I just added this month’s free printable notebook pages to the library for members. Remember the Ultimate and Journey levels of membership receive access to all of the monthly printables.
Wildflower Study – This notebook page will be a great addition to any wildflower study you complete with your children.
Silent Autumn Nature Walk– Plan on taking a silent (or as silent as possible)
These new printables are free if you are a member of the Ultimate Naturalist or Journey level memberships. You need to log into your account and then check the “Other Releases” section for brand new printables to enjoy along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in 2015.
Enjoy!
Take a look at the Autumn Nature Study Ideason the newly organized tab at the top of the website. I hope it helps inspire some fresh ideas for your family.
We set out to look for signs of mammals but good intentions were set aside when we spotted some wonderful butterflies along our hiking trail. I reminded myself that the best advice I always give is to follow interest and to be flexible if a nature study topic comes along that you can’t pass up.
We have long past our winter season anyway so last week’s Winter Mammal study not really a perfect fit. We had plenty of winter mammal observations when we saw the signs of beavers at our creek. We see scat all winter long just beside or in the middle of our walking trail. I have stopped sharing scat photos because it seems a little weird. I don’t want to be the “weird nature lady”.
So, our first subject of the day is this Mourning Cloak butterfly. We looked it up when we got home in our insect field guide and online. It seems the host plant for the caterpillars is the Black willow. I am going to check and see if what I remember observing in this area is a willow.I also read in my field guide that the edges can look a little “tattered” and that was the case with this particular butterfly.
We hiked down to the river, which was extremely low from lack of rain and snow melt, and we threw the ball in for our Kona dog. She never tires of retrieving the ball even when the water is cold. The sun was warm though and I sat on a big rock and felt the refreshing air and sunshine.
So how did this violet arrive here below the normal water line, in among
the river rocks? What a surprise to see its pretty purple blossoms!
Taking a break from swimming…love the pink tongue. She is one happy dog.
On the way back up to trail, I was able to capture another butterfly that we saw as we hiked. There were many, many of these flying around the area but managed to get a really good close-up of this one to share. This is a Pipevine Swallowtail. I did some research and found that this butterfly only lays its eggs on the Dutchman’s Pipe plant. I found after digging on the CalFlora website that this particular plant is found in the area we live in but I have never seen it. I am now adding it to my list of plants to look for during our travels.
One last image from our hike today. The dog went off the trail and disturbed some leaves…my husband spotted this snake all coiled up underneath. We came home and looked it up on California Herps and it appears to be a Sharp-tailed Snake. It was very small but bright red on top and black underneath. I am not a big fan of snakes but we will keep this one in mind when our spring snake study comes along.
Although we set out to look for signs of mammals and we didn’t find any to note, we feel like we were a success in keeping our eyes open for interesting things to learn about as we hiked.
I hope you get outside this week to look for something to share alongside your children.
February has been a strange month…weird weather, very few birds to count for the Great Backyard Bird Count, and hardly any special nature study events in our home. Just a February that I am glad is melting into March. We are hoping to take a few hikes to stir up some nature interest…hoping you all are enjoying the Nature Photo of the Week Pinterest Board.
Here are my February entries.Look for more images in the up-coming newsletter.
Hidden- Acorns in a fallen tree alongside our walking trail. The Acorn Woodpeckers were busy storing acorns!
Stone: Rock cairns at the river…we had a big hike to the river and found these on the rocks at the beach.
Found: We had a bunch of ladybugs in our front yard one afternoon. I love the contrast of the red ladybug and the gray-green of the lavender.
Details- This is a Bordered Plant Bug climbing on my grape hyacinth. His details make him easy to identify.
Outdoor Hour Challenge December World Observations
This challenge will help you appreciate your world during the month of December. This slowing down to make careful observations during December will help your child have something to compare with in each successive season. Learning the cycles of the natural world helps your child gain confidence by being about to distinguish the joys and blessings of each month of the year.
We have make careful observations in the past using the challenges listed below. If you would like an additional challenge, use the Shadows and Silhouettes activity below.
This really simple photo challenge can be accomplished at any time of the year. Before setting out for your outdoor time, sit with your children and discuss what a shadow and a silhouette are and how to find them. Allow them to take a photo of any shadows or silhouettes they observe during your nature walk. Print one or two of the photos for their nature journal.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2. Finding words to record in your nature journal after your walk outside is an easy way to remember the experience. Make sure to discuss the walk afterwards with your child and then help them complete the accompanying notebook page for this challenge.
We often take quiet walks together but when it is an intentional thing it seems to heighten the senses. I found today that stopping and being still is even better than just walking quietly.
