Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week try to spend even just a few minutes outside looking at the stars. Make it an event your child will remember by bundling up beforehand if necessary and then finishing off the evening with something warm to drink.
Use this challenge from the past to get started: Winter Sky Study. This blog entry includes some winter night sky links you may find helpful.
NOTE: Make sure to note that you don’t need the Discover Nature in Winter book to get outside and just take a look at the stars and/or moon this month. You also do not need a telescope to complete this challenge. Use your naked eyes or a pair of binoculars if you have those at home.
You may also be interested in the Year Long Big Dipper Study. This challenge includes a free printable notebook page to record your observations.
Special Activity:
After you Outdoor Hour time, spend a few minutes with your child and discuss what you observed outdoors in winter, perhaps even after your night sky observations. Have them come up with a question they would like answered about anything winter related and record their question on the notebook page above. Use the Handbook of Nature Study or other resources to answer their question within a week’s time. This process can be done every time your child has a question as they learn more about their own backyard and beyond.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2.Use this challenge to help your child find some words to go along with your winter sky study. The notebooking page that goes with this challenge has a place for words and a small sketch. I have found that as you do this challenge over and over, your child will build a large vocabulary of adjectives and an increased ability to see things in nature.
Our winter continues to be warmer than normal…even record-breaking temperatures. As much as I love the warm afternoons and sunshine, I am concerned for the drying up reservoirs and the very dry forest conditions. I know I have no power to bring on the rain and snow so I am trying to make the best of it.
This week’s Winter Snow challenge was a big challenge indeed. We did find a bit of snow up the mountain from our house but not a whole lot. We opted to complete the Winter Nature Walk- Scavenger Hunt activity from Hearts and Trees.
I took an image of the page with my phone and we used that during our hike to remember the things we were looking for as we went.
Here are our results:
An evergreen
Buds on a tree
We decided this duck weed was more interesting than moss.
Trees that have lost all their leaves – aspens
a bird – Steller’s Jay
We didn’t find any berries but this rose hip was certainly colorful.
Something with thorns
Pinecones – The squirrels had lunch on the picnic table!
Feather
One last image from our hike at Taylor Creek. The beavers have been clear cutting a lot of the trees along the water. They have quite a few trees that are ready to fall as well. The dam is getting huge! Amazing creatures with incredible strength.
We are still waiting for some real snow here and I will keep the snow study in the back of my mind for a future time. I hope some of you were more successful with this challenge or you took advantage of the scavenger hunt instead.
All of us have dreams. Some dreams are bigger than others.
I have gotten to know Renee Tougas over the past few months and have grown to anticipate each of her new blog posts on her blog, Fimby. Through those blog posts I learned of her family’s dream to through hike the Appalachian Trail, all 2,000+ miles of it! She and her husband Damien along with there three children are going to set off in April from the southern trailhead of the Appalachian Trail and then continue hiking for the next six months.
Sound ambitious?
Although I would love to do this hike, I know that I lack the commitment and means to make it happen.
The next best thing is for me and my family to follow along on their journey through the video series they are going to complete as they go. Each video is going to share some aspect of trail life and be available by subscription.
I would love for you to pop over to their Kickstarter page and view their first video to see if this is something you would like to be a part of as well. They are accepting help from backers in any amount. In order to get each and every video in this series, you will need to support their project with a $50 commitment. Don’t worry if that is too much for you….you can choose a level of support that fits your budget.
This Kickstarter program is not to fund their actual hike but to help produce the video series they are creating to share this amazing experience with interested people like me and you.
I am excited to watch their adventure unfold and I hope that in some small way you can back this project.
Their deadline for their Kickstarter project is February 5, 2014 so don’t procrastinate checking it out!
Let me know if you contribute (at any level) and I will send you a free Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook of your choice. You can send me an email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.
The Winter Snow challenge from the Winter Wednesday ebook is a fun one to have on hand whenever you get some snow. I wish you all a great week of nature study! Original Challenge: Snow Use the suggestions in this challenge to complete a snow related experiment, recording the results on the accompanying notebook page or in your nature journal. There are also some additional ideas for non-snow related activities to substitute if you live where there is no snow. You can also use the Winter Nature Walk printable from Hearts and Trees.
Special Activity: Watercolor With Snow
Bring a cup or so of snow in and let it melt. Use the resulting water to watercolor a winter scene.
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #3.Make sure to read the pages in the Handbook of Nature Study for this challenge. We all need reminders about how to encourage our children in their nature journals. This week you can record a winter scene in your journals or use the notebook page from the ebook to keep a record of your outdoor time.
