Category: Handbook of Nature Study

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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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Fresh Corn to Eat and For a Little Nature Study

I helped my dad in his garden today…picking corn! He has so much of it that he is tired of eating corn so our family was obliged to take some ears for our dinner. 🙂

He purchased Renee’s Garden seeds and planted three rows and all of it came up and is producing lots of sweet corn.

I was wishing I had some kids that could do a corn nature study using the Corn Study from the archives here on the Handbook of Nature Study as part of the Crop Plants series we did several years ago.

For now, I will just eat corn until we are tired of it!

Hopefully you all get the link to the newsletter with today’s post if you are a subscriber. If you don’t get the link, let me know. I can’t figure out why some didn’t get it yesterday.

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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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Milkweed Nature Study- Start a Year Long Study

Showy Milkweed May 2013 Yosemite National Park

The beginning of our seasonal milkweed study started actually back in May when we visited Yosemite National Park. This would have been our official spring observation and it was just starting to grow and be recognizable. The soft long leaves of the Showy Milkweed were a grey-green color and we did actually see some flower buds forming.

Showy Milkweed Information on CalFlora.
Showy Milkweed on USDA Plants – pdf

Here is the link to the challenge and printable notebook page: Seasonal Milkweed Study.

Showy Milkweed at Yosemite National Park – Half Dome

I couldn’t resist stopping during our bike ride to capture some milkweed with Half Dome in the background. No better spot to observe milkweed could there be in the entire world.

We didn’t observe any insects on the milkweed yet but I anticipate seeing some Milkweed beetles when we visit in a few weeks. If there are blossoms there may even be some monarch butterflies fluttering by.

In our local area I only know of one spot where there is milkweed naturally. I did attempt to grow some milkweed last year again but the roofers knocked my pot off the deck when they were replacing our roof. I almost cried. I need to get some more seeds and try again!

Milkweed Seeds from ButterflyEncounters.com – I have purchased from them before and have been very happy with the quality of the seeds.
Live Monarch – Free seeds (pay postage)

I need to start a nature journal page to record my seasonal milkweed study. For now, I have the photos printed and will add them before we complete our summer observations.

Have you found some milkweed in your area?

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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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Wildflower Nature Study – Getting Out and Enjoying the Weather

My lovely hedge bindweed is really spreading out in the area I am allowing it to grow. I know in my heart that it is a weed but when a plant grows all on its own, with no need for lots of water, and has a pretty flower, I am willing to let it have its way. There is a whole lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 139) on hedge bindweed and it is also included in last year’s Vine Nature Study.

These are usually an early spring wildflower but I found a shady spot on our walking trail that had some blooming just this past week. We call them Fairy Lanterns but they are also known as White Globe Lilies. We see this one each year but I don’t think I have it in my nature journal…making a note to add it this week.

Now to the yellow multi-petal flower. I have such a hard time with identifying these sorts of flowers even using a local field guide. I will just enjoy it while it lasts along the trail.

It is the time of year that the Fireweed is blooming in our area…so pretty in its pinkish purple color.

There are two plants that run wild in our area and they are so common that you almost forget to stop and take a look. This is the Purple Vetch that grows like crazy along the roadsides and empty spaces. The second plant is the Sierra Nevada Pea….in shades of pink and purple.

We are enjoying our wildfower and weed grid study and will continue with it all month.

Have you found any wildflowers yet?

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Petunia Flower Study Using the Handbook of Nature Study

Pretty Petunia Nature Study in My Garden

Purple and pink petunias are a garden favorite around here. Well, any purple flower is my favorite but petunias are a great color spot even in my vegetable garden.

I decided years ago that I like to mix up my garden boxes and include pretty flowers as well as veggies.This year we planted marigolds and petunias to add that splash of color for the early spring boxes.

I am looking forward to spending some time observing my petunias over the summer season and completing a petunia nature study…especially to see how the insects navigate the flower tube.

