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Posted on July 11, 2012 by Barb — 5 Comments

Summer Bird Study – Hummingbirds

This is our busiest hummingbird feeder. They also like the flowers in the pots.

We love hummingbirds. I think we pay more attention to the hummingbirds in our yard than any other bird. They are constantly at our feeders, in our garden flowers, and flying around…front yard and backyard.

There are at least three in our yard at all times, competing for the feeders and flying fast. They sit in the trees and chirp at us when we eat dinner on the back deck. They are not afraid of us when we are out in the backyard and frequently will fly right up by us as we work in the yard.

They are year round residents.

What aspect did we focus on this time in our hummingbird study as part of the More Nature Study Book #4 Hummingbird Challenge? We started off asking questions about their feathers and how in a certain light they are very green and in then in another light they are bright red. What makes them iridescent? But then we got side-tracked asking why the Anna’s hummingbird chases the Black Headed Grosbeaks out of the seed feeders. I mean they are aggressively chasing them far out of the yard. Our field guide says they defend a 1/4 acre territory. We haven’t found the concrete answer to our questions yet but we have some guesses.

Also, we were fascinated this week by one hummingbird in particular. We call him “Flutter”. He has a unusual sound to his flying. Most of the birds have the familiar “hum” to their wings and the Anna’s Hummingbird make a clicking sound as well. But Flutter sounds like he has a bum wing…like it is not beating like the other birds. It sounds like a fluttering instead of a humming, if that makes sense. We have yet to catch him with the camera because our thought is that if we can take a photo and take a look at his wing shape, maybe he has some sort of injury.

One last thing to relate about our hummingbirds this week. I was out in the yard using the hose to water a few of the bushes since it has been extremely hot and dry. I had the hose in a fine sort of mist and in the shape of an arc. Well, a hummingbird decided that it was the perfect place to fly in and out as he took a bath! It was amazing to watch and I am hoping I get to see it again some day. Our hummingbirds are quite comfortable with us right now and they will fly right up behind you and visit the feeder even if you are inches from them.

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Barb — 7 Comments

Summer Nature Study: Something New Every Day

“Children are quick. In fifteen minutes, they will have finished with their sight-seeing exercise or imaginary picture painting. Other than that, an occasional discovery that the mother shows them with a name and maybe a dozen words about it at just the right time are all that’s needed; the children will have formed an interest in something they can continue on their own. Just one or two of these discoveries should happen in any given day.”
Charlotte Mason, volume 6 page 78

We spent our fifteen minutes everyday this week outside in our own yard. Here is a short list of the things we noticed and enjoyed from our time outdoors.

There were robins in the grass after the sprinklers turned off.
For the first time this year, we observed a tattered Monarch butterfly in our garden.
Our sunflowers started blooming..some yellow, some orange, some almost brown.
We noticed the first blooming morning glories in the front container garden.
We saw Painted Lady butterflies and Western Tiger Swallowtails too. There were a few more but we had to pull out the field guide so we can identify them the next time we see them in the garden.
The zucchini is blossoming.
The Starlings are back and eating the little fruits off the tree on our fence line.Noisy birds.
Hummingbirds in the butterfly bushes and the Red Hot Pokers. Amazing to watch.
Day lilies, day lilies, day lilies!
Big black bees in the lavender…had to cut it back off the walkway.
The winds on Tuesday and Wednesday were not cool at all…hot! The breeze on Friday was cool and from a different direction.

Those are just the discoveries we brainstormed as I was typing this up. This informal everyday noticing of nature related subjects taking just a few minutes a day adds such joy to our busy lives. As my boys grow older, I love that we have established this habit of noticing the seasonal changes and the cycle of life in our own backyard. You don’t always need to do lots of talking and follow-up to make nature study meaningful. Sometimes it is just the time spent together and enjoying a moment during your day.

We truly do discovery something every time we make the effort to get outside.

Give it a try! The Outdoor Hour Challenge July Newsletter is going to have suggestions for nature study when it is hot and humid. Make sure to subscribe to this blog for your free copy of it the minute it publishes.

