winter series of outdoor hour challenges Archives

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Trees and Their Twigs

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Tree Study Twigs
From the Archives and found in the More Nature Study Winter Ebook

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.

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Chickadees

Outdoor Hour Challenge- Chickadees

From the Archives and the More Nature Study Winter Ebook

This is a week that those that have a backyard feeder are going to enjoy. Chickadees are frequent visitors to many feeders here in the United States. These cheerful little birds are fun to watch and will be a wonderful wintertime bird study for even beginner families. Use the information in the link to the archives post to get started learning about chickadees. Follow up with some discussion and perhaps a nature journal entry.

For those of you who are like me and don’t have chickadees in the feeder, you might want to substitute the titmouse instead. This page on the Audubon website will prove very helpful in a visual way to knowing what chickadees and a titmouse looks like: Chickadees and Titmice. You may also want to view this page on AllAboutBirds: Chickadees and Titmice. We are also getting closer to the favorite time of year for many birders- Great Backyard Bird Count time! Mark on your calendar February 17-20, 2017!

Great Backyard Bird Count

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.

Spring Plans!

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Barb — 4 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Wonder Revisited

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Winter Wonder Revisited – Archive and in More Nature Study Winter ebook

This week we will ease back into our winter nature study using a simple nature walk idea from the archives. Click over to read the full challenge, including a bit of reading in the Handbook of Nature Study. If you are new to the OHC, this is going to be a great place to start because even if you don’t have snowy weather you can still complete this challenge that will help you see your local winter weather and wonders with your children.

Winter Wonder Outdoor Hour Challenge journal page — Winter Wonder Notebook Pages in the More Nature Study – Winter Ebook

Keep it simple and just take a Winter Wonder walk this week. If you are a more seasoned nature study type family or you have older students, make sure to read the “advanced study” ideas in the challenge.

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.

Spring Plans!

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Year Long Study Reminders – Winter Season

Seasonal Topics Reminders – Winter

Here is a link to the winter reminders post: Year Long Study Reminders- Winter.

Use the ideas in this post from the archives to schedule some winter nature study time for subjects you may want to revisit in future seasons as a way of comparing. Our family found observing things from season to season was informative and interesting as it showed the life cycle of a plant or other nature topic.

Hope your winter nature study is going well! I look forward to starting the next series of Outdoor Hour Challenges on January 13, 2017.

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge Schedule for Winter

Winter Plans

I have had some inquiries about the next season of nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Here are the specific challenges and dates for each of the up-coming months.

See the note at the bottom of this post for information about the spring nature study plans! Think wildflowers!!!

January 6 – off

January 13 – Winter Wonder

January 20 – Chickadee

January 27 – Tree Study – Twigs

February 3 – Sheep

February 10 – Mullein

February 17 – Galls

February 24 – Quartz

March 3 – Magnets and Compass

March 10 – Moon

March 17 – Pansy

March 24 – off

March 30 – Spring Observations (from the archives)

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 ebooks.

Spring Plans!

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – December World and Winter Berries

Outdoor Hour Challenge

December World (from the archives) or Winter Berries from the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook.

We have reached the last official Outdoor Hour Challenge of 2016. I thought it would be a perfect time to complete one of the two suggested challenges during the next few weeks.

Everyone can record their December World observations even if you don’t live where it is currently winter. I know I put snowflakes on the notebooking page but you can make a sketch of anything you want from your outdoor time and then describe your December conditions. Note: This link includes a free printable notebook page. Plus, there is a new December Words notebook page activity in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships in the printables section.

Winter Berry Hunt Activity Image — Winter Berry Hunt – This is found in the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook found in the Ultimate and Journey level memberships.

The Winter Berry OHC is one of my favorite challenges because it makes you realize how much color there is out there in the natural world. I have started to see colorful berries everywhere I go on trees, shrubs, and other plantings around town. Use the ideas in this challenge to open your eyes up to the wonderful world of winter berries. Note: There is a notebooking page included in the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook if you have access to that in your Member’s Library.

The winter series of challenges will start on January 13, 2017.

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Posted on December 8, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

New Printables – December Words and 3 Questions Nature Walk

New this month in the Member’s Library:

1. 3 Questions Nature Walk Folding Journal: Use this printable as a follow up to your 3 Questions Nature Walk. There is a page for each question and the answer. Suggestions for a 3 Questions Nature Walk are in the December 2016 newsletter.

2. December Words and Poem Notebook Page: Have some fun with words this month by brainstorming words that describe your natural December world. This page has a place for you to write words that describe December, find synonyms in the thesaurus, and then create a creative poem about the month of December.

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:

Printables Current List December 2016

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

I have received many emails asking me specific plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the autumn and winter seasons. I had hesitated to post up a plan until I had it nailed down on my calendar. But, now I have it all straight in my mind and I’m going to share the specifics in this post. Make sure to bookmark it or add the topics to your calendar for future reference. My wish is that we all have some interesting and productive nature study time as a regular part of our week. If you miss a week or you don’t have access to the particular topic, just pick up where you can participate.

