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Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series-Goldenrod or Other Autumn Flowers

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Autumn Series – Goldenrod

This series of challenges has greatly encouraged so many of us to look at the changing season with new eyes.

Goldenrod is a showy yellow flower that is included in the Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock encourages us to engage our child’s imagination as we hunt for “golden cities” in our neighborhoods. If you do not find any goldenrod, an alternative autumn flower study could be the aster. You will find information in the Handbook of Nature Study on the aster starting on page 506. You could also study the chrysanthemum using Lesson 131 in the Handbook of Nature Study. Chrysanthemums are available in abundance right now at your local garden nursery in a wide variety of colors.

goldenrod

Inside Preparation Work
Read Lesson 132 (pages 503-506) in the Handbook of Nature Study. These few pages will give you some great ideas for sparking your child’s interest in goldenrod. It is suggested to also read through Lesson 131 on Composite Flowers since the goldenrod is a perfect example of a composite flower to study. Use the illustrations on page 505 to help your children understand a little better what you are looking for as far as disc and ray flowers. (If you still have a sunflower blooming, you can also use it to demonstrate a composite flower.)

Outdoor Activity
Take a “field excursion” to look for goldenrod. In my research I discovered that there are over a hundred species of goldenrod in North America and they can be found in meadows, pastures, and alongside roads and in ditches. Their brilliant yellow color will alert you to their little “golden cities”.

  • The Handbook of Nature Study suggests on page 506 to notice where you found the goldenrod growing. Did you find more than one kind of goldenrod? How many insects did you find visiting the goldenrod’s flowers? Did you find any galls growing on the goldenrod?
  • Anna Botsford Comstock says to not worry so much about identifying a particular species since they are difficult to distinguish.
  • If it is appropriate, choose one sample to take home for further study during your follow-up time. I made a simple nature notebook page for you to use if you wish.
  • If you are studying an aster or a chrysanthemum for this challenge, I urge you to still read about the goldenrod and take the outdoor time with your children to enjoy the season. There is an Aster Nature Study here on my blog for more ideas.

Follow-Up Activity
Allow time for discussion and a nature journal entry. If you were able to bring home a sample of goldenrod, take the time now to really look for the parts that are discussed in the Handbook of Nature Study. Use Lesson 132 on page 505 to guide your detailed observations of the flower heads. There are suggestions for sketches within the lesson.

Autumn Photo Project

If you have a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can use the Autumn Photo Project activity in the printables section of your membership along with your autumn goldenrod study. Print the page out and take a camera along with you to snap a few of the suggested nature photos. This will keep your whole family involved as you take a walk together.

This is the version of the Handbook of Nature Study that I recommend using along with the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Please note this is an affiliate link to Amazon for a book that my family owns and has used for over a decade.

Autumn 2009 cover graphic

You can find the notebooking pages that go along with this series of challenges here: Autumn 2009 Free Nature Notebook Pages.

 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series-Fall Tree Study

This week’s challenge is a continuation of an annual tree study for some of you but a new challenge for many.

Our family is going to be choosing a new tree to observe and get to know from our backyard. I prefer for my boys to pick a deciduous tree so there will be lots of changes to observe, but you are welcome to choose any tree that you and your children are interested in getting to know better.

Outdoor Challenge-Autumn Series
Seasonal Tree Observation-Autumn
See Also Challenge #36 
You may also like: Four Seasons Tree Study Photo Project

Inside Preparation Work
Read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study discussing seasonal tree work. You will find it on pages 622-626. This week the challenge includes making a seasonal observation of a tree. Lesson 172 on page 623 includes five suggestions for studying your tree during autumn. If you are just joining the challenges, pick a tree from your yard, your street, or a near-by park to observe over the course of the next year. I would suggest printing out the Seasonal Tree Notebook Page and taking it with you so you have the option to complete it during your outdoor time.


Outdoor Time
Take your 10-15 minute outdoor time to choose a tree to observe over the next year. You can take photos of your tree to put in your nature journal or you can sketch the tree in your journal. You may also choose to complete the Seasonal Tree Notebook Page during your outdoor time.