You are welcome to submit any of you blog Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Entries for the current month are due on 1/30/14.
We finally finished our four seasons visits to Yosemite National Park. This was our winter trip that turned out to not be so wintery at all. The temperatures were in the 50’s and we enjoyed sunshine for most of the trip.
We decided to take a hike on the north side of the Yosemite Valley where the sun is shining. The Upper Yosemite Falls Trail is just across from the lodge so that is where we began. There was very little water in the falls so we chose to go up the trail about a mile and a half and see the view from Columbia Rock.
We did see a few hikers on the trail but during the winter there are very few people to be found in the park. I think this year there are even less than normal because Badger Pass ski resort is closed so there aren’t even skiers to be found in the valley. At Columbia Rock we met with a family from England, two young college students from Korea, and a Croatian girl.
Here is the view from Columbia Rock overlooking a meadow and the lodge. In the distance Half Dome looms up and dominates the vista. We stood for a bit and gazed at the beauty and then hiked back down the four dozen or so switchbacks to the valley floor.
We started off the hike with lots of layers and by the time we reached our destination we were in shirt sleeves and sweating. It was really warm in the sun on the exposed trail.
The first of my colors in the winter color challenge is black. The Common Ravens are the bird most commonly seen and heard in this area of the park. They are black AND iridescent purple in the sunlight. Their loud and clear CRUCK CRUCK CRUCK can easily be identified. We also saw and heard other birds during our stay like the Steller’s Jay, the Nuthatch, and the Acorn Woodpecker.
In the Village you can see the browns of the trees, acorns on the ground, and the evergreens to make a winter color palette. In this photo you can see Yosemite Falls in the distance, nearly dry. As the day wears on, the falls flow a little more but in the mornings they are nearly dry.
Here is a little green lichen I spotted along the trail, landing among pine needles. The bright green really pops out this time of year when the world is filled with grays, browns, and blacks.
In spots where the sun doesn’t shine, the snow is still seen in patches. This meadow has lots of winter weeds showing through and I spotted some milkweed left from the past season.
The second day we hiked to the Merced Grove of sequoia trees. These giants really stand out in the forest with their reddish bark and large trunks. We shared this forest with the trees for a bit, sitting quietly and reveling in their ancient history.
I tried to capture what the bark looks like close up…it is soft and squishy and shreds easily. Amazing.
My husband decided this was the best way to enjoy the sequoia’s beauty…looking up at their tall stature.
So ends a complete year of Yosemite National Park visits. It has been a wonderful experience personally for me to achieve a goal and to learn a little more about one of my favorite places on earth. I feel blessed to live so near such an awesome place to get outdoors and build memories with my family.
My husband and I celebrated our accomplishment with a little pizza and Half Dome California Wheat beer at the Yosemite Lodge. Perfect ending to a fantastic day, trip, and year.
Would you be able to offer any tips on how a family just starting out doing it should approach it? Or maybe what inspires you and how you make it work with your family?
Nature study is something that started rather slowly in our family. We had always been outdoor sorts of people but the desire to learn more deeply and routinely about the things around us spurred me as a mother and home teacher to schedule time each week to focus on something of interest to my children.
At first, I would send the boys outside to find something to draw in their nature journal. They would obediently pop out into the backyard and find a little something to sketch and label. It was a good start but this kind of “nature study” didn’t reach their hearts.
We gave up on the nature journal idea for at time and with some pushing from the ideas of Charlotte Mason we began spending more time together in the backyard and hiking on local trails each week. I found that just immersing ourselves in the outdoor life helped grow the seeds of nature study more than anything else.
As we began noting changes in our backyard and along our favorite walking trails, the boys became more interested in coming home to look up and identify things like mushrooms, birds, and trees. I think their eyes needed to be able to see things before nature study meant much to them. I became more passionate about nature study and purchased the Handbook of Nature Study so I could use it in our studies. I was totally and completely overwhelmed by the book and actually gave it away.
The nature journal came back after a period of time when the boys realized they could journal things that interested them, in a way that meant something to them. For our family, notebooking pages helped us over the hump. Not needing to feel overwhelmed by a blank page was a relief to them.I was happy they were keeping a record of their observations and discoveries.
Eventually I found a copy of the Handbook of Nature Study again and I was determined to use it with my family. It was from that process that this blog was born. I stopped trying to use the HNS as a field guide and began using it more as a teacher’s guide like it was intended to be. It helped make nature come alive for our family. We used the suggestions in the lessons in that book as the basis for our exploring creation in our backyard and neighborhood.
