Continuing our use of comparisons, take your fifteen minutes outdoors this week to either find two different cones to compare or to compare a tree with cones to a tree that does not have cones.
These simple suggestions will get you started with your Outdoor Hour Challenge time and the idea is simple enough for all family members to participate.
Click the link to the archive challenge and see more suggestions for both observations and a nature journal follow up page. If you have access to the Autumn 2010 ebook, there is a notebook page for you to use after your outdoor time.
This is a challenge I am personally looking forward to completing in my new habitat. There are many cones to investigate!
Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!
This is one of the rare Outdoor Hour Challenges that does not specifically have a lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. But, there are some really informational links for you to read for background information before your study of the humble pear.
If the pear study doesn’t excite you, the flip-side of this challenge is the start of an autumn tree study, complete with printable notebook page.
Either way, your family has the opportunity to be outside this week as you look for pear trees or any autumn tree that catches your fancy.
Did you enter my giveaway for a copy of the Autumn Nature Study ebook? We’ll be using it from October to December here on the Handbook of Nature Study. I’m giving away 5 copies and today is the last day to enter.
If you haven’t had a chance to enter the giveaway over at NotebookingPages.com,today is the last day! They are giving away 25 Lifetime memberships and a Grand Prize worth over $1200!
1. Lichen Up Close Notebook Page printable: Use this page along with your tree bark study to get more detailed in your observations of lichen.
2. Six Trees Project: One of the activities suggested in the February 2017 newsletter is to identify six trees in your neighborhood. Use these journal pages to add photos of your trees to your nature journal.
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. You can download a complete list of printables available to members here:
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Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:
February will be a month to focus on trees and tree bark using the ideas from the newsletter. I have written two articles for your inspiration and encouragement.
February Planning Page for Mom – Much more than just a planner page, this is full of nature journal ideas, a short challenge for parents, links to the up-coming challenges, and ideas for using the archives.
Printables: I pulled a printable from the archives that will help you keep track of your neighborhood trees.
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.
Don’t be fooled like I was about tree study in winter! There is so much to learn from a tree twig with a little help from this Outdoor Hour Challenge, the Handbook of Nature Study, and a little time spent collecting some tree twigs. Find an idea in this challenge that works for your family.
As a heads up for next month- Be on the lookout for a tree to use for a tree bark study. The February 2017 newsletter will be focusing on tree bark. There will also be a new printable in the member’s library soon that will help you keep track of 6 trees using photographs. This week’s challenge is going to get the ball rolling for your winter tree study.
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.
Don’t miss this opportunity!
Please note I am an affiliate and recommend this product after using it with my family for many years.
1. Bark Study – Up Close: This is the perfect place to record your winter tree study as you focus on the bark.
2. Know Your Own Backyard – January: Use this notebook page to record a sketch and some details after you complete a backyard nature study. This is the focus of the January 2017 newsletter and you will find many ideas to help you get started.
3. January and February Bird List Notebook Page: This is for your January and February bird nature journal entry. We love to keep track of our winter birds and this is a simple chart that you can use to keep a running record of birds you observe in your own backyard.
For a complete list of member’s printables, click the button below for a printable list.
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. You can download a complete list of printables available to members here:
We just returned from an Oregon trip filled with colorful maples. We also found the most amazing clump of maple keys ever.
Use the ideas and seasonal tree printable in this week’s archive challenge to learn a bit more about this beautiful tree along with its interesting seeds. Don’t forget there is a Maple Tree notebook page in this month’s newsletter for you to use as a follow up to your outdoor time.
Even if you don’t have a maple tree to enjoy…pick a different tree and make some careful observations!
Note: You do not need to purchase the ebooks 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 the bottom of this post to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. You can click over and download a sample for both the More Nature Study Autumnand More Nature Study Winter ebooks. This may help you decide whether to purchase a membership.
This week is a challenge that should take you outdoors as you hunt for leaves to look at up close with a magnifying lens. Bring inside as many kinds of tree leaves as possible and then make simple classifications by shape, margin, and veining. There is a link in the advanced study portion that you can use as a reference for this activity. Make sure to follow up with a nature journal page (suggestions in the archive challenge and notebooking page in the ebook).
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This is an easy nature study idea that all can enjoy! Young children can help gather some twigs and older students can go deeper to learn more about the twig’s parts and function in the life cycle of the tree.
You may wish to view these additional entries for twig study ideas:
For members of the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this challenge in the More Nature Study – Winter ebook. Included in this ebook, there are three different notebook pages for you to use in your study of twigs plus a variety of graphics to help you learn more than you ever thought possible about this interesting topic.
This week we will be revisiting two different Outdoor Hour Challenges from the archives – Pine Tree Nature Study and Pine Cone Nature Study. Both of the challenges suggested for this week can be completed in any season and both contain a free printable of some sort to record your pine and cone study. There are links to the ebooks where each challenge is found so Ultimate Naturalist Members can download the corresponding ebooks with custom notebooking pages if desired.
NOTE: Members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have a new printable in the library: Pine Cone Investigation. Make sure to download and use this notebook page with your older students.
“Their foliage is evergreen but is shed gradually. The pollen-bearing and the seed-producing flowers are separate on the tree. The seeds are winged and are developed in cones.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 674
After reading through each challenge linked above, choose one or two things to keep in mind during your Outdoor Hour Challenge time. Enjoy your fifteen minutes outdoors as you look for pines and cones and make sure to show interest in any item your child finds to observe or bring home to your nature table.
Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!