Follow-Up Activity
Allow your child a few minutes to tell you about their outdoor experience. Talk about the tree you chose to observe for you seasonal tree study. Check in the Handbook of Nature Study to see if your tree is listed there and make sure to do the reading about that particular tree over the next few weeks. There should be some suggestions for observations that you can follow. File your page away so you can compare it during your next Seasonal Tree Study.


We are hoping to take some time to go walking and find a tree to study this week. The photo above was taken a couple of years ago and it reminds me of the warm autumn day we had hiking and taking in the fall color of the aspen trees.

This is what it really is all about for our family-building memories and experiences that shape who we are and how we feel about our Creator.
Plants & Trees Nature Study Notebooking Pages
This is an affiliate link to a product I have used and highly recommend.

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Our Cattail Study: Autumn Series Challenge #1


We went on a search for cattails and we found that we have two different areas of cattails within walking distance of our house. We decided that we could cut one cattail to bring home to closely observe. I was surprised at how “into” finding the cattails the boys became once we got started.


Another place that we found cattails was along the walking trail we frequent every week. These were much taller than the others and I think this will be the spot we observe over the next year.


There was a little water in the ditch where we found our cattails but not much. It was more like a muddy puddle than anything else.


Here is a close-up of the flower spike and right now it feels like velvet. The boys were surprised at how soft and fuzzy it was to the touch. We talked about what we learned from our pre-study and how the cattail is edible. We all decided that we would like to try eating it someday……something to plan for the future.


My sons were content to complete the notebook page with photos but I was inspired as so many others are by the simple beauty of this plant that we so often don’t take the time to appreciate. I pulled out my watercolors and made a quick painting for my nature journal. I found a tutorial in a watercolor book that I have on the shelf that showed how to add stippling with a pen once the paints are dry. I love the way it adds a little detail to the cattail.

This was a perfect way to start off our Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge: Autumn Series-Cattails

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Autumn Series #1
Cattail Autumn Study

Autumn+Cattail+Study+@handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.jpg

Cattails are the focus of this nature study and you will either be able to complete the challenge by observing cattails this week or sometime in the future. Look at the reading of the Handbook of Nature Study as a way to prepare you for a future nature study. Be on the look out for cattails as you drive around your local area and you may be surprised to find them in places you did not notice before.

Inside Preparation Work

  • Read pages 500-503 in the Handbook of Nature Study. View the images of cattails and talk about where you can find them in your local area. I asked my boys and they thought of three places near-by that they remember seeing them grow.
  • Print out the Cattail Seasonal Nature Study notebook page and go over the suggested activities so when you have your Outdoor Hour time your children will be prepared for what to look for.

Outdoor Time

Look for Cattails: Spend your outdoor time looking for cattails and then observing them to record their appearance at this time of the year. You will be revisiting this spot in every season to record your observations and to note the changes that take place from season to season. If your child does not want to sketch the cattail, bring along a camera to have them record the appearance with a photo. Remember the things you read about in the Handbook of Nature Study and see if you can complete the Cattails Seasonal Nature Study notebook page with lots of details. Also, look for other living creatures that might make their home in the cattails or that might visit there if you are still and quiet.

Alternate Idea: Use your fifteen minutes of outdoor time to explore your own backyard. Look for something ordinary that you can learn more about during the next week. The most important part of your Outdoor Hour time is to spend a few minutes with your children outdoors, slowing down enough to observe something closely in your own backyard or neighborhood. Keep the atmosphere relaxed and let your child’s interests guide you to find something to observe. Don’t forget to use all your senses and try to include a few minutes of quiet time to experience the sounds of your own backyard.

Cattail+Seasonal+Nature+Study+notebook+page.jpg

Follow-Up Activity

  • Allow your child a few minutes to tell you about their outdoor experience. Help them find a few words to record in their nature journal.
  • Give time for a nature journal entry and remember it can be as simple as a sketch, a label, and a date. Complete the Cattails Seasonal Nature Study notebook page for the Autumn season and file it in your nature journal to compare to future cattail studies. As always, remember that the nature journal entry is a great way to record your outdoor experiences but it is not necessary every time.

Additional Resource for the Cattail Seasonal Nature Study:
There is a great book to look for at your library, Discover Nature in Water and Wetlands. This book has a whole section on studying cattails that I found very useful in preparing this challenge in addition to the Handbook of Nature Study.

Please note these are Amazon affiliate links to books I own and love.