You can find a Petunia Flower Study notebooking page in last week’s Petunia Flower Study Challenge.

Have you planted your petunias yet?

Some extra links for you:
Wild Petunia Coloring Pages
How to Deadhead Your Petunias -YouTube

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Garden Flowers Focus – Using Notebooking Pages

We have studied many of the garden flowers listed in the Handbook of Nature Study over the years. Using the simple ideas in each lesson make it enjoyable and memorable. For this challenge (Focus on Garden Flowers), we picked just two flowers to study more in-depth- Salvia and Petunias (which will be the star of the next OHC this Friday).

Guess what? We have never had salvia in our garden before so a trip to Home Depot was taken and we found several varieties of salvia to choose from. We picked this purple salvia which we are hoping will apply to the salvia in the Handbook of Nature Study. From the label we learned it needs a sunny spot (6 hours of sun) and water every other day. It blooms summer to fall and will grow to a height of 10-36″.

I decided to plant my saliva in a pot so I won’t forget to water it and so I can watch it grow and blossom and hopefully watch the bees in it. It is a perennial so I will eventually add it to the flower garden.

From the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 161), we looked closely at the flowers, looking for the corolla-tubes, stamens, and anthers as described in the narrative. The bees apparently have to push their heads agains the inner arms of the stamesn to lift them which causes the anthers to leave a streak of pllen along the bee’s fuzzy sides. The bees then have to crawl almost inside the tubes to get the nectar. I’m not sure that my variety of salvia will provide such a show but we will be watching.

I will be on the lookout for some Saliva as described in the Handbook of Nature Study so we can really get a good look. I printed the salvia notebook page from NotebookingPages.com’s Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers set.


While we were at Home Depot, I picked up some more seeds to plant in the garden. They had some larkspur seeds and I will plant those and use along with the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study, hopefully later this summer. There were two other seeds that caught my eye and I will be planting those today along my fence-line- Hollyhocks and Black-Eyed Susans!

Our garden is all planted and I hope to get a garden entry done sometime in the next week to share all the lovely Renee’s Garden seeds that we have tucked into their garden beds…just waiting!

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Frog Nature Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
You can reference the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Frogs from the Summer Series for pages to read in the Handbook of Nature Study, observation ideas, and some follow-up activities. Pick and choose which ones are appropriate for your local area and weather. Please make sure to save this study in case you don’t have tadpoles or frogs to observe in person. This is a wonderful long-term study that your children will love. 

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Frogs

Printable: Frog Field Guide Notebook Page


This week’s free printable is one that even your older students will enjoy using along with a field guide. Pick a local frog to learn more about and record your findings for your nature journal using this free printable notebook page. 
Frog Field Guide Notebook Page
  
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #7. Take time to read through this challenge and contemplate how you could use your reptile and amphibian study to make a field guide of your local subjects. This could be a long term project that you add to as you come across new things to learn about.

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Reptile and Amphibian Grid Study


Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This month we will be using the Reptile and Amphibian Grid Study from the April Newsletter to help us learn more about this interesting topic. Feel free to cut your grid to fit your nature journal or to customize your journal to fit your interests. Don’t forget that you can save the grid study for a future date if you don’t have access to any reptiles or amphibians for this month’s nature study.

 
Free Printable Notebook Pages:Reptiles and Amphibians
Use these pages to help get your family started with good working definitions of both reptiles and amphibians. They also have a place to write any interesting facts you want to remember about these topics.

Printable Notebook Pages: Reptiles and Amphibians
Some ideas for your notebook pages:

  • Reptiles in your local area
  • Amphibians in your local area
  • Reptiles or amphibians you have observed in person
  • Your favorite reptiles and amphibians

Extra Links:
Reptile videos on National Geographic
Amphibian videos on National Geographic
 

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2.  Use your words to describe any reptiles or amphibians you observe this month. Learning new vocabulary is an important part of nature study and will help your children in their later study of any life science.