To subscribe to the Handbook of Nature Study, you can enter your email in the box below and you will receive each blog entry in your email inbox. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this blog!
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I am submitting this entry to the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival and if you have any entries you would like to submit, you can send them to this email address: charlottemasonblogs@gmail.com. The official blog carnival site is not working so you will need to send them directly to this email.

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Barb — 2 Comments

More Nature Study Ebook Bundle

Now you can purchase the More Nature Study Ebook Series as a bundle!
Special Discounted Bundle Price of $29.99.

Ebooks included
More Nature Study—Autumn 2011
More Nature Study Book 2 —Winter 2012
More Nature Study Book 3—Spring 2012
More Nature Study Book 4—Summer Sizzle (2012)

Special Bundle Price of $29.99
Please note that I send the links within 24 hours of purchase to the email address associated with the Paypal account.

Complete list of topics included in all four ebooks in this bundle:

Buttercups and poppies
Chickadee
Chipmunks
Cottonwood
Daisy, aster, and black-eyed susans
Dogwood
Ferns
Gall dwellers
Goats
Granite
House sparrow
Hummingbirds
Iris
Leaf-Miners and leaf-rollers
Leaf study
Magnets and compass
Maples
Milkweed
Monarch butterfly
Moon
Mouse
Mullein
Pansies
Pears
Quartz
Robin
Sand and soil
Sheep
Snails
Thistles
Tree—Buds, catkins, blossoms. Twigs.
Turtles and pondweed
Vines-Sweet peas, dodder, hedge bindweed
Weather—spring, winter, fall color, summer
Webs
Yellow jackets and mud daubers

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Barb — 1 Comment

More Nature Study Book 4 Summer Sizzle – Outdoor Hour Challenge

More Nature Study Book #4 – Summer Sizzle is the last ebook in the More Nature Study ebook series. This completes the cycle of seasons using the Handbook of Nature Study with options for more advanced study of the world in your own backyard. Families have found it easy to offer nature study from their youngest to their oldest children using this series of nature study plans. My own family has greatly enjoyed having the options to bump up the simple plans to a more in-depth study when we came across a topic that interested us.

The challenges in More Nature Study Book #4 cover a variety of topics and I have done my very best to allow for differences in habitat and availability of subjects. You will always be able to adapt each specific challenge to fit a broad range within that topic. For example, when the topic is the Cottonwood Tree, I give suggestions for choosing another summer tree in your own neighborhood if you do not have a Cottonwood to observe up close.

I know summer nature study tends to be more relaxed so I have included simple follow-up activity options that will enhance and support your outdoor time. When you study the Cottonwood, one of the suggestions is to eat a snack or meal in the shade of a backyard tree. The rock study encourages you to complete some simple follow-up projects using rocks. You are going to find the challenges in the More Nature Study Book #4 a wonderful supplement to many of your family’s outdoor activities.

The challenges in this ebook will be posting on the Handbook of Nature Study blog starting on June 8, 2012. They will continue for ten weeks and finish on August 10, 2012. Of course, you are welcome to complete the challenges in any order and then submit your blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. See the Blog Carnival button on the sidebar of my blog.

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
More Nature Study Ebook #4 – Summer 2012
Summer Sizzle

Ten challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study. See a list of topics and a Sample Challenge.
15 regular notebook pages and 12 coloring pages
18 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, with links (including YouTube videos) and printables
Nature journal suggestions and examples
Special Bonus Features! Summer Photo Challenge and Summer Sunflower Grid Study!
All the challenges will coordinate with the June through August 2012 Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletters
Alternate ideas to adapt the challenges to your local area
73 pages

Save

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Barb — 6 Comments

5 Easy Nature Study Suggestions for the End of April

If you have been too busy this month to keep up with the Outdoor Hour Challenge, you many want to consider this week a time to get a few final April nature study activities. If you blog about it, you are welcome to submit your link to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

Five Easy Nature Study Suggestions for the End of April

Just get outside and take a walk! Informal nature study done while spending time together as a family is often the most meaningful. Get outside for a quick walk when you have a few minutes to spare. Printable Scavenger Hunt available from Hearts and Trees: Spring Nature Walk. You can also use my free Signs of Spring Notebook Page to follow up your walk.
Keep track of temperature for three days in a row. Record it in your nature journal to compare with future months. You can print and use my free Printable Weather Chart Notebook Page.
Observe clouds over the course of a week. Print out a Cloud Chart (scroll down and there are two choices). Record your cloud observations in your nature journal with sketches.
Complete a Seasonal Weather Notebook Page.
Finish the grid suggestions from the Apri 2012 Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter. Note: You will need to subscribe to my blog to receive the download link for the newsletter at the bottom of the next blog entry email.

