Category: Getting Started

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Starting a Bird Life List

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
For this challenge, I encourage you to start a life list of birds. A bird life list is a cumulative list of birds that a birder sees and identifies.There are a variety of ways to do a life list including a handwritten list in your nature journal, using a pre-made book, checking off birds and noting the dates in your field guide or from a checklist, keeping an online list at eBird, or using an app on your phone. 

Don’t get stuck on picking the “perfect” way to keep your list. Review the choices and then get started. My only regret is that I did not start my personal life list sooner. 

I have found that I like to keep multiple lists including one for our yard and neighborhood (by month), by location when you travel (like my Oregon and Yosemite lists), and perhaps even lists by the month or season. You can see my entry on Nature Journal Organization for more information.

You can also start a bird “wish list” and keep track of birds you would like to see in the future. This is especially helpful if you are traveling and can do some preparation before you leave noting the birds you may encounter. 

Special Activity:Life List Printable

Bird Life List Printable
I have attempted to create a Life List Printable that will be flexible for you to use in your nature notebook. I am in the process of testing it out in my everyday bird sightings.

Your list can be as detailed as you wish.
Things to include: Date and Time of Day. Location. Gender. Weather. Bird Sounds. Number of birds seen.

Additional resources:
Printable Checklists by Country or Region (updated the link with one that should get you started)
 

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #5. I love the quotes in this challenge from Charlotte Mason. Remind yourself that you are the key to a successful outing and follow your child’s lead as much as possible. After your outdoor time, start or add to your running list of birds you see in your backyard. You can use the notebook page from the ebook for further information.

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You can see and download a sample challenge and notebook pages: OHC Getting Started Ebook Sample.


Please note that this ebook is included in every level of membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Birding By Ear


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This will be a great week to get outside and look and listen for birds. Hopefully you have started a list of your feeder birds and now you can take a few minutes to look up on the All About Birds website what your local birds sound like.You can do this by typing in your bird in the search box and then clicking the “sounds” tab a little ways down on the page. Birding by ear is such a great skill for little ones since they many times will hear a bird before they see it. What a great way to work on our listening skills together…outside in the fresh air and exploring our own yards and neighborhoods! 

Split your Outdoor Hour Challenge time this week between preparing for identifying birds by their call using the All about Birds website and then putting your skills to work. The additional activities this week will give you some more information about just how birds sing. The second video is for all the adults to be inspired by as we endeavor to share the many bird’s songs with our children…be encouraged!

Additional Activity: Videos, a Quiz, and Inspiration

The Language of Birds

Test your knowledge of your local bird calls: eNature Birdcall Quiz (online listening).


Now something special….the power of nature and being outdoors! Want to be inspired? Watch this video Birding by Ear (Blind birdwatchers in Texas!)

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2. This is one of my favorite challenges….to listen and then use simple words to describe your outdoor time. Use the ideas in this challenge to help your child listen carefully during your time outdoors…even if it is just for a few minutes. Record your words in your nature journal or on the notebook page in the ebook. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Bird Study Grid


We are staring a month long focus on birds using the Handbook of Nature Study and other resources found here on my blog and in each Friday’s post. Make sure you have subscribed to this blog so you will receive the monthly newsletter download link for additional bird study encouragement and special discounts on ebooks and other products.  

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
For our first bird related challenge, let’s all print out our Bird Study Grids from the newsletter. This month they are a little different than in previous months. I have given you two simple grids that you all can use wherever you live and at whatever time of year you want to study birds. There are also two smaller tally sheets you can print out for your nature journal to record bird colors and bird parts you observe. Print and cut any or all of the grids this month and have some fun while taking your Outdoor Hour Challenge time either outdoors looking for birds or from you window if you need to.  


Printable Activity: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Table Ideas Birds
Use the suggestions on this free printable to build or add to your nature table. There are many suggestions that have hyperlinks so make sure to check those out for additional ideas and resources. Send me a photo of your nature table and it may be included in the next newsletter!

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #4.  Use your outdoor time to talk about your new focus for the month on birds and all the different ways you can learn about birds. Spend a few minutes listening for birds, looking for signs of birds, and then completing the accompanying notebook page in the ebook or an entry in your own nature journal. 

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Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Library

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Rock Observation Chart


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week try to find at least one specific rock to collect and observe. If you need to, pick a rock from your collection and use that as your subject. Use your outdoor time to slow down and really look for rocks or if you have snow on the ground, try to remember where there are rocks in your neighborhood and plan for a future rock hunt when the weather is more agreeable.

You may wish to complete the granite or the quartz challenge that were previously posted here on the Handbook of Nature Study:
Granite Study
Quartz Study

You may pick any rock to study that you have on hand. There are several other rocks listed in the Table of Contents for the Handbook of Nature Study that you may wish to use in your study. 
 

Printable Activity:

Rock Observation Chart: Use this printable chart to examine several of your rocks carefully. This is a little more advanced activity using vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to you. The activity is meant to be a simplified exercise in learning how to use deductive reasoning to identify your rock sample. 

 

You may find these links helpful: Identifying Minerals and Mineral Field Tests.

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #7.  We are focusing on rocks this month so you can start your own rock field guide using the directions and notebook page in this challenge. You can record your observations from the printable activity above on your rock field guide card if you wish. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge- Rock Study With Magnifying Lens


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Now that we have all started our rock collections either by gathering rocks during our outdoor time or finding rocks we had already in the house, let’s take a closer look using a magnifying lens. This is where you are going to learn just how interesting rocks can be when you slow way down to take a careful look at them. Use the printable below to help you get started.

