Spring is upon us and now is the time to get outdoors with our families and really observe the wonders of nature all around our neighborhoods. Whether you make this series of challenges a part of your homeschooling week or you are a family who will complete these challenges on the weekends, the simple nature study ideas you find in this ebook will give you the tools to get started. We are going to have fun exploring our neighborhoods for flowering trees, press flowers for our nature journals, learn about a garden critter, and so much more together with this season of nature study.
The sample linked below lists the topics covered in this new series but don’t be discouraged if you look at the list and think you don’t have that particular subject close at hand. There are suggested adaptations that will allow any family to complete this series of nature study activities in your own backyard or neighborhood.
The More Nature Study Book #3 challenges were written for families with children of all ages.You can keep it simple and enjoy your outdoor time with your little ones using the basic challenge. If you have older children or find your child is particularly interested in a certain topic, there are ways to increase the depth of each challenge by adding in additional notebook pages or further research using ideas and suggestions in the ebook.
Outdoor Hour Challenge:
More Nature Study Ebook #3 Spring 2012
Spring Splendor
- Ten completely new challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study. See a list of topics and a sample challenge: More Nature Study Book 3 Spring Sample.
- 13 notebook pages and 11 coloring pages
- 17 additional Upper Level notebook pages for advanced or experienced students
- 10 Charlotte Mason style exam questions
- Complete list of supplies needed (nothing fancy or expensive)
- Detailed instructions for each challenge, including links (including YouTube videos) and printables
- Nature journal suggestions and examples
- All the challenges will coordinate with the March through May Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletters
- Alternate ideas to adapt the challenges to your local area
- 74 pages
This is a huge library of thirty spring themed nature study ideas with fifty notebook pages! Also, there are spring themed art and music appreciation ideas to complement your nature study.
Topics include:
Spring Weather (2) , Spring Tree (buds, catkins, and blossoms), Robin, Buttercups and Poppies, Ferns, Dogwood, Goats, Vines (Sweet peas, dodder, hedge bindweed), Garden snails, Iris, Spring Bird, Dandelions, Cattails, Apple Tree, Cats, Snakes, Earthworm, Ants, Seeds, Flower Parts, Pressing Flowers, Drawing Flowers, Leaf Parts, Pollen, Weeds, Sunflowers.
See the Spring Nature Study tab on my blog for additional specifics for each ebook and a sample.
This sounds so nice! 🙂 I just wanted to let you know how much I love your blog and your contribution to the homeschool community!
Today was a big day at our house. My son (6) did his first real nature journal! He drew pictures of the wildflowers that we stopped and looked at on the roadside. The flowers included bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and butterfly weed. 🙂
Dear Shannon,
What an encouraging comment! I love hearing how my work has helped families and I know how you have been working on making nature study a part of your family. 🙂
I would love to see your widlflowers. We only have a few poppies starting to bloom here so far.
Have a wonderful spring!
This will be our first season with Nature Study. I’m so very excited to get started! Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done! <3
You are very welcome and I will look forward to hearing how your nature study goes.
Spring is such a great time to start!
This program and site deserves praise. Thanks on behalf of an avid nature admirer, wife of a husband ntrying to love nature, and a relatively new homeschooling only child partly raised by television and computer (the latter reluctantly–very–on my part). But how might I help our shyer only kids herE? I realize most homeschooled kids have siblings. Would it benefit some kids and parents here for someone to create a weekly post-outdoor-challenge list-share if only for the only/shy/new homeschooling families?
Thank you again for this fun and most needed of resources, especially now.
Love and Thanks,
Mother Sara
Nature study is a perfect activity for a quieter/shy child. You can gently introduce ideas for closer observation and then spend a few minutes outside together learning about your own neighborhood. I hope you can use some of the ideas here to help your family. 🙂
Thank you. Keep it up yourself, this is such a wonderful program. ☺Sara (and shy but reluctant daughtet Ayla)
Thank you. Keep it up yourself, this is such a wonderful program. ☺Sara (and shy but reluctant daughter Ayla)
Thanks Sara!