Remember that we are going to be starting up the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival again on November 1, 2016. If you create a blog entry with your nature study activities featured, please send me the link and I will add it to the carnival. My email is: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

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.

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

September 9 – Leaf Miners

September 16 – Pears

September 23 – Milkweed

September 20 – Fall Webs

October 7 – Fall Color Walk

October 14 – Chipmunks

October 21 Sparrows

October 28 – Leaf Study

November 4 – Thistles

November 11 – Maple Tree and Seeds

November 18 – Oaks (from the archives)

November 25 – off

December 2 – Silent Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 9 – Senses Nature Walk (from the archives)

December 16 – December World (from the archives)

December 23 – off

December 30 – off

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Step by Step Instructions for the Outdoor Hour Challenge as of September 2016

Here are some more detailed instructions for using the Outdoor Hour Challenge in your home for the up-coming school year. These are hopefully going to clear up any questions you have about how to proceed and what resources are needed and which ones are optional.

Specific Steps

Receive my monthly newsletter on the 1st of the month. The newsletter comes to email subscribers on the first of each month. You can subscribe HERE. When you subscribe in the middle of the month, you will receive the current newsletter link in your confirmation email.
In the newsletter, view the printable planner page for the four topics for the up-coming month. If the topic is from the archives, I provide the link to the challenge and the link to the ebook it is from if applicable. This way you can prepare for the challenges ahead of time if you wish.
Print out any activities you wish to complete with your family. Keep these handy!
To go more in depth, members will be using two ebooks for the autumn and winter seasons: More Nature Study Autumn and More Nature Study Winter. These two ebooks are included in the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Members can open those and print the coordinating notebook pages to use during the month. This is not required but would supplement the current month’s work.

You can use the free monthly newsletter along with the Handbook of Nature Study book for your nature study. Adding a membership gives you access to the Ultimate Naturalist Library’s ebooks and printables which provide members with even more in-depth studies each month.

Resources Needed:
1. Free Monthly Newsletter so you have the topic, the challenge ideas ahead of time, and the newsletter printables. Subscribe HERE.
2. Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock ISBN: 978-0801493843
3. Highly recommended: Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.
4. Highly recommended: Nature journal or nature notebook.

Those four things are going to allow you a lot of opportunities for relaxed nature study in your own backyard with simple follow up activities if desired.

Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!

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Posted on August 8, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge Plans for Autumn and Winter

I know many of you are starting your school year shortly and I thought it might be helpful to share my plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the up-coming autumn and winter seasons. This is a period in my life when keeping things simple is my primary goal. In meditating on what to do for the autumn and winter seasons as far as nature study, I decided it would be interesting and fun to work back through some nature study topics found in the archives.

This will free my time up to pursue a new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges to be published next spring!

Newsletter

Just a note to those who have asked- I am going to continue the Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter again this year! I would love to have some help writing articles so if you haven’t already heard from me about contributing to the newsletter, please email me or leave me a comment here with your contact information and I will explain how to submit an article.

Autumn 2016 Plans

Use the More Nature Study – Autumn ebook from the archives. Work through all of the topics and share our experiences. You can access this ebook in the Ultimate Naturalist Library if you are a member. It is not absolutely necessary to have the ebook but it does have custom notebooking pages for both regular and advanced learners. Please click over and read the entry that lists all of the ebook’s contents.

Winter 2016 Plans

Use the More Nature Study – Winter Wonder ebook from the archives. This book is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. Again, it is not a requirement that you have the ebook but it is very convenient and helpful to have access to the challenges and the custom notebooking pages as we work through the series of nature study challenges.

Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!

Plus! I am reinstating the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival but instead of monthly it will be quarterly.

Here are the carnival dates:

November 1, 2016
February 1, 2017
May 1, 2017
August 1, 2017

All nature study type entries can be submitted, preferably entries that highlight the Outdoor Hour Challenge and Handbook of Nature Study newsletter activities. Deadline for entries for the first carnival will be 10/26/16. You can send in your entries to harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

You can grab one of the OHC Carnival buttons from this entry for your blog if you would like to share this event. A link back to this blog would be much appreciated. https://naturestudyhomeschool.com/

If you have any questions or comments about the plans, please feel free to email me or leave a comment here on the blog. harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Category: winter series of outdoor hour challenges

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Trees and Their Twigs

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Chickadees

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Winter Wonder Revisited

Spring Plans!

Year Long Study Reminders – Winter Season

Seasonal Topics Reminders – Winter

Outdoor Hour Challenge Schedule for Winter

Winter Plans

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenge – December World and Winter Berries

New Printables – December Words and 3 Questions Nature Walk

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Fall/Winter Specific Plans

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Autumn and Winter 2016/2017

Outdoor Hour Challenge Plans for Autumn and Winter

Use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!