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Barb — 5 Comments

Robin Nature Study – Where Have They Gone?

We have studied Robins in the past.

This week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge was to do a robin nature study…but where were the robins? Just a few weeks ago we counted six for our Project FeederWatch count. We saw forty-two during the Great Backyard Bird Count this year in February. This week….zero. We have been vigilant about looking but they are gone from our neighborhood now. So what to do?

We were out looking for any birds this morning and we were surprised to see that our neighbor’s trees were full of Cedar Waxwings! We have learned that they visit us on their way south and then again northwards. The interesting thing, according to our family’s records, we usually see the big flock come through during the GBCC in February. We did not see them this year at all until now. What does that mean? Not sure but it will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Would you like to see our Cedar Waxwings?

They filled three trees and were munching on the “nuts” from the pistache tree that have lasted all winter…just waiting for them to come and polish them off before the next growing season. What a wonderful provider they have!

Yes, we had very gray skies this morning but it wasn’t very cold. They sat resting and eating for quite some time and I was able to get up close to take a few colorful photos of them as they sat in the tree. Don’t you just love their yellow-tipped tails? I could really hear them making their very unique buzzing sound. Do you want to hear? Here is a link to AllAboutBirds and you can click over and hear what I heard…click the “high pitched hissy whistle” and that is exactly it.

Then in a blink of an eye, they were off again. I was amazed at just how fast they flew away in a flock. What a great experience we had this morning! I am forever grateful for the Outdoor Hour Challenges. I know that if I had not started this adventure with all of you that I would have missed out on so many deeply memorable times with my family.

It spurs me on to get outside and this month I have enjoyed joining in with Debi at Go Explore Nature and her #GetOutside project…a photo scavenger hunt. This simple project has already brought such joy to our family. It has encouraged us to think about how we can incorporate outdoor time each day in the month of April. I hope you will consider jumping in with us and take a few minutes to read more about the way it works on her blog. You can see all my entries in my Flickr Set: April GetOutside Project.

Another great week of nature study with my teenage sons.

Don’t forget to share your April Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit entries directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Barb — 1 Comment

Buds and Catkins – Our Spring Nature Study

We still have plenty of tree buds to use in our nature study this week as part of the More Nature Study Book 3 study of Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms assignment. We went out after dinner last night to observe and gather some specimens for our study. Can I just say that we were intrigued with the variety we have right in our own backyard?

Mr. B and I both sketched buds into our nature journal. There has to be no better way to really see what a bud looks like than to try to sketch it in detail. Picking the correct color and seeing the different ways that buds are shaped lead to really truly *seeing* the subject.

Advanced Study Notebook Page from More Nature Study Book 3

Mr. B used the advanced notebook page from the ebook to try his hand at sketching an enlarged bud using the grid paper. He thought this was hard…..I think he just needs a little practice.

Sweet Gum Tree Bud

What a glorious bud he chose to sketch! This is the sweet gum tree bud…it looks like it is ready to burst open at any moment. We placed it in a glass of water to see if we could get it to open up in our window sill.

The vertical twig hanging down has our string on it…still no leaves.

We also observed the birch catkins we have on our backyard tree. This was the same tree we used in our twig study and we found the branch with the string marker. Not much of a change yet so we will continue to watch our twig as the season progresses.

New leaves on this twig of the birch tree and some catkins too.

Currently there are no tree blossoms in our yard. The plum is done and the pear and apple are not yet blossoming. We found a few more interesting things to gather and bring inside for our bud study.

Walnut Tree Twig with Buds

The most interesting thing from our study is the walnut tree twig with its unusual buds…both color and shape. We had never taken the time to really examine the walnut tree bud before so it was a surprise. It was a fun exercise to try to get the sketch right in my journal. It helps to know a little bit about twig anatomy so you notice all the important parts like the leaf scars and the lenticels.

