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Posted on November 16, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

What’s In Your November World?

What’s In Your November World?

It’s easy to dismiss the November world as cold and dark, even barren. But I guarantee that if you take a short walk outside with your children, you’ll realize there are still plenty of things to capture your attention.

We took a hike this past weekend and it actually snowed on us during our adventure. Even then, we were able to hear a flock of grosbeaks up in the treetops, see colorful lichen on the trees, and some amazing mushrooms pushing their way up out of the ground.

The deciduous trees here are fairly leafless already, but there was an abundance of leaves on the ground that we could stop and observe. I put a couple of leaves in my pocket so I could paint them in my nature journal once we arrived home.

I admit that it was cold, and the weather wasn’t the most inviting. We could have easily not taken our hike. Am I glad we made the effort? Yes!

Here’s my suggestion for you this month:

Push yourself to get outside and take note of your own November world. Even if you only get out for a few minutes, you’ll more than likely find something to note in your nature journal.

Please see the link below for a more detailed challenge for November. There’s even a printable notebook page for you to use with your family.

Enjoy!

You can read the original Outdoor Hour Challenge here: November World.

Printable: November World – Know Your Own Backyard Notebook Page

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

August 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

August 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

We are finishing off the summer with the rest of the herb Outdoor Hour Challenges! I think that sounds like a perfect way to observe some interesting plants and enjoy a little deliciousness at the same time.

August 6, 2021 – Dill Herb Study

August 13, 2021 – Thyme Herb Study

August 20, 2021 – Lemongrass Herb Study

August 27, 2021 – Mint Herb Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Redwood Forest Habitat Notebook Page: Have you visited or are you dreaming of a redwood forest visit? This notebook page will give you a place to record your observations.

My Summer Nature Walk Notebook Page: After your nature walk, follow up by recording what you noted with your senses.

Last Days of Summer 2021 Grid Page: I can’t believe we are at the end of summer already! Use this grid from the archives to stimulate a little nature study before the season is over.

Snake Field Guide Notebook Page: Use this notebook page to record your snake observations or to keep track of your snake research.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

If you would like to have access to the member’s printables and the newsletter archive, I invite you to join with an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Your membership will be valid for one year from the date of purchase. Click the graphic above to see the many benefits of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

July 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

July 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

This is the month many of my readers have been waiting for! I know that it has been a long time coming, but we are going to finally be working through the series of Outdoor Hour Challenges for herbs!

We have one last wildflower study and then we are off to use our senses to learn about some more familiar herbs grown in our gardens. I think you whole family will enjoy learning about the benefits and uses of the herbs. It is not too late to pick up some of the herbs at your garden nursery and grow a few in pots. You can create your own little herb “lab” for your nature study this summer.

7/2/2021 –Forget-Me-Nots Nature Study (last wildflower challenge)

7/9/2021 – Cilantro Nature Study

7/16/2021 – Basil Nature Study

7/23/2021 – Bee Balm Nature Study

7/30/21 – Oregano Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Butterflies of Summer Notebook Page: What could go better with a study of garden herbs? I think making some butterfly observations would be a perfect complement to your herb study.

My Nature Walk Notebook Page: Use your senses to create some summertime memories this month. Take a nature walk, perhaps in the early morning or the evening. Then create a notebook page for your nature journal using the new page in the Member’s Library.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

June 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

I always get excited when we start a new series of challenges. Plus, who isn’t ready for a little wildflower nature time? Join us each Friday as we work through the Wildflower Ebook #3.

I’m hoping to create journal pages for each of the four wildflowers in this month’s Outdoor Hour Challenges.

We have silverweed, fireweed, and salsify in our front yard so we won’t have to travel far to make careful observations.

I hope you can join us for some flower nature study this month!

6/4/2021 – Silverweed Nature Study

6/11/2021 – Fireweed Nature Study

6/18/2021 – Salsify Nature Study

6/25/2021 – Indian Paintbrush Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Circles in Nature Notebook Page: Take a walk and look for circles in nature. Use the notebook page to sketch and record some of your observations.

Pollinator Observation Notebook Page: Learn about the pollinators in your neighborhood and then use this notebook page to keep track of your research.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

If you’d like to have access to the member’s printables and the newsletter archive, I invite you to join with an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Your membership will be valid for one year from the date of purchase. Click the graphic above to see the many benefits of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

May 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

May 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

Our sping bird nature study continues throughout the month of May. We just saw some magpies last weekend during a camping trip and it was super exciting to note their unique shape and sound. Use the challenges each week to prepare for possible sightings in the future!