When you stop and are still it gives time for the birds and little animals to come out from hiding and perhaps let you glimpse them. In my case, I was able to see some woodpeckers chasing each other from tree to tree. I heard the squirrels chattering in the trees alongside the trail that I hadn’t heard before.
I stood silently for perhaps five minutes, looking out over a little meadow area where the trees have lost all their leaves and the snow is still a bit patchy. I could feel the warm air in the sunshine as it blew just ever so slightly on my face.
I heard lots of different birds: nuthatches, jays, a flicker in the distance. I also hear the wings of a bird flutter in the bushes.
The walking trail was still covered mostly in snow and ice except where the sun had melted it away. We were alone on the trail all the way out to the road landmark where we usually turn around. I noticed the edges of the trail had lots and lots of freshly fallen acorns. I thought about how the animals in the forest seem to always have a food supply even if the weather is freezing cold.
We smelled the air several times…dampness, creosote from the old train tracks, oak leaves.
The trees made long shadows in the afternoon sun…the shadow of a bird flying overhead caught my eye as we stood along the trail.
This kind of walk refreshes like no other. I know that if you have little ones along on your walk it is a bit challenging to have quiet but it is worth a try. Challenge yourself to experience the quiet of the outdoors. You don’t have to go far or be gone for long periods of time. If your children are not accustomed to being outside, you will need to gradually earn their trust about how much fun it can be.
Most children today are not comfortable just getting outside and walking…they get bored easily. All the more reason to not procrastinate getting outside as a family to learn the benefits of just how much it can heal your spirit and body.
You will not regret it.
I also wanted to share a book with you in this entry. I mentioned it in the newsletter but it is worth sharing again with you.
We pulled out all our national park literature and this one is our favorite. I love the park choices, the art work, and concise park descriptions. Try to find it at your public library or the next time you are at a national park gift shop. I love picking up books as souvenirs and this one is a good for inspiring future travel and sharing a love of the beautiful world we live in.
I’m an Amazon Affiliate and only recommend products that I personally own (or wish I owned) and think my readers will love as well! This post may contain some links that will take you to these products on Amazon where I receive a small referral fee. I greatly appreciate your support!
Outdoor Hour Challenge Using Your Senses – December Walk
There have been several challenges here on the blog during different seasons that feature using your senses or being quiet during a nature walk. Prepare your children ahead of time by explaining that spending some of your Outdoor Hour Challenge time should be time spent quietly observing. Use the ideas in the links below and the Listening Game in the additional activities below to incorporate some “using your senses” time into your OHC this week. Don’t be discouraged if your children can only manage a minute or two of quiet…it is something they can grow into when they learn the advantages of careful observation.
Don’t forget you can use this month’s (December 2013) Study Grid from the newsletter as part of this challenge.
Additional Activity: Outdoor Listening Game
Go outside with your children and let each one find a place to sit quietly, choosing a comfortable spot where there are few distractions. Show them how to make cups with their hands and then hold them behind their ears like big deer or rabbit ears. Sit with your “deer” ears on and discover the sounds of your neighborhood or a near-by park.
This is a great training activity for sitting and listening quietly during your nature adventures.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #10. Try having a snack or picnic lunch even if it is super cold outside. Our family even found driving to a favorite spot, parking with a view to something natural, and eating in the car is a fantastic way to make a memory. Keep it simple and then come home and record your experience on the accompanying notebook page in the ebook.
Taking a nature walk can bring refreshment to your whole family. Maybe you are having a tough day and the children are a little restless or perhaps the weather is just too nice to stay inside all day…these are perfect opportunities to drop everything else, put on your shoes and take a walk in your own neighborhood or a park close by.
Stepping outside can make a world of difference if you are feeling cooped up inside your house.
Fresh air can blow the grumpy attitudes away.
There is always something new to see outside…let your children show you.
Allowing time for children to explore, run, climb, and jump is a healthy way to burn up some built up energy.
Moms need a few minutes outside to look up at the sky and remember that each day has something to be thankful for.
I created a simple nature journal with some of the highlights of our Quiet Nature Walk.
We took a hike this week and I made sure to include a few minutes to walk quietly, using all our senses. This idea was included in this month’s newsletter along with three other ideas to use during your outdoor time.
You can find all four ideas in the October 2013 Newsletter on page 3:
Color Walk
Seasonal Walk
Quiet Walk
Follow the Leader
You can still receive this edition of the newsletter until 11/1/13. If you subscribe today, you will get it in the 10/31/13 entry (Blog Carnival) that comes tomorrow. Hurry…don’t miss it before it is gone.
