rocks Archives

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Handbook of Nature Study – March 2017 Rocks in the Park

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

March 2017 Rocks in Your Park

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. There may be a delay in your receiving the email so please don’t email me until the second day of the month if you haven’t received the link on the first. For some reason, some email providers take longer to receive the newsletter email.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of March so be sure to download it before 3/3/1/17.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

The March newsletter theme is rocks in your park. I have written an article that shares our family’s experiences growing up with boys who loved rocks and rock climbing. Rock climbing teaches us all a life lesson or two.
March Planning Page for Mom – The planner page this month includes the up-coming challenges for March. One of those challenges is a new idea for a No Technology Walk. Plus there are nature journal ideas and specific ideas to use from the archives.
Printables: Play some rock games with the ideas in this printable from the archive.

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.

Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.

We will be using the More Nature Study – Winter ebook starting on January 13, 2017. You can find it in the Ultimate Naturalist Library.

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Quartz Hunt

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Quartz Rock Study

From the Archives and found in the Winter Ebook

This was one of my favorite all time nature studies because it took our family in so many different directions after asking questions about the quartz we collected during our Outdoor Hour time. You can read about it here: Quartz Study – Rock Collecting Gone Crazy.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebook to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at above to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Spring Plans!

We will be working through a new series of wildflower challenges starting in April using a new ebook that will publish sometime in March. The new wildflower ebook will also be added to the Ultimate Naturalist Library so if you purchase a membership now, you will have the new ebook as soon as it is available. I will posting details about the new ebook soon.

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Barb — 10 Comments

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter- February 2016 Rocks and Creeks

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

February 2016 – Creeks and Rocks

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of February so be sure to download it before 2/29/16.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

Rock and creek nature study ideas, including nature journal prompts and an article from me on a four seasons creek study.
Contributions from Outdoor Hour Challenge participants Shirley Ann Vels and Paige Hudson.
February Nature Study Planning Page with field trip ideas, nature photo ideas, and a special 15 minute challenge for parents.
Creek Study printable notebook page which can be used as a nature journal topper as well.

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!

Don’t forget that the last page in the newsletter is a printable nature journal page or you can use it as a nature journal topper by cutting the journal prompt out and adhering it right in your own nature journal. You can see my page above. I decided to use a spatter paint background and then taped the prompt to the top of my page. Now all I have to do is make my observations and record then in a list using a pen.

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Barb — 1 Comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Brook Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Brook and Stream Nature Study

Inside Preparation Work:

Read pages 736-742 (Lessons #207-208) in the Handbook of Nature Study. These lessons are helpful in learning more about a local brook or stream in your area, noting the changes and movement of soil, sand, and rocks.
Advanced study: View this video to learn more information about River Erosion.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Take the Handbook of Nature Study along with you to your brook or stream visit. Use some of the suggested observations in the lessons to take a more careful look at what you are seeing. If you can, visit a brook before and after a storm to note the changes.
Make a note of where you took your observations and then mark your calendar to come back in the next season to create a year long picture of your brook.

Follow-Up Activity:

Create four pages in your nature journal for your seasonal brook observations. Label them at the top with the season’s name and leave room to write the actual dates as you create a year long study of your brook.
If you collected water as part of Lesson #208, use the experiment instructions to learn more about sediment.
Advanced study: Create a nature journal entry that explains how a brook’s water carries stones, gravel, and sediment. Make sure to include a diagram of where and how the water deposits its load.

If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study 2015 ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study 2015 announcement page for more details.

Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com. This is a product I have used for many years and highly recommend.
Use code discount5 to save $5 on any purchase $10 or more from the NotebookingPages.com Shop. (This does not include membership purchases.)

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Calcite, Limestone, and Marble

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Rock Study- Calcite, Marble, and Limestone

Inside Preparation Work:

Read pages 748-750 (Lesson #210) in the Handbook of Nature Study. Make sure to highlight some of the main points to share with your child.
If you have samples of limestone, marble, and/or chalk, have those on your nature table during the week of your study.
Additional information: calcite, limestone, and marble.
Videos: Simple limestone video and excellent detailed video about calcium carbonate.
Advanced study: Limestone is sedimentary and marble is metamorphic. Research how they both are formed and create a nature journal page recording your information.

Outdoor Hour Time:

There are a couple of ways of handling this nature study topic. The first is to research ahead of time a place in your local area that has limestone or marble to look at in its natural state. The second is to have on hand some samples of these rocks for your family to observe up close.
Go on a rock hunt with your kids! Take your outdoor time this week and go exploring for rocks. Use the Rock Activity page in this ebook for additional observations.
There are many places in the United States that have limestone caves. Plan a trip to visit one in the near future. Mammoth Cave National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park both feature limestone caves!
Are there buildings in your town built of limestone? This may be an interesting way to learn about the usefulness of limestone.

Follow-Up Activity:

Follow up your outdoor time with a simple nature journal page where you write a detailed description of a rock. This can be any rock your child finds during their nature walk.
Advanced study: Research limestone caves, stalactites, stalagmites, and sink holes. (This is question #6 in the lesson.)

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Barb — 4 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Feldspar Rock Study

Inside Preparation Work:

Read pages 755 and 758 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson #214).
View some images of feldspar so you know what you are looking for during your outdoor time.
You may wish to purchase a piece of feldspar to observe in person and then use your outdoor time to look for any rocks you can find in your local area this season. You can find them in most rock shops or online in rock collections.
Common feldspar minerals: Amazonite and Labradorite and Sunstone (Oregon’s state gem).
Advanced Study: Complete some research on the uses of feldspar before your outdoor time this week. What is Feldspar? and Feldspars.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Go exploring for rocks. Bring along a collecting box or bag and see if you can find some rocks, particularly granite that may have some feldspar in it that you can see.
Collect some samples to bring inside to look at closely.
Note: If you weather or local conditions do not all you to collect rocks this week, plan on spending even just a few minutes outdoors this week observing anything interesting you have at hand. Save the rock observations for a time that is more convenient.

