sketch Outside
    • July – Using Your 5 Senses

    More nature journal activities coming for members each month!

    Join Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

    Monthly Nature Journal Activities For Your Homeschool

    Share Your Nature Journals!

    Share a photo of your nature journal and tag us on social media @outdoorhourchallenge Join us in continuing this fun Nature Journal Project started by our founder, Barb McCoy!

    Browse examples by others on this Nature Journal Pinterest board.

    Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

    Posted on by — Leave a comment

    Fun Summer Nature Study Photo Challenge

    Enjoy a fun summer nature study photo challenge plus first day of summer ideas! I don’t know about you but I’m so very ready for the summer season! The most noticeable change is the amount of daylight. The sun is up early and it lingers in the evenings.

    Enjoy a fun summer nature study photo challenge plus first day of summer ideas! I don’t know about you but I’m so very ready for the summer season! The most noticeable change is the amount of daylight. The sun is up early and it lingers in the evenings.

    Nature study can be easy and fun when you have access to the Outdoor Hour Challenges! Pick the topics that interest your family the most and then get started with the activities, videos, and follow up notebook pages.

    While you’re just starting your summer nature study planning, please consider an Outdoor Hour Challenge. Maybe observe your weather and plan to make a special day of activity on June 21st as we all usher in the summer season.

    Terrific Ideas for Your First Day of Summer Nature Study Activities

    Here are some ideas to get you started on your summer fun!

    Photo by Erin Vincent

    Summer Nature Study Photo Challenge for Your Homeschool

    Join us for a FUN summer nature study photo challenge! You can complete the challenges in any order you would like. You can take the photos or your children can take the photos. This is a fun, relaxed activity that I hope brings some joy to your outdoor time.

    Join us for a FUN summer nature study photo challenge! You can complete the challenges in any order you would like. You can take the photos or your children can take the photos. This is a fun, relaxed activity that I hope brings some joy to your outdoor time.

    This printable Summer Nature Study Photo Challenge is available in the Summer Handbook of Nature Study Curriculum in Homeschool Nature Study Membership. You can enjoy this and an entire summer’s worth of nature study Outdoor Hour Challenges plus a calendar filled with daily nature study prompts in membership.

    First Day of Summer Photo Walk

    Take a camera or a phone camera outdoors and find some special First Day of Summer subjects. Take a photo, print out a few and safely tuck them into your nature journal. You can combine this with the Summer Photo Challenge.

    First Day of Summer Flower Field Trip

    Take a trip to your local garden nursery and let your child pick a plant to add to your backyard garden or patio container garden. After you plant your flower, sketch it into your nature journal along with the name of the flower and the date you planted it.

    You can combine this activity with any of the printable journal pages in our free Getting Started Guide or those in Homeschool Nature Study membership.

    Summer Nature Study with Art
    Photo by Erin Vincent

    Summer Nature Study with Art

    Enjoy a free Summer Treehouse art lesson – just imagine all you could observe outdoors in nature in your very own treehouse that you design and sketch! Find the lesson towards the bottom of the post.

    Summer Watermelon Recipe

    Summer Watermelon Recipe

    Watermelon Popsicles Recipe – are you a huge watermelon fan too?

    First Day of Summer Notebook Page

    First Day of Summer Notebook Page

    After a nature walk, preferably under a shade tree, complete the First Day of Summer notebook page in Homeschool Nature Study membership – for your nature journal.

    You might also like:

    Share Your Summer Photos!

    Be sure to tag us on Instagram @outdoorhourchallenge #outdoorhourchallenge so we can comment and share your photos!

    Are you as excited about summer as I am?

    Enjoy a Summer Brimming with Outdoor Ideas in Homeschool Nature Study Membership!
    A FUN Summer Nature Study Photo Challenge plus First Day of Summer Ideas! Nature study can be easy and fun when you have access to the Outdoor Hour Challenges! Pick the topics that interest your family the most and then get started with the activities, videos, and follow up notebook pages.

    Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

    Posted on by — 2 Comments

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.
    Photos by Amy Law

    “From the time she was no higher than a daisy, Anna was wild about nature.”

    Suzanne Slade

    One of the most natural ways for people to learn is through story. This sweetly illustrated biography of Anna Comstock gives a glimpse into the life of the woman who wrote the wonderful book The Handbook of Nature Study. Knowing more about her life makes her writing even more special! – my friend, Amy Law.

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a lovely book written by Suzanne Slade and beautifully illustrated by Jessica Lanan.

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.