Please note that all of the birds in this series are ones not found in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Instead, the challenges will be providing field notes for each birds, as well as online links and videos. If you have access to the ebook, you will also have notebooking pages and coloring pages to print and use as desired.

5/7/2021 –Egret Nature Study

5/14/2021 – American Dipper Nature Study

5/21/2021 – Horned Lark Nature Study

5/28/2021 – Magpie Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Wildflower Poetry Notebook Page: Use this notebook page to follow up a wildflower walk in your neighborhood. The suggestions will help your child write a simple poem after making wildflower observations.

Spring Nature Hunt Notebook Page: Print this activity out and take it along on a spring nature walk. Use the prompts in the grid to challenge your family to see some signs of spring. Follow up with a sketch!

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

Posted on April 20, 2021June 9, 2022 by Barb — Leave a comment

Pond and Frog Nature Study: Includes Frog Life Cycle Activity Printable

Plan a fun pond and frog nature study with these frog life cycle activities, a lapbook download and suggestions for a homeschool pond nature walk!

Pond and Frog Nature Study

It’s getting to be that time of year when the tadpoles are swimming in our pond. It makes me feel as if spring is truly coming and we look forward to soon hearing frogs while out hiking at the river. The cycle of seasons and life bring me such joy!

With a pond and frog nature study in mind, I’ve had a special printable to share for your studies and outdoor hour challenge time. Members now have in their library a fun and informative Frog Life Cycle activity printable.

Frog Life Cycle Activity Printable Lapbook

Here’s what you get in this download:

In the frog life cycle activity printable and lapbook there are components for:

vocabulary
frog facts
bullfrog facts
frog noises
the frog life cycle

In the Frog Nature Study lapbook:

You can also mount your life cycle of a frog drawing (instructions for this drawing project are included).
There is also a set of copy work pages focusing on frog poetry.
There are two blank lined pages you can use for the copy work, as well as a page of frog poetry and suggestions for how to use them.

Pond and frog nature study in Homeschool Nature Study membership

Homeschool Nature Study Annual members can log into their account and go to the Pond course and find the two printables there to use any time.

Suggestions for a Homeschool Nature Walk at a Pond

To go along with a frog nature study, everyone can use these suggestions to follow up a nature walk at a pond, the river, or a lake.

Idea for the field: Guide to Pond Dipping (YouTube video).
I also found this excellent resource for identifying things you find when you scoop your pond water: Simple Guide to Small and Microscopic Pond Life.
Tricia’s family made a Fabulous Find of the Frog Kind! and enjoyed a wonderful Pond Study at Lily Pad Pond.
Nana at You ARE an ARTiST has a Frog Life Cycle Art Lesson in her continuing Pond series.

Homeschool Nature Study Membership - Bring the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool!

Homeschool Nature Study Membership Brings the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool

We make it easy for you!

To get each Friday’s homeschool nature study Outdoor Hour Challenge and for access to a continuing series of new nature studies, join us in Homeschool Nature Study Membership. With homeschool nature study membership, you will have everything you need to bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool.

Find Out More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership!

With membership, you will have access to Outdoor Hour Challenges curriculum and resources to enrich your homeschool.

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

April Nature Study Plans and Printable

April Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

This month we’ll be starting to use the new Outdoor Hour Challenge Bird Set #1 ebook available in the Ultimate Naturalist Library. I’m anxious to get started with this set of bird nature study challenges right alongside you and your family. I birdwatch just about every day but slowing down to take in information about one particular bird is very rewarding. Even if I’m not able to observe the bird in person, learning all about a bird ahead of time prepares me for the time when the opportunity does arise.

Just last week we spotted four killdeer in our back pasture. I easily identified this pretty bird from the details I had read in a field guide and online.

Spotting a new bird is always a thrill!

Please note that all of the birds in this series are ones not found in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Instead, the challenges will be providing field notes for each bird, as well as online links and videos. If you have access to the ebook, you’ll also have notebooking pages and coloring pages to print and use as desired.

4/2/2021 – Pelican Nature Study

4/9/2021 – Swan Nature Study

4/16/2021 – Snipe Nature Study

4/23/2021 – Sandhill Crane Nature Study

4/30/2021 – Clark’s Nutcracker Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Bird’s Egg Study notebook page: One aspect of learning about birds is to learn that each bird has a unique egg. Learning the size, color, and other distinguishing features of a bird’s egg can be followed up with this notebook page.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

Join us graphic

I highly recommend using the ebook for these challenges. I’ll be sharing just a small portion of the challenge each week here on the blog but members will have access to all of the resources for each bird.

