nature study Archives

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – December 2017

Outdoor Mom December 2017

During our outdoor time this month we went….

You could say we have become obsessed with stalking the beavers in our river. It become obsessive when it involved an actual kayak adventure on the freezing river in freezing temperatures. So far, we have only found signs of beaver activity and no actual live animals. We are not giving up and will continue once the river freezes and the snows come…we are hoping it will make tracking the signs easier. (This may be a naïve expectation but I guess we will find out as the season unfolds.)

The most inspiring thing we experienced was….

Project Feederwatch, as usual, makes me happy. Happy to count birds and happy to slow down enough to accurately identify and count the visitors. My family will attest to the fact that I get excited like a child when I spot a new bird in the feeder. This month I spotted a Pygmy nuthatch! This was added to my life list and was happy it appeared on a bird count day.

I am reading…..

I am devouring several good books right now and this one is nature study related, There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather by Linda Akeson McGurk. (edited to add an affiliate link)The gist of the book is that the author’s growing up years in Scandinavia taught her that getting outdoors in the cold of winter is a challenge but so restorative to both children and adults. It has renewed my determination to keep going with my Outdoor Hour Challenges as inspiration for getting outside in inclement weather. Sidenote: Coincidentally, my daughter and I both checked this book out from the library at the same time, her in New York and me in Oregon.

Black Butte — Photo Credit: My son Mr. B

Photo I want to share…

My boys have embraced the outdoor life here in Central Oregon. My youngest has hiked to many peaks and mountain tops in the past few months. He shares his adventures through his amazing images. This one is from the top of Black Butte.

Could there be any better way to make this Outdoor Mom’s heart soar than to see her children getting out and exploring the beauty and solitude of nature?

So as the year winds down, I am looking back over my nature goals for 2017. Once again I am feeling quite successful in some of the goals and a bit of a failure in others. I’m not beating myself up over this because 2017 has been a huge leap of faith in my life as we moved from California to Oregon and tried to find a new normal. Goals I made at the beginning of the year had no way to reflect the amazing opportunities that arose over the following twelve months. I will be posting a nature goal recap soon that will contain my reflections on the year that has been 2017.

Do you want a sneak peek into my new nature journal project for 2018? I found this at a bookstore in Bend a few months ago. Immediately, I knew it was my project for 2018! Look for more information on this soon here on my blog.

Edit to add an affiliate link: Nature Observer.

2017 Outdoor Mom Entries –Just in case you missed one!

January – Rain and Rain and Snow

February – More rain and trying to be outdoors anyway

March – Hawaii vacation trip

April – Wildflower time

May – First Oregon Entry (with elk!)

June – First Central Oregon Summer

July (so big I broke it into 3 parts): Part 1 Backyard and Part 2 Wildlife and Part 3 Travels

(seemed to have missed a month somehow)

September – wildfire smoke and my boys come home

October – Autumn travels and high desert gardening

November – Walking to the river every day

Want to join in the Outdoor Mom post?

Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.

During our outdoor time this month we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
One last image…

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Starting a Nature Journal

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Nature Journal – How to Get Started

From the Archives and the Autumn 2010 ebook

I know many of you have been eager to get started on your nature journals using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. This week’s challenge will help you do just that!

Click over for specific instructions and make sure to read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study for inspiration. Please note that every nature journal page should begin with some outdoor time with your children. The key to creating great pages is to have something of interest to draw and/or write about in your journal.

If you are looking for some free nature notebooking pages to print out and use with your family, I invite you to click over to my Free Downloads page. Make sure to scroll down to the blank pages at the bottom of the page.

We are currently working through the Autumn 2010 ebook. For a complete nature study schedule for the next year, please click over and read this entry: Plans for October 2017 through August 2018.

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

From the Archives: Struggling with Consistency and Focus

Struggling With Consistency and Focus

From the Archives: This is one of my favorite posts for encouraging new and struggling families with their nature study plans. The thoughts expressed by one of my readers reflect a common struggle that many people have and email me about often.

The reader posed this dilemma:

She shared that she has a hard time focusing (on nature study), was easily distracted by really good ideas, and felt that she needed to cover academic subjects first while she had the children’s attention.

