We started a yearlong study of cattails back in September and now’s the time to start thinking about making some winter observations of this interesting plant. We have a patch growing out along a pond near our home and we will be trekking over to take a look as soon as we have a sunny, warm day. We’ve had quite a bit of snow and the pond should be frozen so that should make it interesting.
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.
Please note this challenge is found in the Winter Series ebook found in the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Log into your membership and scroll down to the ebook download link. Included in the ebook, there is a custom notebook page for this challenge.
Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:
Bark Rubbings Notebook Page and Male and Female Cone Notebook Page
1. Bark Rubbings Notebook Page- Have you ever observed where an animal had rubbed the bark on a tree trunk? Use this notebook page to record a sketch and your observations.
2. Male and Female Cone Notebook Page- Did you know that conifers have both male and female cones? Make observations and then use this page to record you sketches and information.
(See the end of this post for more information on how you can become a member.)
Note: If you have any subjects you would like me to create nature notebook pages for, please let me know in a comment here on the blog or in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
Don’t forget that members also have access to the nature planner pages in their library!
Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:
Bark Patterns * Winter Willow Study * Shivering
I’m excited to share 3 new notebooking pages with members here on the Handbook of Nature Study! These will spice up your January nature study sessions as you look at some winter-related topics.
(See the end of this post for more information on how you can become a member.)
Bark Patterns Notebook Page: With most trees stripped bare of leaves before spring, right now is a great time to get a good look at the wonderful variations of pattern, color and texture that form the trunks and branches of local urban trees. With a little practice, you’ll be able to easily identify many local tree species by name just by looking at their bark. Here is a website you may wish to look at: Tree Bark and Twig Guide.
Winter Willow Study Notebook Page: Twigs and Buds: We will be continuing our seasonal willow study in January and this notebook page is perfect for recording your willow observations! You can see the Autumn Willow Nature Study for more willow study ideas.
Shivering Notebook Page: Have you ever wanted to learn more about why animals shiver? This notebook page will get you started and then give you a place to write down all the interesting things you learn.
Note: If you have any subjects you would like me to create nature notebook pages for, please let me know in a comment here on the blog or in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.
Use the discount code NATURE5 for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership!
This week features an Outdoor Hour Challenge that everyone can complete no matter where you live! Take note of the weather using the suggestions in the winter weather nature study link below. This is a super easy and fun nature study topic that can be the start of a seasonal weather study.
Use the notebook page above to create a record of your observations for your nature journal.
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, and suggested follow-up activities.
Please note this challenge is found in the Winter Series ebook found in the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Log into your membership and scroll down to the ebook download link. Included in the ebook, there is a custom notebook page for this challenge.
4th Quarter Updates – Including Our Amazing North American Beaver
The winter season is upon us as well as the end of another calendar year. I won’t lie. I am so ready for the change. Since the middle of October, I have been sitting and gazing out the window for the most part. After a bilateral hip replacement, for weeks I couldn’t even get in my car because my legs hardly bent.
Thankfully, the view out my window is never boring and it’s constantly changing, providing endless delight with its animals, birds, clouds, and landscape view of the mountains. But, I watch my husband as he hikes to the river each day with our dog and I’m so ready to be out there with them! I’m learning patience.
Now, as I’m writing this update, I’m a little more mobile and starting to use a cane. The trouble is the weather has descended upon us and many days the snow and icy pavement make it a challenge to walk even with help.
Being confined indoors and doing a lot of sitting was conducive to making plans and thinking of future nature study projects. I made lists of new printable notebook pages for 2019 and planned out six new ebooks full of exciting nature study topics. I’m also reading lots of nature related books and field guides. My own nature journal has received a lot of attention as I keep notes of animals we capture on our critter cam and I catch up on things I’ve wanted to learn about from previous adventures. In the end, I’m making good use of my down time as I recover from this major surgery.
Dreaming of the new trails I will explore with new hips and no pain.
Now for the results of my 4th quarter goals-
Finish up the year in my Nature Observer Guided Journal.
Successfully stuck with this journal all year! I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this project. This pre-planned journal provided just the motivation I needed to keep a regular, almost daily, record of our nature experiences. It has inspired me to continue this routine and even improve on it with some ideas I thought of as I worked through the suggested activities.
This is the nature journal I used for the 2018 year and LOVED it! Please know this is an Amazon affiliate link to a book I purchased and used and love and highly recommend.