Rocks Up Close Printable Activity
Print the Rocks Up Close activity page and use it to guide a careful study of your rock. Sketch your rock carefully using colored pencils or markers.


Rocks Up Close Printable

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. This challenge is perfect to go along with the Up Close and Personal challenge using your magnifying lens and the notebook page from the ebook.Have fun and learn as much as you can by looking carefully at your rocks.
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Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Start a Rock Collection


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Rock collecting comes naturally to most children. Rocks seem to fill their pockets and many times end up in yours as well. One way to build appreciation for rocks is to start a formal collection. Honestly, your personal collection can be just a few rocks that have special meaning or interest to you. Start small. This week you are encouraged to find one or two rocks that you can add to your collection. Use a rock field guide to help identify your rocks. (See the Amazon widget at the bottom of this entry on the blog for my suggestions.)

You may wish to use some of the ideas from last week’s challenge: Rock Grid Study.

Thank you to Middle Girl at Hodgepodge for making a treasure box for us to see.

Rock Collection Box Printable
To go along with this challenge, I have put together a printable that you can use to create your very own rock treasure box using an empty egg carton. Print out it out and then decorate it with paints, markers, glitter, or any other art materials you have on hand. Use the labels to record the names of your rocks.

My Rock Treasure Box Printable

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #6. 
In this challenge you will find suggestions for starting and making collections of all kinds. Rocks you collect yourself during your outdoor time or while traveling are a perfect way to build up a lifetime appreciation for rocks.
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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Rock Grid Study and Games

A whole month spread out in front of us to focus our nature study on rocks! Preparing these challenges, I started off with a lack of enthusiasm but as they unfolded I realized I was looking forward to learning more about rocks through the activities suggested in the Outdoor Hour Challenges. If you lack enthusiasm, I suggest reading the article in the January Newsletter, How I Teach The “Hard” Subjects. It gives practical suggestions for making your rock study a success.  

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Use the Rock Grid from the newsletter to get you started with your rock related nature study this month and then play a few rock themed games. Pick a few of the suggestions and get outside with your children and see what you can accomplish. If current weather conditions make it difficult to get outdoors, you can complete the square that says, “Find a rock you want to learn more about using a book from the library.” Use a rock from your nature table or from your collection.

Special Activity: Rock Games Printable

I have gathered four simple rock games and activities for you to share with your children. These make great additions to your nature table as well.
Rock Games Printable

  • Memory – Rock Version
  • Rock Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Sorting Games
  • Mystery Rock Game

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #1.  Complete the notebook page that goes along with this challenge with any rock-related observations you made during your outdoor time. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seasonal Weather: Photo and Picnic


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week spend your outdoor time enjoying the daily weather. Keep track of your weather for a week, recording the temperature, rainfall, etc. You can use any of the free printables on my Freebies Page. Look there for the seasonal weather pages and the weather chart.

You can also use any of the Seasonal Weather Challenges from the past that are appropriate for your time of the year:

Printable Notebook Page: 
During your seasonal weather observations, take a photo of something that shows your current weather conditions. Better yet, let your children take the images and then print them out for a personalized nature journal entry. This can be done in each season and recorded in your nature journal’s seasonal section.

Printable Notebook Page:My Seasonal Weather.

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #10.  I realize that this is a cold time of year (or hot for you Southern Hemisphere folks)  for many of you but there are ways to make a “picnic” happen even if you just drive in the car, park under a tree, and enjoy some sandwiches and hot cocoa. Get creative! If you have a picnic, make sure to take a photo to include in your nature journal. I will challenge myself to taking a picnic in the next few weeks with my family and I will post our experiences here on the blog. 

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Cloud Observations


Outdoor Hour Challenge:

Special Activity:Watercolor Clouds
If you are able, observe clouds on several occasions and then use watercolors to record some clouds for your nature journal. To make it fun, use melted snow or rain with your paints! We do this a lot when we are out on the trail, using whatever water source we encounter.

Some added help with getting started with watercolors:
Making a Watercolor Wash
Wet on Wet

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #3.  Make sure to read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study for this challenge. We all need reminders about how to encourage our children in their nature journals. This week you can record some cloud sketches in your journals or use the notebook page from the ebook to keep a record of your outdoor time.  

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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 12/30/12.

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You may wish to view my daughter’s Cloud Art Show and see how other painters captured clouds. There are so many ways to show clouds in your nature journal…watercoloring is just one way.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Weather Grid and Weather Sounds


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week your outdoor time should be all about the things you hear during your winter weather walk. Take along your Weather Grid (from the December Newsletter) and see if you can find your three weather related words for your nature journal. Observe the wind and which direction it is coming from. Listen for the sounds of weather.
If you are currently in your summer season, you may be interested in the Summer Weather-Using Your Senses challenge from the Summer 2010 ebook. 

Printable Notebook Page
Free printable this week: Weather Sounds: Use this notebook page to record your weather related sounds. You can use this as an on-going nature study project and add to your list as you listen throughout the year.

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2. This Weather Grid and Weather Sounds challenge will go perfectly with this Using Your Words Challenge! After your outdoor time, try to complete the assignment with weather related words and then record them in your nature journal.  Complete the accompanying notebook page if your child has interest.

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