Silver Maple Buds and Key

The maple tree buds are all burst open and you can see the keys in the image above. If you are interested in doing your own Spring Maple Tree Study, you can look back to a previous study we had here on this blog. You may wish to use the free printable: Spring Maple Tree Notebook Page

Birch Tree Catkin – April 2012

So this was another wonderful study with my teen. He did a little grumbling at first about doing the study this week since he thought there wasn’t much to learn but as you see above once we got started there were many things to be interested in. If all that he gleaned from this study was that all tree buds are unique and we can identify trees from twigs and buds, then I am a happy mama.

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Barb — 4 Comments

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – April 2012 Building a Backyard Habitat

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

Companion to the Outdoor Hour Challenges

Supporting a Global Community in Their Nature Study

April 2012 Issue: Building a Backyard Habitat

This is the twelfth issue of the Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – a complete year! I hope that this newsletter has helped your family to enjoy a richer nature study experience in your own backyard.

I would like to thank every contributor to the newsletter and acknowledge your part in its success. Your willingness to share your family’s experiences has made this a wonderful monthly gift to the nature study loving community.

List of Contributors to the Newsletter May 2011 – April 2012
1. Amanda from Hearts and Trees
2. Casey from Bumpin’ Along the Road Less Traveled
3. Rachael from Homeschooling Kiwi Style (New Zealand)
4. Angie from Petra School – multiple articles
5. Ann from Harvest Moon by Hand – multiple articles
6. Tricia and Nana from Hodgepodge – multiple articles
7. Eva from Academia Celestia – multiple articles
8. Amy from Fisher Academy International (Peru)
9. Alex from Canadian Home Learning – multiple articles
10. Jamie from See Jamie Blog
11. Kristin at Broom and Crown – multiple contributions
12. Paula from Mindful Drawing (Belguim) – multiple contributions
13. Heather from Blog, She Wrote
14. Nadene from Practical Pages (South Africa)
15. April from In a Galaxy Not So Far Away
16. Ellen from Hurrayic
17. Melissa from Bugs, Knights, and Turkeys in the Yard
18. Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage – multiple contributions
19. Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie – multiple contributions
20. Amy from Hope is the Word – multiple contributions
21. Betty from Peace Creek on the Prairie
22. Shirley Ann from Under the English Sky (UK) -multiple contributions
23. Julie from Homeschool Balancing Act – review
24. Desiree from Our Homeschool Notebook – review
25. Michelle from Delightful Learning – reviews
26. Kim from A Child’s Garden – review
27. Nicole from One Hook Wonder
28. Rebecca from Mom’s Mustard Seeds

Sponsors (May 2011 – April 2012)
1. Hearts and Trees
2. Crowe’s Nest Media
3. Harvest Moon By Hand (Etsy Shop)
4. NotebookingPages.com

The Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter is a companion to the Outdoor Hour Challenges that are posted here on the blog every Friday. In this issue there are three special printable activities, additional links and ideas, as well as articles and photos from a variety of OHC participants. I invite everyone to subscribe and get the newsletter each month in your inbox.

I have attached the newsletter download link to the bottom of my blog feed so if you are a subscriber you will receive the link to the latest newsletter at the bottom of every post for the month of April. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can still subscribe and receive the newsletter in the next post that comes to your email box. You can subscribe to my blog by filling in your email address in the subscription box on my sidebar.

Make sure to click and save the newsletter link from the email for future reference.

If you have trouble getting the newsletter to download, try right clicking the link, save the link, and then open it. (The link is in the email and not in this blog post.) I am not going to be archiving the newsletters at this point. You will need to SAVE the FILE on your computer each month if you want to save back issues.

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Barb — 1 Comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival – It’s Spring Nature Study Time

This is the March Newsletter edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival and it is packed with lots of early spring nature study goodness! As the weather warms and we return to our regular outdoor time, I am inspired by all of the families who participate and share their family nature study. What a wonderful community of people from all around the world!