In this post from my archives, I address this situation with some practical advice using the Outdoor Hour Challenge (specifically challenges 1-3).

I invite you to click over and read the entry and see if you find something there that encourages you as the new school year begins or maybe something in the post will stimulate you to give nature study a chance.

Let me know if you have any questions or additional comments.

This is what I encourage you to remember if nothing else:

Nurture a love of the outdoors and the interesting things you find there with your children as they are growing up. Train their eyes to see what is there in front of them….stop and look and listen. These are skills that will make them happier people and better students in all areas.

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Back to School Homeschool Giveaway at NotebookingPages.com

Many of you know that I am a big fan of NotebookingPages.com and their many homeschool related products. Because of that, I am making sure you know about their current promotion.

This giveaway is worth taking a look at and you may be the Grand Prize winner of an outrageously amazing prize package, including an Ultimate Naturalist Membership here on the Handbook of Natuer Study.

I invite you to click over and enter to win! Plus, if you sign up for a subscription, you get a free Notebook Sampler.

Make sure to enter by September 8th!

Please note I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and I receive a small commission if you end up making a purchase.

Notebook Pages in Your Nature Journal

How to Organize Your Nature Notebook Pages

Free Notebooking Pages Product Sampler from NotebookingPages.com.

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Posted on August 10, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom – July Part 1 My Backyard

Outdoor Mom July: Part 1 – My Own Backyard

There is so much to relate that I am splitting my entry into three parts!

Picture postcard perfect! That pretty much sums up July in Central Oregon…at least that has been my experience. Longtime residents here say that July and August are the short summer season so we have tried to soak in as much outdoor time as we can before it passes.

I can’t help but compare living here to my California home. It doesn’t get as hot in the afternoons and it’s MUCH cooler at night. My new house is perfectly situated to view the sunrise each morning because there is a large pasture sloping down to the river. This makes a perfect vantage point to watch the sunrise each morning up over the distant mountains and peaks.

Each new day I wake up to open the blinds to see the colors and clouds….the Grand Creator’s morning artwork. Many times I try to take a photo, but each time I am disappointed in the results. My iPhone camera just doesn’t capture the magnificence I see with my eye so most days I am content with enjoying it in the moment.

The wildlife show starts early around here. I don’t even need to get out of bed because the view from my bedroom window allows me to see a great sweep of landscape behind our home.

The arrival of the black cattle to the pasture down by the river was on July 8^th. I woke up one morning and there were, not exaggerating, two dozen cows who appeared overnight right behind my back fence. There are some pine trees and tall grass that they seem to enjoy both in the early morning and then later in the day. Seriously, they have 108 acres back there and many times they are right at my back door, looking at us with big, wide cow eyes. Their curiosity was at first with our big black Labrador dog and then the Woody wind twirly. They stand and watch the wheels go round. So very funny!

I have come to love the sound of a distant cow moo and the sight of adorable young calves that follow their mothers around the pasture. I will not think about the time they’ll be absent from my back pasture and what that will mean for them. For now, they are a welcome addition to my animal viewing.

Summer so far has brought a different set of birds to the feeders and surroundings. Many of the birds that were here in May and June have moved on and they have been replaced by some new birds. I’m still working on learning all their names but there is such joy in the discovery.

My new friends here have realized I’m a bird nerd, sort of an oddity. What they see as common, I many times get super excited about seeing. I’m spending a lot of time filling feeders and birdbaths. The more plentiful the food and water, the more birds come to visit. I have a hanging pot of flowers outside my bedroom window and the hummingbirds come a visiting each morning.

Sometimes one and many times two hummingbirds are busy sipping nectar from the colorful flowers in the pot. We had a switch in hummingbird species early in July, from rufous hummingbirds to calliope hummingbirds. The gorgeous rufous colored birds are all gone, migrating further north I’m suspecting. This is something I want to research further because it fascinates me that they can fly so far over a wide migration route.

I’m keeping lots of notes and taking lots of photos to help me start to learn the patterns of flora and fauna here in Central Oregon. I purchased a new field guide that is more specific to this area to help me know what things to expect and to look for as I’m outdoors exploring. Summer is a time for being outside and I’m really taking that to heart.