Accomplished this! Counting birds is just a given in our weekly routine. 10 species so far, 50 total birds counted. Walk as much as possible, allowing for healing from my hip surgery.
Accomplished! I’m back at my daily walking, even if it’s just down the driveway to look at the trees and birds. I’ve made it out the back gate a couple times, but the frozen snow and ground are a little bit difficult for me still. It will be a joy to walk freely and I’m starting to see the end of this challenging recovery.
Read at least two nature related books from my personal library.
Accomplished! I’ve been reading so much! I pulled lots more books off my own book shelves and ordered up loads of books from my local public library. I rarely get the chance to just sit and read so what a pleasure it has been to stick my nose in a book.
The most exciting nature find of the year happened during this last quarter of 2018. We finally captured a video of the beaver we’ve been chasing since last year. We used my critter cam and put it down by the river where we noticed they were gnawing on a tree. Then, after it was down on the ground, we were able to position the camera between the river and the tree. At last! We not only saw one beaver but two working together to take the limbs off the tree and then drag them down into the water. What an awesome experience!
It’s been a wonderful year of nature study for me personally. As always, I’m looking forward to setting and working on new goals in 2019.
Would you like to join me? I’ve created a planning sheet for you to use as you create your nature study goals. Please feel free to print and share as much as you like. If you post your goals somewhere on the internet, send me the link and I will pop over and read your thoughts!
Now available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships:
Under a Rock * First Day of Winter Walk * Cloud Journal
Use these new printable notebooking pages with your family this month!
Under a Rock notebooking page: This was a special request from a family with young children and I thought it was a great addition to the printable library. Take an early winter walk and look for things still to be found under a rock!
First Day of Winter NatureWalk notebooking page: It’s hard to believe that this month we will have the official first day of winter but why not take advantage of the turn of the season to get outside and see what surprises you can find with your children? I am hoping to be recovered enough from my surgery to join you in a first day of winter nature walk on December 21st.
Cloud Journal notebooking page: Print this page at the beginning of any month and keep track of your clouds with simple sketches and words. I am really looking forward to this activity! This journal can be part of your winter weather nature study. Look for the official challenge on December 28, 2018.
Note: If you have any subjects you would like me to create nature notebook pages for, please let me know in a comment here on the blog or in an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com
Print a complete list of printables available in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships by clicking the button above.
Please note that members have access to the complete year’s plan in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships. Non-members can follow along by subscribing to this blog and each Friday the Outdoor Hour Challenge will come into your email inbox.
Nothing could be easier than creating a field notebook list for your nature journal!
This week’s challenge will help you make a list of nature study topics you observed during your outdoor time but aren’t quite ready to study in depth. As you work through this activity, you’re training your family to be more alert and giving them skills that actual naturalists use to learn more about their own habitats.
Soon, the weather and conditions may keep you indoors and this list of topics will give you inspiration to keep nature study going indoors.
Nature Study When the Weather is Too Cold or Wet to be Outdoors – Pull Out Your Field Notebook List!
Skim down your field notebook list of topics, choose one to topic to study, and then get out your Handbook of Nature Study and/or a field guide. Do a little research on your chosen topic and then create a nature journal page showing what you learned.
Archive Outdoor Hour Challenge – Click the link above to see the original challenge. Make sure to read the introductory pages in the Handbook of Nature Study to freshen up your nature study attitude!
The Field Notebook List is a tool you can use in planning your future nature study lessons!
Additional Suggestion:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 13-15 (The Field Notebook). In this section Anna Botsford Comstock helps us with a detailed description of her idea of a field notebook or nature journal. She also states that if done properly “they represent what cannot be bought or sold, personal experience in the happy world of out-of-doors”. Make note of any suggestions you want to implement with your children.
You can print and use the field notebook page included in the free autumn notebook page download above.
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, printable notebooking pages, and suggested follow-up activities.
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is part of the 2018-2019 Plan here on the Handbook of Nature Study. We’ll be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to discover new things about the world around us. Join us each Friday for a different nature study topic. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to receive the weekly challenge right in your email box.
If you want to become a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can click the Join Us button for more details. Benefits include those shown above including access to ebooks, notebooking pages, archived newsletters, and new ebooks and printables published during your membership.