Please note that you can opt to use the Learning About Birds ebook with your family if you feel it’s more practical. I realize not everyone will have access to the birds we study each week and the Learning About Birds ebook could supplement your bird study with information from the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Early Spring Grid

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Early Spring Grid – Printable from the March 2012 Newsletter

Look in the Newsletter Archives for this Outdoor Hour Challenge.

No matter where you live and what early spring looks like in your world, it should be a perfect time to start getting back outdoors regularly each week as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have always said that spring is their favorite time to do nature study with their children.

Join us this week for an easy nature study idea!

The activities in the Early Spring Grid (March 2012 Newsletter) are simple enough for most of us to complete without a lot of extra planning or work.

Print this page out and cut out the grid to adhere in your nature journal. As you finish each suggested activity, cross off the box (or shade it in with colored pencils).

Nature Study Newsletter grid example pages (7) — Here is an example of how to include the grid in your nature journal.

Another suggestion is to post the Early Spring Grid on your refrigerator with a magnet. This will be a reminder to do a few spring related nature activities as you go through the month of March.

The newsletter archive is available to all members.

To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time. You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

March Nature Study – New Printables, Plan, and Planning Page

March Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

I cannot tell you how excited I am that we’re continuing with our early spring wildflower studies! Although we don’t have any wildflowers blooming yet in Central Oregon, I know that making a pre-study of any topic makes it more likely I’ll recognize that subject in the future when we do see it on our travels.

Don’t forget to use the Plant Family notebooking pages that are in the Member’s Library to enhance study of any wildflower you encounter.

Note: Violets are in the violet plant family and bleeding hearts, Dutchman’s breeches, and squirrel corn are in the poppy family).

3/5/2021 – Violet Nature Study

3/12/2021 – Bleeding Hearts Nature Study

3/19/2021 – Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn Nature Study

3/26/2021 – Early Spring Grid Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Leaf Veins Observation and Drawing notebook page: Once the spring leaves start to emerge, collect a few to draw on this notebook page. Research the vein patterns to help your children go a little deeper in their study of leaves and plants.

March Quick Observations notebook page: You still may be experiencing colder temperatures so a quick walk may be a great start to your spring nature study. Use this new notebook page to make simple and quick observations of 1 plant, 1 tree, 1 bird, and 1 unusual or extraordinary thing you discover on your weekly nature walks. I created two versions of the page for you to choose from depending on your family’s interests and ages.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

The Outdoor Hour Challenges this month are from the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

January Nature Study – New Printables, Plan, and Planning Page

February Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

I’m starting to get anxious for wildflower season! In honor of that enthusiasm, I’ve created a new set of notebook pages for you to use to enhance your plant family studies. If you have the Botany in a Day book (link at the end of this entry) on your bookshelf, pull it down and get ready to use it alongside these notebook pages for your nature journal.

There are two wildflower nature studies planned for late February, so I invite you to use those flowers to get started with your plant family studies. (Bloodroot is in the poppy plant family and hepatica is in the buttercup family.)

02/05/2021 – Flicker Bird Study

02/12/2021 – Scarlet Saucer Fungi Study

02/19/2021 – Bloodroot Nature Study

02/26/2021 – Hepatica Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Plant Family Notebook Page Set: This nine-page set includes pages for recording notes and lists of the more common plant families. You’ll find pages for the mint, mustard, pea, lily, aster, mallow, rose, and parsley families. There is also a generic page for you to use with any of the other plant families you might study with your children.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

This is my affiliate link to the Botany in a Day book that I highly recommend to go along with a study of wildflowers.

All of the Outdoor Hour Challenges this month are from the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.

Category: printable

What’s In Your November World?

August 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

July 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

June 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

May 2021 Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

Pond and Frog Nature Study: Includes Frog Life Cycle Activity Printable

Pond and Frog Nature Study

Frog Life Cycle Activity Printable Lapbook

In the frog life cycle activity printable and lapbook there are components for:

In the Frog Nature Study lapbook:

Suggestions for a Homeschool Nature Walk at a Pond

Homeschool Nature Study Membership Brings the Handbook of Nature Study to Life in Your Homeschool

April Nature Study Plans and Printable

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Early Spring Grid

March Nature Study – New Printables, Plan, and Planning Page

January Nature Study – New Printables, Plan, and Planning Page

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!