I’m going to split this really long entry into three parts so you’re not overwhelmed with reading it all in one sitting.

Look for Part 2 – Wildlife Viewings

Look for Part 3 – Travels

How Do You Join?

During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Barb — 13 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenges – Plans for October 2017 to August 2018

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Plans for October 2017 to August 2018

The academic school year is drawing ever closer and with it will be some changes here on the Handbook of Nature Study. Since my move to Oregon last spring, I have barely kept my head above water as far as writing new challenges, keeping up with blog posts, and creating a monthly newsletter. It is not a good feeling.

I want to bring some joy and passion back to my work here so I’ve made some hard decisions.

Things to Note

I will no longer be creating a monthly newsletter. This will free up my time to write more about what I am learning and experiencing here in my new Central Oregon home. I realize that most of what I’m doing in my monthly newsletter can easily be shared in blog posts so the content will still be there for readers but not in the form of a newsletter.
There will continue to be 2-3 new printables per month for members. Those printables are usually either a notebook pages or activity that can be found in the Ultimate and Journey level membership libraries.
I have one new ebook in the works for spring 2018 and possibly another one for summer 2018.

Nature Study Plans for October 2017 to August 2018 – Ebooks to Be Used from the Ultimate Naturalist Library

Note: I am going to list the ebooks that will be the basis for the next year’s nature study here on the Handbook of Nature Study. It is advantageous but not necessary to have access to the ebooks. The ebooks contain custom printables (notebook pages and coloring pages) that will enhance your nature study but you can just as easily complete a page in your own blank nature journal.

October 2017 to December 2017 – We are going to use the Autumn Nature Study ebook plans from 2010. Many of you have not worked through this ebook in the past and I am anxious to complete these challenges again in my new habitat. You can find all of the challenges listed on this page: Autumn Nature Study. Scroll down and you will see the specific topics for the Friday challenges during this period of time.

This series of Outdoor Hour Challenges was written to help your family learn more about each topic by using comparisons. I explain how to make comparisons and then use a Venn Diagram to help see the topic more in detail. (Venn Diagram instructions and printable included in the ebook.)

January 2018 to February 2018 – I’m super excited to use the ideas in the Winter Wednesday series here in my new Central Oregon home. These cold weather and winter related challenges are going to help all of us get to know more about our winter world.

March 2018 to April 2018 – Outdoor Hour Challenge Learning About Birds from 2016. Let’s use the bird challenges this spring to learn more about the birds in our yards and neighborhoods.

May 2018 to June 2018 – Summer Nature Study – Using Your Senses from 2010. We are going to be using eight of the challenges from this ebook. It is going to be a lot of fun to revisit so many of these older challenges once again.

July and August 2018 – Outdoor Hour Challenges – Getting Started ebook! This is the ebook that started the whole thing around here. I would love for newbies and veterans to join us working through the first ten nature study challenges before the next school year starts.

So there you have the plan for the year to come! I became very excited as I made these plans and I hope you will consider joining us for all or part of the nature study journey this time around. As always, make these plans work for your family by adding or subtracting things to customize your experience.

If you have any questions, you can comment here on the blog or send me a direct email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Just as a sidenote: I miss the community we had built here using the blog carnival and Mr. Linky system from times past. I yearn to hear from families once in awhile to know how your nature study is going. It fuels me! So, if you have a moment over the next few months, shoot me an email or leave a comment. I love to hear your stories from your nature study time.

You can follow me on Instagram (Outdoorhourchallenge) to see my day to day nature study photos. I follow many of the OHC families so share your Instagram name and I will pop over and check your images out too!

Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!

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Posted on April 7, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Special Note:Mustard OHC Postponed

Rarely I have to postpone an Outdoor Hour Challenge, but this is one of those times.

My husband and I have been in Oregon all week looking for a new home. We found the best house in the most gorgeous setting ever. This of course took up much more time than I anticipated and coupled with the fact that I can only use my iPhone for posting, the Mustard and Wild Radish Outdoor Hour Challenge will be posted tomorrow.

I am looking forward to sharing our new habitat in Central Oregon in the years to come.

Thank you for your patience!