As a special treat I would like to showcase Tricia’s entry here at the beginning of the carnival. She and her family have put together an inspiring post: The Gift of Nature Study. Their words and images truly show the power of everyday, over the long term benefits of nature study with the whole family involved. Thanks Tricia for sharing this glimpse into your family with readers of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

Hodgepodge Family Pansy Study

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

Old English Proverb

Moon Names
Jen is joining the carnival with two entries done with her little ones: Nature Study- A Robin and Moon Shadow, Moon Shadow. Jen shows us how to gently get started with nature study as your children begin to show an interest. It is always nice to see new faces in the carnival. 🙂

Compass Outdoor Hour Challenge – Petra School

Magnets/Compass
Angie from Petra School has written up the account of their Magnet/Compass Study…complete with friends along. I love to see how they make the learning meaningful and fun at the same time. Wish I could have been there! (Image included above.)

More magnet work was done by Zonnah (Zonnah’s Addictions) and her son. You can read and see their video: Magnets. Love the concentration her little guy is showing as he thinks about the properties of magnetism.

Cristy shares on her blog Crafty Cristy the account of their month long Outdoor Hour Challenge-Moon Study. She and her young children made many observations of their night sky and made some wonderful connections and memories. Excellent!

Spring Nature Journals – Under an English Sky

Spring Flowers and Pansy Study
Shirley Anne from Under an English Sky shares their Early Spring Flower entry featuring their crocus and nature journals. Beautiful! (You can see their journal pages above.)

Catherine from Grace to Abide (another UK Outdoor Hour Challenge participant) has written and contributed a two most colorful entries: Beginning Our Focus on Garden Flowers and Flower Parts. What a beautiful display of flowers and she outlines their up-coming garden plans as part of their nature study.

Angie from Petra School submits their Pansies in the Storm entry with carnival readers.This entry shows the many layers of nature study possible with families who have different ages of children. Excellent job on persevering until they saw the “face” in the pansy bloom.

Dorina from Out Side Blue writes about their Planting Pansies and Painting Crocuses for this edition of the carnival. She and her daughters enjoyed an almost-spring day of nature study in their New York City home. Beautiful!

Desiree from Our Homeschool Notebook put together their Nature Study: Pansies entry for us all to enjoy. This was a rich study starting with a neighborhood walk, studying pansies they purchased at the garden center, a close-up study of the pansy face, and then a nature journal. The images in this entry tell the story.

Jen from Snowfall Academy shares their pansy study from their French city apartment: How We Do Nature Study. What a delight to see their journal, poem, and early spring flowers. Thanks for joining the carnival!

Amy from Hope is the Word shares their Spring Flower Study and Art. What a wonderfully full study they had and I think their artwork is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing your pansy study.

Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie wants to share their Dancing in the Daffodils post with carnival readers. They made an enjoyable study of daffodils as an alternative to the pansy study. Excellent choice!

Anole in My Shoe – HodgePodge

Spring Splendor Walk
Tricia from Hodgepodge has put together a visual entry you are going to enjoy! Noticing Spring is a collection of their early spring images. (Image of the anole in the shoe is from their entry!)

Shirley Anne from Under An English Sky has shared their early spring walk: Spring Splendor. I love the way she started off with a plan but then followed her daughters’ interests…frogs!

Spring in the Woods – Snake! Across the Page

Janet write about their Spring Woods on her blog Across the Page. Do not miss their beautiful images and all the interesting things they discovered on this early spring day. Amazing!

Desiree from Singing in the Rain shares their early Spring Splendor walk. They saw a snake too! You can view their wonderful spring images in this entry as well. Thanks for the glimpse into your neighborhood spring.

Dorina from Out Side Blue has shared their blustery Spring Splendor Walk. What beautiful blossoms!

Potpourri

Jennifer from The Mason Family has submitted their Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 for carnival readers. She has declared, “We would enjoy nature and not hurry. We would explore what interested us.” Amen to that. Jennifer also shares their Outdoor Hour Challenge #3 with the carnival this time. They are really enjoying their spring time weather. Thanks for sharing Jennifer.

Barb (Our Oklahoma Day) shares their Outdoor Hour Challenge #3 which includes a look into how they are beginning their nature journals with little ones. It is a joy to me to read how families are still joining the Outdoor Hour Challenge and gaining the confidence to make nature study a regular activity. Pure joy.