Follow-Up Activity:

Choose one of the rocks you collected outdoors and look at it closely using a hand lens. If you collected some granite, can you distinguish the various components? Record your observations in your nature journal.
Use the Rocks Up Close activity to take a closer look at any rocks you have on hand.
Advanced study: Use a rock identification key to identify any rocks you did collect this week.
Advanced study: Create a nature journal page for feldspar or any of the feldspar minerals. Use a rock field guide from your personal or public library.

Join us for this series of challenges every week here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

If you want to purchase the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Winter Nature Study Continues Ebook Announcement page for more details.

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Barb — 4 Comments

Family Rock Study – Looking for Mica

Mica has been our rock seeking list for the past two years. Remember when I was trying to find, collect, and journal about all the rocks in the book Rocks, Fossils & Arrowheads ?

This was part of my Nature Study Goals in 2013.

I wasn’t completely successful in 2013 and now in 2014 I finally pushed us to get out and find some mica close to home. It is actually muscovite which is abundant in California and in the county where I live. I can’t believe how much time I have spent looking into this rock. I am just not a confident rockhound.

Here is a glimpse into our mica rock study.

So some sources said we have muscovite mica and some say mica schist. I am not completely sure what the difference is between the two (if any). I will just call it mica.

We visited our cattail site and took a look at the changes to the plants during the past few months. You may wish to start or continue your own year-long cattail study. Make sure to mark your weekly planner for a date coming up soon.

We were able to spy some cool bracket fungi.. a little late for our official bracket fungi study but still so very interesting.

There was water collected in the top that was shaped like a cup.

Well, that was our mica rock walk and study. I am still trying to come up with a better way to identify rocks without taking hours and hours. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Just a note to all my faithful readers.

I will be sharing how my Nature Study Goals for 2014 turned out and posting my 2015 goals soon. Look for a printable for your to use to record you nature study goals here on the blog soon.

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Rock Study Mica

Inside Preparation Work:

Read about mica in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 758-759 (Lesson 215). There is not a lot of information in the book so use the links below to learn more and mica, what it looks like, its uses, and where to find it.
You can read all about mica here: Rocks for Kids.
For more detailed information about mica’s properties: Rocks and Minerals-Mica.
Video of Mica Rock.
Advanced Study: Rocks vs. Minerals study. You can read the explanation in this article and view the diagram to really understand the differences.

Two Kinds of Mica:

Biotite: Read more and view an image.
Muscovite: Read and learn more.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Time for a rock hunt. If you can go outdoors, look for some mica or any rock you have on hand. (You can purchase mica for this challenge here: Biotite sample from MiniMe or Muscovite sample from MiniMe. Or you can buy a bundle of 30 pieces from ScienceBob.)
You can use the printable activity in the ebook to make your rock hunt a little more fun. Print the page and use the grid to observe some rocks. If you have cold weather, you can use rocks from your rock collection indoors if you need to. If you don’t have the ebook, you can use the printable found at this link: Rock Observation.

Follow-Up Activity:

Use your follow-up time to create nature journal pages for mica or any rocks you have on hand. Use the information in the links above to create a description of mica, biotite, and/or muscovite. There are two notebook pages included in the ebook for you to choose from.
Advanced Study: Use the notebook page provided in the ebook to do a careful study of a mica sample.

Note this is an affiliate link to a product I love.

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Posted on November 13, 2013 by Barb — Leave a comment

Rock Study #6 – Quartz

Quartz is a common rock found in my part of the world. We see it just about everywhere we go whether it is on our walking trail or down by the river. We mostly have milky quartz.

Here is my specimen gathered locally and now sitting in my collection. Okay, I already had lots of quartz in my collection but since my nature study goals were to collect the samples this year, I decided to get another one…you can never have too many rocks. 🙂

According to Wikipedia, milky quartz is the most commonly found type of quartz and can be found almost everywhere. I know we have found it a lot of places we have traveled. Even though it is very common, it is still beautiful and amazing to look at.

Some more interesting facts I learned this time:

All granite has quartz and feldspar crystals in it. The crystals in granite are not large and perfect.
Amethysts are crystals of quartz colored a beautiful violet by the presence of a tiny amount of manganese.
Quartz crystals are six-sided.

Photo courtesy of Rob Lavinsky at iRocks.com

Another interesting aspect of our quartz study was the knowledge that our local gold mines were commonly quartz gold mines. The gold was extracted using a series of stamp mills, mixed with water, and then extracted using mercury. I have seen the stamp mill replica in our town and was told that when it was in operation the noise echoed all over the town. I can only imagine how that would have sounded!

If you are interested in studying more about quartz using the Handbook of Nature Study, don’t miss this challenge from the archives: Quartz Study

To refresh your memory, I am going to try to collect all fifteen rocks discussed in the Rocks, Fossils and Arrowheads (Take-Along Guides).This month we spent lots of time out and about looking at rocks, collecting a few new ones, and enjoying our rock adventures. We did not actually complete any of the fifteen rocks from the book. I can see now that I need to be more purposeful if I am going to achieve this goal in the year 2013.

The affiliate links in this post are to things I own and highly recommend.

Category: rocks

Handbook of Nature Study – March 2017 Rocks in the Park

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

March 2017 Rocks in Your Park

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Quartz Hunt

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Brook Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Calcite, Limestone, and Marble

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Feldspar Rock Study

Family Rock Study – Looking for Mica

Just a note to all my faithful readers.

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Rock Study Mica

Rock Study #6 – Quartz

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!