This edition of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter is going to inspire you to take more nature walks! All of the authors are enthusiastic about some aspect of taking a nature walk….showing how families can personalize their nature walk experiences and grow closer together in the process. Our wish is that this Nature Walk Ideas edition of the newsletter will help you get started or remind you to keep it going on a regular basis. Enjoy!
Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
5 articles to inspire and encourage your family
October Study Grid – this month’s theme is “color and texture”
2 printable notebooking pages for your nature journal
Lots of my favorite links to inspire some additional study and fun
I have attached the newsletter download link to the bottom of my blog feed so if you are a subscriber you will receive the link to the latest newsletter at the bottom of every post for the month of October. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can still subscribe and receive the newsletter link in the next post that comes to your email box. You can subscribe to my blog by filling in your email address in the subscription box on my sidebar.
Note: You can download your newsletter from the link in two ways:
If your link is clickable, right click the link and then “save link as” to save the file on your computer.
If the link is not clickable, cut and paste the link to your browser, open, and then save your newsletter to your computer.
This month’s blog sponsor is Udi’s Gluten Free….a premium gluten-free foods company that caught my attention when I attended the BEECH Retreat way back in January. I was so impressed with their products and their company that I decided to seek them out for a partnership here on my blog as a way to help promote their delicious foods to my readers. If you are gluten-free in your family or thinking about it, I highly recommend that you see if you can purchase their products in your area (look in the frozen foods department).
Why have Udi’s Gluten Free sponsor my nature study blog?
Personally, I think eating healthy foods is a part of the lifestyle that I try to promote here on my blog. I know of many families in my real life that are gluten-free and I have seen the struggles they have gone through to provide alternatives to gluten for their children who have Celiacs or other grain-related allergies. I want you to experience what I did at the BEECH Retreat. I was shocked to taste gluten-free that was so yummy!
As an active family, I wanted to show how you can take Udi’s Gluten Free products with you on the trail and on the road. This month we will be traveling to Yosemite for our big spring trip and Udi’s foods will be going along with us. I look forward to sharing the many varieties of tasty treats and staples that have found a place in our family’s diet.
Udi’s Gluten Free – Giveaway So let’s start the month off right with a fun giveaway for two free products from Udi’s Gluten Free. Use the Rafflecopter gadget to enter for acouponfor free Udi’s products. Two winners will get to try their choice of products using the coupons that I will mail to them. I will pull the winners on Wednesday night. It is as simple as that!
Udi’s provided free product for my review and for the giveaways but no other compensation was received. I love these products and want to share them with you…you will always get my honest opinion.
A week ago, our family took a trip up to the mountains to spend some time together and enjoy the beauty of an alpine lake. I thought this would be the perfect time to take a Seasonal Weather walk as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. The weekend started off with rain, sunshine, and then rainbows. We actually saw a double rainbow a couple of times….amazing!
Boy, did we have weather! The rain turned to snow and dusted the landscape with clean bright snow. The ducks and geese in the lake didn’t seem to mind much. The clouds covered the mountains in the distance but left us with a pocket of sunshine to get out into and explore.
We would watch for the sun to come out, taking advantage of the time to warm up in the bright mountain sunshine and see some more rainbows.
The snow would really fall at times and we enjoyed the beauty of it…we didn’t have to go outside unless we wanted to do so. Mr. A met up with some friends and went snowboarding one of the days we were up at the lake….crazy teenage snowboarders. (Sorry Mr. T that you dislocated your shoulder.)
This was pretty much the pattern for our whole weekend…rainbows and sunshine…snowing in the distance.
One of the days we took a drive around the lake to a spot we like to hike at but the wind was blowing so very hard that just getting out of the car was difficult. This video is just showing how much the large pines were swaying back and forth in the gusts of wind…it also was really super loud just like on the video. Amazing power of the wind! We experienced 50 mph winds (gusts higher than that).
It was hard to even stand up in the blasts of wind….we ended up taking a short hike over to Fallen Leaf Lake where the waves were high enough you could have surfed. This lake is usually calm, flat, and crystal blue but on this day it looked more like the gray ocean. Mr. D bundled up against the wind…it really was that cold!
While we were up enjoying the lakes of the Sierra, back at home the rain gauge was getting filled up. We had to dump it since it was overflowing at 8 inches! There was flooding and our basement sump pump didn’t work once the power went off….wet floors and furniture. The phones were out for a week and so was our DSL. The weather really gave us something to talk about this past week…more than I anticipated.
There is still time for you to take your weather walk and share your experiences with all of us at the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Make sure to send in your blog entries for the up-coming OHC Blog Carnival (due date 12/30/12).
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