    The Anna Comstock Story Picture Book Biography Review

    This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

    “This picture book biography examines the life and career of naturalist and artist Anna Comstock (1854-1930), who defied social conventions and pursued the study of science. From the time she was a young girl, Anna was fascinated by the natural world. She loved exploring outdoors, examining wildlife and learning nature’s secrets. From watching the teamwork of marching ants to following the constellations in the sky, Anna observed it all. And her interest only increased as she grew older and attended Cornell University. There she continued her studies, pushing back against the common belief of the day that implied science was a man’s pursuit.

    Eventually, Anna became known as a nature expert, pioneering a movement to encourage schools to conduct science and nature classes for children outdoors, thereby increasing students’ interest in nature. In following her passion, this remarkable woman blazed a trail for female scientists today.” –Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.

    “The nature story is never finished. There is not a weed or an insect or a tree so common that the child by observing carefully, may not see things never yet recorded.”

    -Anna Comstock

    Here at Homeschool Nature Study, we highly recommend this book for your homeschool! It is a wonderful way to learn all about – and be inspired by – the author of the Handbook of Nature Study. You might also like our Anna Botsford Comstock Quotes for Nature Lovers and Last Child in the Woods.

    Bring The Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool!

    Learn More About The Handbook of Nature Study for Your Homeschool

    We have some great resources for learning what The Handbook of Nature Study is all about:

    You might also like my review of a Charlotte Mason Picture Book biography: The Teacher Who Revealed Worlds of Wonder – on our sister site, The Curriculum Choice. Charlotte Mason adored nature study!

    My Homeschool Nature Book Report

    In Homeschool Nature Study membership, you will find a printable nature book report page under your Nature Journaling course. Use this when you enjoy the Anna Comstock Story or any other nature book!

    Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story is a beautiful picture book biography about the author of The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock was passionate about children getting out of the classroom and into nature to learn first hand about our beautiful world.

    Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

    Posted on by — Leave a comment

    A Beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace Nature Study for Your Homeschool

    Our family made great memories together one year while noticing and studying Queen Anne’s lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne’s lace nature study for your homeschool and see what you notice in each season too!

    If you don’t have any Queen Anne’s Lace to observe in person, choose two other neighborhood weeds to study and compare using the ideas in the challenge.

    Homeschool Nature Study members will find the suggestions in this challenge a great help in learning about this common wildflower. (Some call it a weed, but I prefer to think of it as a wildflower!) Members: Find this challenge in your Summer Continues Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum ebook.

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    Queen Anne’s Lace Nature Study

    I suppose it’s the new awareness we have from last year’s summer study of Queen Anne’s lace. Or it could be recent rains. Or it could be that we didn’t really start looking for Queen Anne’s lace until late August of last year. Or it could be a combination of all those factors. Which, likely, it is.

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    It’s abundant. We point and yell, “Look!” everywhere we drive. Lace lines the roadsides to the north Georgia mountains where we trekked last week. Lacey patches are right across the street – almost as tall as Middle Girl.

    “Nature study cultivates in the child a love of the beautiful…”

    ~ Anna Botsford Comstock, The Teaching of Nature Study
    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    (Above photos of her taken with my phone when we quick pulled off the road).

    family homeschool nature study

    And Queen Anne’s lace thrilled us in the usual spot we checked back in spring. When we went on a family walk that Sunday night before Memorial Day – there it was!

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    Ready for the picking.

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    We scooped a few blooms and brought them home to study up close. To sketch.

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    We also found a beautiful robin’s egg, right in the middle of the grass, while on our walk. We figured the recent winds and storms may have blown it out of its nest.

    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    Our up close studies helped us appreciate. As I sketched my flower, I noticed the hundreds of little, tiny flowers…

    nature journaling

    …the umbrella looking underneath, the pink tinges of a young blossom.

    nature journaling

    The children appreciated the certain color of green, the hairy stems, the dot in the center.

    “The chief aim of this volume is to encourage investigation rather than to give information.”

    ~ Handbook of Nature Study
    homeschool nature journaling

    During sketching we noticed that the outside flower clusters open first, just as the Handbook of Nature Study says.

    Queen Anne’s lace makes this mama happy. It reminds me of childhood.

    Homeschool Nature Study for Your Family

    Join us this summer! Enjoy some deliberate delight with nature walks and simple, joyful learning.

    Join Homeschool Nature Study Today!
    Make great memories by studying Queen Anne's lace throughout the seasons. Enjoy this beautiful Queen Anne's lace nature study for your homeschool.

    How about you? Is Queen Anne’s lace lining your roadsides?

    Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

    Posted on by — Leave a comment

    The Ultimate Guide to National Parks Nature Study for Your Homeschool

    Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!

    Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!
    Yellowstone National Park – Yellowstone Falls – Hodges, August 2020

    What a treasure! Barbara McCoy and her family travel so many of America’s national parks, monuments and state parks. Here, I have gathered all that she has shared over the years and have added in a few of my family’s travels too. While many of Barb’s photos did not transfer over and are not included in these posts, her words and tips are so very valuable!

    Barb and I got to take a trip to Florida together a few years ago – and we spent time studying nature. We even got to see an alligator. I shared about the memories we made together in my Florida Nature Studies.

    Enjoy this Guide to National Parks Nature Study for Your Homeschool. We hope it helps you make glorious memories with your family!

    Your Guide to National Parks Nature Study for Your Homeschool

    Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!
    Grand Canyon National Park – south rim – Hodges, August 2020.
    Muir Woods
    Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!
    Yellowstone National Park – Grand Prismatic – Hodges 2020.

    Trekking American Landmarks with chalk pastels.
    I Drew It Then I Knew It American Landmarks

    Hands On Learning – American Landmarks Art Lessons

    Do you dream of trekking America’s landmarks and national parks with your kids? With our sister website, You ARE an ARTiST, you can let Nana take you and your children on a trip around our great United States without leaving the comforts of your home. Trekking American landmarks with chalk pastels are as easy as walking to your kitchen table and setting out your chalk pastels with a pack of construction paper. Nana will do the rest.

    No hiking shoes or sore feet required! Browse I Drew It Then I Knew It American Landmarks

    Want even more ideas? Enjoy 99 Nature Study Ideas to Get Your Family Outdoors and Study Nature As You Travel This Summer.

    Ready to enjoy a trip to a national park? Use this guide to national parks nature study for your homeschool and enjoy nature study learning while you explore the great outdoors!

    More Resources For Homeschool Nature Study

    For even more homeschool nature study ideas, join us in Homeschool Nature Study membership! You’ll receive new ideas each and every week that require little or no prep – all bringing the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool!

    Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership HERE

    Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get Outdoors!

    Posted on by — Leave a comment

    Goat Homeschool Nature Study for All Ages

    This goat homeschool nature study is packed with fun from fainting goats to advanced mammal studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool! Here’s a peek at what you can expect to enjoy in this Outdoor Hour Challenge for Homeschool Nature Study members.

    This goat homeschool nature study is packed with fun from fainting goats to advanced mammal studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool!

    Goat Homeschool Nature Study

    • A funny video on fainting goats to catch your children’s attention
    • Handbook of Nature Study reference pages, Outdoor Hour time and follow up journal suggestions
    • Printables for your goat study in your Spring Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum
    • Burgess Book of Animals pages to read aloud.
    • Learn what is a mammal?
    • Online links to view goats
    • Advanced students: the history of goats, study on breeds of goats, the digestive system (Goats are ruminant animals – animals with four stomachs)
    • How to draw a goat
    This goat homeschool nature study is packed with fun from fainting goats to advanced mammal studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool!

    Virtual Field Trip to Learn About Goats

    For a fun virtual field trip, be sure to follow all the goat adventures with Accidental Country Folk. Jodi shares more than goats – including a fancy chicken named Ms. Frizzle on Instagram too!

    The Ultimate Guide to Mammals Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges

    You can enjoy a simple mammals homeschool nature study with these resources we have gathered for you to use in your own backyard. It is such a delight to study and learn about these beautiful creatures! Go to The Ultimate Guide to Mammals Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

    NOTE: All of the mammals homeschool nature study resources listed are available as an Outdoor Hour Challenge in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. If you have a membership, you will be able to pull up the Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum and print any notebook pages, coloring pages, or other printables for your mammals nature study.

    Wondering how to start? Grab our FREE Getting Started with Homeschool Nature Study Guide!

    homeschool nature study membership

    Visit our website to find an affordable membership option that suits you. Why not give membership a try for a month and go from there. We would love to have you along for the adventure!

    Join Homechool Nature Study Membership Today!
    This goat homeschool nature study is packed with fun from fainting goats to advanced mammal studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool! Here's a peek at what you can expect to enjoy in this Outdoor Hour Challenge for Homeschool Nature Study members.
    Posted on by — 4 Comments

    Earthworms Homeschool Nature Study: Invertebrates

    This earthworm homeschool nature study is packed with great learning for all ages and even includes advanced invertebrate studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool! Here’s a peek at what you can expect to enjoy in this Outdoor Hour Challenge for Homeschool Nature Study members.