Makita from Academia Celestia writes about their Quartz – Nature Study for this edition of the carnival. They did some extra research to answer a question and followed up with some nature journal entries. (I agree…rocks are hard to draw!) Their family also did a follow-up study on a gall they had seen during a trip. You will be interested to see findings: Lime Nail Galls Nature Study.

Kris from On the 8th Day shares their Twiggy Update with carnival readers. She has learned to expect the unexpected.

Lacey from So Every Day has contributed the lovely account of the Outdoor Hour Challenge #10 – Picnic. She shares how they even included a little poetry writing as part of their nature journals this time. Inspiring.

Janet from Across the Page has submitted their Red-Tail Observation entry for the carnival. Their family has decided to build on the interest shown after watching the live webcam of a red-tail nesting at Cornell University. Wonderful entry showing their journals too!

Leslie from Two Cowgirls writes about their gorgeous spring day Tree Study. They took a walk as a family down by a creek and took time to gather some twigs and do some sketching.

Kristin from Broom and Crown shares their exciting Butterfly Watching entry.

Don’t forget to share your Spring Splendor blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. All entries done in April are eligible for the next edition. The deadline for entries is 4/29/12 and you can send them directly to me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Barb — Leave a comment

More Nature Study Book 3 -Spring Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms

More Nature Study Book #3
Spring Tree Study – Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms

This challenge is aimed at getting you outdoors and looking at trees early in the spring. What should you be looking for? Try looking for buds, catkins, or blossoms. The challenge is not specifically about willow trees but the willow is covered in-depth in the Handbook of Nature Study and contains information you can apply to other trees. Since everyone has varying conditions, adapt this study to your local trees and their current stage of growth.

In the winter we looked at twigs. If you have a twig you have been watching, make sure to wrap up your study this week with a journal entry and final drawing.

Inside Preparation Work:

Read pages 651-654 of the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 179 on the Willow) and pages 648-650 (Lesson 178 on the Horse Chestnut). Read for information about the twigs, buds, and pussies.
View this page on catkins and note what to look for during your outdoor time. Explain that the “tassels” of the oak and “pussies” of the pussy willow are really flowers. Catkins appear before the leaves. There can be male and female catkins. Ebook users: Use the illustrations in the ebook to learn about the different ways buds can look and be arranged on the twig.
Interest arousing YouTube videos: Horse-Chestnut Bud and Birch Buds. Fascinating.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Go outside and look at the buds, catkins, or blossoms on trees in your yard or neighborhood. Ebook Users: See chart in the ebook for blooming times for common trees.
Gather some twigs with buds, catkins, and/or blossoms to bring inside for observation. Place each twig in a jar with water and label with the tree name if possible. Note: Catkins and blossoms contain pollen.
Advanced Study: Watercolor a spring blossom if you have one to observe in person.
View this video on YouTube which shows birds feeding on willows.

Follow-Up Activity:

Use your senses to observe your buds, catkins, and/or blossoms. (touch, sight, smell). Make a record in your nature journal including a sketch. Make sure to record the length of your bud and as many details as possible including color. Ebook Users: Optional coloring pages: Horse Chestnut and Pussy Willow.
Watch your buds over time and see what happens. Record how long it takes for the buds to open. Place a piece of white paper under the jars with catkins and observe what happens over the next few days. Record your observations in your nature journal or on a notebook page.
Examine your bud to determine what type it is using a hand lens.

Advanced study:

Extend your study to include information about the tree your bud came from using a field guide or the internet.
If you haven’t dissected a bud yet, use a bud you collected as part of this challenge. Each bud is different so take your time to remove the scales and layers as you go. View this image to see how you can record your work in your nature journal.
Sketch your catkin and research how the catkin functions as part of tree reproduction. Use this link to learn more about classifying buds: Buds. This one is an excellent visual guide: okPlantid.
You may be interested in previous spring tree studies: Year-Long Tree and Spring Tree.

Elizabeth shared this link with me and it is a perfect citizen science project to go along with this challenge. Project Budburst. Free printable journal pages you could use with this challenge too!

You can read about our Spring Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms study:
Buds and Catkins – Our Spring Nature Study

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