For Ultimate and Journey level members, you can download the challenge anytime by logging into your membership. You can click the Join Us button at the top of the website to learn more about the benefits of purchasing a membership on the Handbook of Nature Study. Or, look for the mustard nature study challenge tomorrow on the blog.

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – January 2017

My February entry is a little early this month because I am anticipating a week with my daughter where we will be going unplugged for the most part. I will share my early February activities and thoughts in the hope that it will inspire you to get out and have your own Outdoor Mom time. Don’t miss the prompts at the bottom of the post for some ideas to get you started if you want to write up your own journal or share something in a comment here at the end of this entry.

During our outdoor time this month we went….

We have made time for only one formal hike because of the weather. It has been all over the place as far as rain, snow, ice, and wind. What a ride! My husband takes a daily hike and he invited me to accompany him early one morning last week during the middle of our wettest week in a very long time. We actually had over 17 inches of rain in less than a week. He loaned me some rain gear and it kept me dry as we hiked down a familiar trail to the river. It is usually a loop trail but on this day about a third of the trail was under almost flood stage water. The power of water always impresses me and this day was no different. The photo above shows my husband on the trail’s end. I captured the event in my nature journal.

The most inspiring thing we experienced was…

We had one snow even where we received about an inch and a half overnight. The snow stuck around all morning and it happened to be a Project Feederwatch day so I was periodically looking out at our feeders.

About 9 AM I noticed a small hawk resting on the block wall to the side of our feeder area. He had his back to us so I tried to use the binoculars to spy his features. I didn’t want to spook him so I stayed fairly still as I observed. I was able to snap a few images that helped me identify him as a sharp-shinned hawk. It was an awesome sight and very rare to see a hawk in our yard.

I added nature journal pages about….

In living up to my goal to create a nature journal page each week, I have been working diligently on my journal.

>>>Winter Backyard Study (from the January 2017 newsletter), Nature Goals 2017 – made an official record of my goals, focused mainly on my journal, Sharp-shinned Hawk sighting, Rain Day at the American River<<<<

I am dreaming about…

An up-coming trip where I will put my feet in warm sand.

A photo I would like to share…

We have had a downy woodpecker visit our suet feeder just about every day this week. He is a welcome visitor!

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.

How Do You Join?

During our outdoor time this week we went….
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
I added nature journal pages about….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

You can use the free monthly newsletter along with the Handbook of Nature Study book for your nature study. Adding a membership gives you access to the Ultimate Naturalist Library’s ebooks and printables which provides members with even more in-depth studies each month.

Read more about it!

Look for me on Instagram if you want to follow my outdoor experiences in photos. Use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge or #OHCnaturejournal and I will stop by and see what you are up to on your Instagram account.

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Barb — 6 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Nature Goals 2017

Nature Study Goals 2017 – Let me inspire you to create your own goals!

I am at a point in my life that I am simplifying and decluttering my home, my thinking, and my lifestyle. I’m embracing these changes as I see the space both physically and mentally it provides for new opportunities and experiences. I have thought long and hard about how this relates to what I do here on my blog and with the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Things here on the blog will go on pretty much as before except for perhaps fewer posts in months where we are traveling. I will still be creating a monthly newsletter as a companion to the weekly Outdoor Hour Challenges. There will still be printables and activities added to the Member’s Library.

Big News Here at the Outdoor Hour Challenge

The biggest development here, and the real reason I want to simplify my blog work, is a new wildflower ebook in the works. I will expound on that very soon here on the blog but you can anticipate the first set of wildflower challenges (all new) to start posting in April.

But for me personally, 2017 is going to be a year that I focus on my personal nature journal. Most of my goals will be centered on creating a more meaningful and thorough record of my nature study experiences. (Especially after reading and being inspired by The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling.)

You are welcome to join me as I pull from ideas that are in my archives, from internet sources like Pinterest, and from the books I have on my nature reference shelf. I will of course be sharing some of my work here on the blog but you may consider following me on Instagram since that is my social media outlet of choice and lends itself to the visual nature of a nature journal.