    This earthworm homeschool nature study is packed with great learning for all ages and even includes advanced invertebrate studies! Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in your homeschool! Here’s a peek at what you can expect to enjoy in this Outdoor Hour Challenge for Homeschool Nature Study members.

    Earthworms Homeschool Nature Study: Invertebrates

    “Any garden furnishes abundant material for the study of earthworms. They are nocturnal workers and may be observed by lantern or flashlight….For the study of the individual worm and its movements, each pupil should have a worm with some earth upon his desk.”
    Handbook of Nature Study, page 424

    Take 15 minutes of your outdoor hour time to find a place in your yard to dig for worms. If you have a garden or flower bed, you may be successful in finding earthworms just a few inches down in the soil. Use some of the suggested activities from the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study to carefully observe your earthworms.

    This earthworms homeschool nature study for our members includes:

    • Handbook of Nature Study references and indoor preparation time
    • Suggestions and questions for your Outdoor Hour Time
    • A list of questions to ask during your earthworm nature study time
    • Follow up activity for your nature journal

    Members will find the full homeschool nature study in the Spring with Art and Music Appreciation Outdoor Hour course and curriculum.

    You can use the notebook page provided with Spring with Art and Music Appreciation course or your own blank nature journal to record you observations and sketches. Don’t forget to sketch and label your earthworm.

    Wondering how to start? Grab our FREE Getting Started with Homeschool Nature Study Guide!

    More Resources For Learning About Earthworms

    Join Homeschool Nature Study membership today!

    Visit our website to find an affordable membership option that suits you. Why not give membership a try for a month and go from there. We would love to have you along for the adventure!

    first published May 2010 and updated May 2022

    Posted on by — Leave a comment

    First Day of Spring: Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

    We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas. It hardly seems possible that we are at the beginning of another spring season but here we go! We look forward to another season of encouraging nature study. Have fun and get outdoors with your children!

    First Day of Spring: Simple Ways to Study Nature in Your Homeschool

    Inside Preparation Work
    1. If you have not read pages 23-24 (How to Use This Book) in the Handbook of Nature Study, please read it now. In addition, read the section on The Field Excursion on page 15. Highlight interesting sections as reminders.
    2. Prepare your children for your outdoor time by explaining the purpose. For this challenge, use the ideas from Outdoor Hour Challenge #2—Using Your Words in our FREE Getting Started Homeschool Nature Study Guide which is take a short walk in your yard or neighborhood and then come back inside and record words to describe your experience.

    We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas.

    Spring Splendor Nature Walk Ideas

    Homeschool Nature Study Members: Before beginning this series of challenges, use the Spring Splendor Notebook Page (Challenge on page 8 of your Spring Nature Study Curriculum and notebook page linked there as well) to build enthusiasm for the spring series of nature study. Keep the page in the front of your nature journal as a reminder of the three questions you hope to answer and the three activities you hope to accomplish.

    Outdoor Hour Homeschool Nature Study Time

    1. Enjoy some time outdoors this week as part of this challenge, including a few minutes of quiet observation if possible. Observe what early spring looks like in your neighborhood. Use all your senses. If you have young children, taking a walk and enjoying the season is the main point. You can work on adding words as your child gains confidence in nature study.
    2. Homeschool Nature Study Members: Use the Spring Nature Walk Worksheet notebook page if you want more structure to your time outdoors.
    3. Collect an item to sketch into your nature journal, perhaps a leaf or a flower.
    4. Advanced Study: Take photos of spring flowers, birds, trees, leaves, or other objects you see during your outdoor time. Try taking photos from different angles and up close.

    Follow-Up Activity

    1. Use the Spring Splendor notebook page (Homeschool Nature Study Members) or your nature journal to record your time outdoors, including the prompts for descriptive words. You can brainstorm words with your children if they have trouble. Sketch or watercolor your spring scene in your nature journal or onto your notebook page.
    2. Advanced Follow-Up: Make a slideshow with the images you took of your spring splendor walk. You can also print the images and include them in your nature journal.
    3. Homeschool Nature Study Members: Optional coloring pages: Spring Woods 1 and Spring Woods 2.

    We are excited to get started on this first day of spring with simple ways to study nature and a fresh set of homeschool nature study ideas.

    More Spring Homeschool Nature Study

    You might also like these simple ways to study nature in your homeschool!

    Outdoor Hour Challenges with Homeschool Nature Study

    If you enjoy any of these first day of spring nature study ideas, please share with us! Take a photo, share on social media and tag @outdoorhourchallenge on Instagram and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge – we would love to see and to comment!

    John Muir quote

    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!

    Find Out More About Nature Study Membership Here!

    Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!