Our family loves going on a good mushroom hunt! This week you can read in the Handbook of Nature Study about this fascinating nature study topic and then set off on your own hunt. Remember to create a sense of adventure as you set out to look for mushrooms, building anticipation for finding even just one mushroom to observe.
If you don’t have any mushrooms to study at this time, I invite you to view my Flickr gallery of fungi photos for some fun inspiration. The variety of shapes, colors, and sizes will amaze you! Here is the link: Barb’s Fungi Photos on Flickr.
Tip for Finding Mushrooms
My original mushroom challenge suggested that you let your friends and family know that you are looking for mushrooms and they can let you know if they come across any in their travels. Some of our best mushroom studies came from tips I got from my dad who found several interesting species of mushrooms on his property.
Archive Outdoor Hour Challenge – Click the link above to see the mushroom study suggestions in the original challenge.
“Fungi, as a whole, are a great boon to the world. Without them our forests would be choked out with dead wood. Decay is simply the process by which fungi and other organisms break down dead material, so that the major part of it returns to the air in gaseous form, and the remainder, now mostly humus, mingles with the soil.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 715
You can print and use the mushroom notebook page included in the free autumn notebook page download above.
Make sure to click the link below to read the entire Outdoor Hour Challenge with helpful links, nature study ideas, printable notebooking pages, and suggested follow-up activities.
Mushroom Cap Printable: Click over to read some additional information, find valuable links, and a free printable notebook page to use in your follow-up study of mushrooms.
Optional Art Activity: Watercolor Mushrooms
“Since mushrooms are especially good subjects for watercolor and pencil studies, it would add much to the interest of the work if each pupil, or the school as a whole, should make a portfolio of sketches of all the species found. With each drawing there should be made on a supplementary sheet a spore print of the species.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 718
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is part of the 2018-2019 Plan here on the Handbook of Nature Study. We’ll be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to discover new things about the world around us. Join us each Friday for a different nature study topic. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to receive the weekly challenge right in your email box.
If you want to become a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can click the Join Us button for more details. Benefits include those shown above including access to ebooks, notebooking pages, archived newsletters, and new ebooks and printables published during your membership.
Here are a few of my personal favorites for your mushroom study. Please note I am an Amazon.com affiliate and these are affiliate links to books I own and love.
Willows in our autumn landscape are a colorful accent, lining the river’s edge and adding a rich reddish orange as you look off into the distance. There are still a few leaves left on the willows and the limbs and branches are a yellow color.
As part of our autumn study, we picked a willow to use as our subject for a year-long willow study. We tied a piece of twine on a branch to help us remember which willow we are observing.
We have done this activity before with a birch tree. Having a piece of twine on a branch really helped us focus on watching for changes from season to season. I invite you to read this entry for the specific instructions for this kind of tree study: Twigs.
If you would like to start a yearlong study of willows, you’re welcome to click over to read the challenge from last week. It’s not too late to get outside looking for willows, learning about willows, and beginning a valuable nature study of willows.
Please note there is an Autumn Willow notebooking page in the Ultimate and Journey level membership libraries. You can print it and use it for your nature journal.
Welcome to the brand new nature study featuring the willow! I’m excited to look more closely at my own autumn willows as the season changes. This should be an easy study as you look at the color changes and the dropping of leaves in your willow.
Start Here: Willow Nature Study – Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 179 (pages 651-655)
The link above takes you to a summer study of the willow using the Handbook of Nature Study. Pay particular attention to suggestions #8 and #9 in Lesson 179 for specific autumn willow study ideas.
In Addition: Year Long Tree Study in the Handbook of Nature Study Lesson 172 (pages 623-624) My favorite suggestions are to watercolor the shape of a tree with its autumn foliage and to carefully compare leaves found on your tree for any variation.
Activity: Tie a string on a twig attached to your willow. Observe and record in your nature journal the twig’s changes for a few months. We’re going to be doing this on a willow behind our house along the river.
Both Ultimate and Journey level members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have access to a new autumn willow notebooking page for recording your autumn observations. Look for it in your printable library.
This Outdoor Hour Challenge is part of the 2018-2019 Plan here on the Handbook of Nature Study. We’ll be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock to discover new things about the world around us. Join us each Friday for a different nature study topic. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to receive the weekly challenge right in your email box.
If you want to become a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you can click the Join Us button for more details. Benefits include those shown above including access to ebooks, notebooking pages, archived newsletters, and new ebooks and printables published during your membership.
Do Some Comparisons
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