Nature Study Goals 2017 – Focus on My Nature Journal

Create monthly entries for my Outdoor Mom experiences as I share our nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge, our travel experiences, and any of my family’s nature adventures.
Focus on my nature journal and create at least one page weekly. This is a BIG commitment on my part but I think it is a goal I can reach with continued focus and inspiration. I have created a chart for the front of my nature journal that has page ideas for me to use so that I get a variety of pages over the year’s time.
Post images of my nature journal pages on Instagram each week.
Read and review 6 nature journal related books. I will need inspiration to keep me going. I haven’t had a chance to gather 6 books together yet but I will be sure to share them both on Instagram and here on my blog ASAP.

I always love to read your goals so leave me a comment with your goals or a link to your blog if you post an entry there.

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Nature Study Goals From Previous Years:

2016

2015

2014

2013

Are you interested in creating your own nature goals? Here is a free printable for you to use as you brainstorm the goal and the steps to meeting that goal.

Nature Study Goals 2017 Planning Page

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Barb — 6 Comments

Nature Study Goals 2016 – Year End Recap

Nature Study Goals 2016- End of the Year Update

1. Complete 2 out of 4 Outdoor Hour Challenges each month posted on Fridays.
I did fairly well for the first part of the year but then tapered off drastically at the end of the year. I know consistency is really the key to nature study so I will be putting this on my goal list again next year.

This made me a little sad. I haven’t been as diligent in posting about our nature experiences as I would like to as the self-appointed leader of this Outdoor Hour Challenge project. The problem isn’t with getting outside or the actual completing of the challenges because I rarely miss out on that part of this goal. But, I do fall down a bit on the recording of the experiences here on my blog. Earlier this week I went through and created some nature journal pages for October, November, and December and I will be sharing those here on the blog.

January entries: Starling Bird Study and our Pines and Cones study was included in my Outdoor Mom’s Journal for January.
February entry: Weeds and Seeds.
March entry: Fungi Photos
April entries: Garden Seeds Project and Signs of Spring
May entries: Wildflowers by Color and Wildflower Color Hunt
June entry: June 2016 Nature Photo (from newsletter)
July entry: None
August entries: Wildflower Observations and Snail Observations
September entries: Insect Study
October entry: None
November entry: None
December entry: 3 Questions Nature Walk (from the newsletter)

2. Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal.
Completed!

Osprey
Great Blue Heron
California Towhee
Oak Titmouse

3. Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower.

Success!

I shared how I started a record of wildflowers observed in a separate notebook starting back in the first quarter. I was able to keep this going all year! I found this method of recording both local wildflowers and flowers I saw during our travels to be efficient and satisfying. I am going to start another notebook in 2017!
4. Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book– We didn’t take any Yosemite trips in the last quarter of the year. As a year-long project, I enjoyed taking the time to find out more about the beautiful national park that is so dear to my heart. I think we accomplished enough towards this goal during 2016 that I can call it a success.
5. Visit a new national park.
Accomplished!

Cabrillo National Monument

Shenandoah National Park

Devil’s Postpile National Monument

6. Visit two new state parks.

California State Parks: San Clemente State Park, South Yuba River State Park.

Oregon State Parks: La Pine State Park, Silver Falls State Park, South Beach State Park, Jessie Honeyman State Park. We also went to Cape Perpetua, Hecata Head, Cape Foulweather, and Yaquina Head.

7. Identify three rocks from my original challenge.

I was able to observe, study, and then journal about one rock this year, basalt.

8. Read 10 nature related book!

I finished 7 books and their reviews as part of this nature goal. I am in the middle of reading/using the eighth book, Laws Guide to Nature Drawing. Look for a review soon!

How did your nature goals play out this year?

Free Nature Goal Planning Notebook Page

Free Nature Book Project planning notebook page.

Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!

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Category: nature study

Outdoor Mom – December 2017

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Starting a Nature Journal

From the Archives: Struggling with Consistency and Focus

Back to School Homeschool Giveaway at NotebookingPages.com

Outdoor Mom – July Part 1 My Backyard

Outdoor Hour Challenges – Plans for October 2017 to August 2018

Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!

Special Note:Mustard OHC Postponed

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – January 2017

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Read more about it!

Outdoor Mom’s Nature Goals 2017

Be Inspired! Be Encouraged! Get Outdoors!

Nature Study Goals 2016 – Year End Recap

How did your nature goals play out this year?

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!