Category: Getting Started

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Autumn

Fall fun! It is time to really sink our teeth into some fall nature study and start looking for signs of fall. You can use any of the activities listed below to get your Outdoor Hour Challenge started this week.

Early Autumn Things To Do


Outdoor Hour Challenge Magnifying Lens Activity
(shared this yesterday)

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8-Using a Magnifying Lens. This is always a great challenge for children to complete…nature study tools make it so much more fun! Don’t forget to pull out the accompanying notebook page for your child to record their findings or they can use a blank page in their nature journal if they wish.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Getting Started Ebook @handbookofnaturestudyUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn Tree Nature Study

Autumn+Tree+Study+@handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.jpgOutdoor Hour Challenge
Autumn Tree Nature Study

Use any of the Outdoor Hour Challenges below to complete an Autumn Tree Nature Study. Feel free to pick and choose any of the suggested activities that you think will fit your area and interests. Spend some time outdoors looking at trees with your children…see the beauty in this time of year!

Color Hunt Printable Cards

Use these color word cards to stimulate a fun nature study related activity. Challenge your child to find something of each color during your Outdoor Hour Challenge time. This can be part of your Autumn Tree Study or any other study you complete throughout the year.

TIPS: These cards can be printed on cardstock or cut and pasted to index cards. If you only have a black and white printer, have your children color the words or the border with markers before going outside.

Printable Color Word Cards

Tree Poetry Printable from the Archives


Tree Poetry ideas with free printable activity (October 2012)

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #7-Your Own Field Guide. Use the ideas in this challenge to start your own field guide pages using the trees in your yard or neighborhood. Add to your tree field guide from time to time and as the years go by you will have built a record of many trees right in your own yard! Use the accompanying notebook page to get started or a blank nature journal page for each tree. 
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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn Cattail and Small Square Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Autumn Cattail Study with a Small Square Study Too!

Additional Activity – Cattail Acrostic Poetry Activity 

Just for fun, I have created an acrostic poetry notebook page for you to use to go along with your cattail study. For each letter in the word “cattail”, have your child write a word or phrase that describes the cattail. Use the box on the page for a sketch, a rubbing, or a photo. This is meant to be a fun way to extend your cattail study so you might offer to help your child or you can skip it until a future date.

Cattail Acrostic Poetry Printable Activity

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started Ebook, you may wish to completeGetting Started – Challenge #9 Small Square Study. You can use the ideas in this challenge to complete a small square study at your cattail habitat. Use the accompanying notebook page to record your results.

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Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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How To Use The Outdoor Hour Challenge 2013-14

Outdoor Hour button
Step By Step Instructions for the Outdoor Hour Challenge
Starting September 1, 2013
  • Receive the monthly newsletter on the 1st of the month (subscribers to the Handbook of Nature Study blog).
  • In the newsletter, view the printable Challenge Grid for the four topics for the up-coming month. If the topic is from the archives, I provide the link to the challenge on my blog and the link to the ebook it is from if applicable.This way you can prepare for the challenges ahead of time if you wish.
  • If you own the applicable ebooks, you can open those and print the coordinating notebook pages to use during the month. This is not required but would supplement the current month’s work.
  • Print and cut out the newsletter Study Grid or other printable for use during the month.
  • Complete the challenges at your own pace and create your blog entries as you have time.
  • Submit your blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog carnival. Become part of the global community of nature study families that participates in the monthly carnival of entries sharing how you spent time outdoors with your family.
Big Picture for the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Seasonal Studies: Each month from September 2013 to August 2014 – I am going to be recycling challenges from the archives, pulling them from older nature study series and ebooks. Each month will not be topical but have a variety of nature study ideas that fit the season (Northern Hemisphere). I will also give you ideas from the Getting Started Ebook if you already own that and would like to use it instead or in addition to the seasonal ebooks.

Note that the Getting Started ebook is available in every level of access: Ultimate, Journey, and Discovery.

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Resources Needed for 2013 – 2014:

  1. Monthly Newsletter so you have the topic, the challenge ideas ahead of time, and the newsletter printables. The newsletter is free to all who subscribe to my Handbook of Nature Study blog.
  2. Handbook of Nature Study book by Anna Botsford Comstock – I recommend the edition linked on the sidebar of my blog.
  3. Optional but recommended: The seasonal series or ebook that coordinates with the season we are currently experiencing (see schedule below).  All of the challenges are available for free here on the blog (see the seasonal tabs at the top of the blog) but each ebook gathers the challenges and includes coordinating printable notebook pages.
  4. Optional: A copy of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Getting Started ebook. Of course, the challenges in the ebook are available on the Handbook of Nature Study blog for free but if you want the notebook pages you will need to purchase the ebook.
  5. Highly recommend: Nature journal or nature notebook.

Schedule of Ebooks to Be Used Sept. 2013 – Aug. 2014

NOTE: This bundle is still available until 8/1/14. You can purchase it here: Select Membership Level.

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Special Offer: 
Purchase all three ebooks for this year’s nature study for $16.95 (regular price $24.85)
2013-2014 Ebook Bundle

 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seasonal Cattail Nature Study and Printable


For this challenge, start a seasonal year-long study of cattails. This challenge from the archives will help your child learn the life cycle of the cattail in your neighborhood. Find a patch of cattails that you can observe in each season. Starting your study in the summer will be easy because they will be very recognizable.

See the suggested nature study ideas in this 2010 Challenge: Year-Long Cattail Study.

“It is an interesting process to take apart a cattail plant; the lower, shorter leaves surround the base of the plant, giving it size and strength. All the leaves have the same general shape, but vary in length. Each leaf consists of two parts; the free portion, which is long and narrow and flat toward its tapering tip but is bent into a trough as it nears the plant, and the lower portion, which clasps the plant entirely or partially, depending upon whether it is an outer or inner leaf.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 500

Printable Notebook Page – Seasonal Cattail Nature Study


Use this notebook page to start your Year-Long Cattail Study with the summer season. Complete a new notebooking page in autumn, winter, and spring to see the complete life cycle of the cattail. You can also take photos of the cattails with your child and insert them into their nature journal.

Cattail Seasonal Nature Study Notebook Page

If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #10. Why not enjoy a picnic during your cattail outdoor hour? We have cattails at a local park and it would be fun to eat outside after making some cattail observations. Make it simple and fun….make some memories!

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Drawing Fish


For this challenge, you are going to be drawing some fish in your nature journals. Use the links below to help your family get started. Don’t forget that you can use the Fish Grid Study from the newsletter during any of the fish challenges. I encourage you to get outside and find somewhere to learn more about your local fish.

How to Draw a Fish

If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #3. This challenge is going to help you get some sketches in your nature journal. Maybe you will want to draw a fish or if your child wants to draw something else..let them create their own page with their own subject.  

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OHC Blog Carnival
You are welcome to submit any of you blog Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Entries for the current month are due on 7/30/13. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge Goldfish Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Goldfish Nature Study

This is a fun challenge for those of you who have aquarium goldfish. If you don’t have goldfish of your own, you can be creative and visit a local pet store and observe the goldfish there or you can even use the video below to get a taste of what goldfish are like. However you decide to use this challenge, I look forward to seeing your entries in the next blog carnival (see instructions at the end of this challenge).

 
Goldfish YouTube Video – Watch full screen!

Printable Goldfish Nature Study and Notebook Page

This two page printable will outline a study of goldfish using the Handbook of Nature Study. You can complete the study and then record your observations on the notebook page provided.

Handbook of Nature Study Goldfish Lesson and Notebook Page

 

If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2. After your goldfish observations, use the directions in this challenge to help your child express their experience in words. Afterwards, record some of their words on the accompanying notebook page.   

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OHC Blog Carnival
You are welcome to submit any of you blog Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Entries for the current month are due on 7/30/13. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fish Grid Nature Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge
Fish Grid Study (July Newsletter Printable)

Use the Fish Grid Study printable to start your fish nature study off, choosing just one or two ideas to complete with your children. Use your own aquarium fish, fish at a pet store, or fish at a local pond to learn more up close and personal.

Printable Copywork Page

This printable can be printed and used to learn the characteristics of a fish. If you would rather copy the list into your nature journal and then have your child illustrate the page that would be great too!

Fish Copywork Notebook Page from Handbook of Nature Study

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #1. Use your outdoor time this week to enjoy a spot in your area where there are fish…a lake, a stream, a pond. Enjoy your time outside with your child and follow their lead in exploring this place. Follow up with the notebook page from the ebook. 
 
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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Weeds and Seeds Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
We are going to look for weed seeds this week….shouldn’t be too hard to do this time of the year in most areas. I took a walk last week and I noticed a lot of them along the trail. Take a few minutes to walk outside with your children and follow their lead. Point out some seeds and then challenge them to find some too. Keep it light and fun. 

Special Activity:Weed Seeds
This week you can go on the hunt for weed seeds. Look for three different kinds of seeds and write about them in your nature journal. You can use this printable page if you have access to the Ultimate or Journey level membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

 

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #9. Complete a Small Square Study as part of your Outdoor Hour time this week. Pick a place that has some weeds and look carefully at the ground underneath, observing and recording all that you can see.  

Outdoor Hour Challenge Getting Started Ebook @handbookofnaturestudy

Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

Wildflowers, Weeds, & Garden Flowers Notebooking Pages

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Outdoor Hour Challenge- Seasonal Milkweed Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
We are going to revisit a challenge from the archives this week. 
Milkweed (from the More Nature Study Autumn Ebook)
Use the information in this challenge to get you started looking for milkweed in your own area. 

Need help in finding milkweed? Here are a couple of links: Showy Milkweed and Common Milkweed
  

Seasonal Milkweed Notebook Page Printable

Use this printable page to record your seasonal milkweed study in each season. Start with your summer milkweed and then revisit it each season to observe the changes. 

Milkweed Seasonal Study Notebook Page 

 

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, completeOutdoor Hour Challenge #8. Take along your magnifying lens when you observe your milkweed. Use it to get a really good look at the milkweed’s leaves, flowers, stem, and any insects you see on the milkweed. Record your observations on the notebook page in the ebook.

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