I always suggest that families start with the first ten Outdoor Hour Challenges, making sure to read the pages in the introduction of the Handbook of Nature Study as suggested in each challenge. Anna Botsford Comstock’s words there are what created in me a better method of teaching “nature study”. She showed me the simple way to offer nature learning opportunities to my children. She really did become my mentor.
Just get started even if you just work through the first five challenges. After completing those challenges, you will start to see the pattern that I use here on the blog and with my family to create a nature study atmosphere.
Over time, our family developed a way of life that encourages nature study every day. There are field guides in various places around the house like bird books near the window where we hang our birdfeeder. We regularly take walks together. I still keep a nature journal but my children have not kept up that habit as young adults. They prefer to take photos and then share them on Instagram and on Facebook. It warms my heart to see my children still taking time to notice the natural treasures that come their way like sunsets, wildflowers, butterflies, birds, and rocks.
This is what I encourage you to remember if nothing else:
Nurture a love of the outdoors and the interesting things you find there with your children as they are growing up. Train their eyes to see what is there in front of them….stop and look and listen. These are skills that will make them happier people and better students in all areas.
This week we are going to be completing the World of Color challenge from the Winter Wednesday ebook. This challenge invites you and your family to take a walk outdoors and find some color in your winter world. Even if you have to complete this challenge from your window, it will help train your eyes to see the bursts of color that are out there if you look carefully enough.
Original Challenge: The World of Color.
Don’t worry if you don’t have the Discover Nature in Winter book to use along with the challenge. Take the ideas listed in the blog post to complete a simple color hunt with your children and then follow up with an entry in your nature journal. The journal can be simply a list of colorful things you saw or a sketch of something your child found interesting. Make this a no-pressure challenge for your child.
There are a few other ideas in the ebook to try if you don’t want to go outside for this challenge. Color Cards For Your Winter Color Study
Use these color word cards to stimulate a fun nature study related activity. See how many of the colors you can find during your winter color hunt.
TIPS: These cards can be printed on cardstock or cut and pasted to index cards. If you only have a black and white printer, have your children color the words or the border with markers before going outside. Printable Color Word Cards
Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #1.This is the perfect challenge to just take a simple walk outdoors with your children as part of completing challenge #1.Make sure to follow up your outdoor time with a discussion to find out one or two things your child would like to know more about. Don’t worry that you won’t know the answers to any questions they may have…just take the opportunity to learn together using internet resources or a trip to the library.
The December 2013 newsletter focused on various national parks, showing different ways to enjoy the parks with your children. I was very inspired by the contributors and their experiences at national parks from east to west.
Throughout 2014 I am going to feature one national park each month here on the blog. Our family has traveled to many of the western parks and enjoyed exploring their wonders. I desire to share those adventures with you and perhaps spark a desire in your family to travel to one soon.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – 2005
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
The most recent national park that I have visited is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. We have been there several times now and each time spent time doing something different. If you are planning a visit, don’t miss their Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Trip Planner.
View of Kilauea from Jaegger Museum 2005
On our most recent visit, we also spent time at the Visitor’s Center viewing the displays and reminding ourselves of the opportunities there are for exploring. Of course, the main attraction is the Jaegger Museum and Kilauea volcano itself. These are such awesome places to start your visit if you want to learn more about the volcanic activity in the area. We used this museum as a way to support our study of volcanoes and geology. What better way to learn could there be?
Kilauea 2013 – Lots of VOG (volcanic gases)
If you are planning a visit to the Big Island, it is a drive from either the Hilo side or the Kona side. The amazing thing to realize is that most of the time you are on island you are actually not very far from the large volcanoes that reside there, some still active. See a map here: Hawaii Island.
Trail to Thurston Lava Tube – 2004
After visiting the museum, you can drive to Thurston Lava Tube and actually walk through a dark, damp tube that was formed by flowing lava. This is an easy walk and everyone should experience it. This walk is in a part of the park that is like a rainforest with large ferns and vines and beautiful bird sounds. The first time we came here I was surprised at the contrasts of this national park with its volcanic moonscape and then the lush rainforest. Truly there is something for everyone.
There are several viewing spots along Crater Rim Drive. Stop at a few of the spots and see the way the lava flowed, forming bumps and layers. Take in the caldera of Kilauea and stop at the steam vents.
If you have more time and are interested in taking in more of the park, take a hike! There are trails you can use to visit more of this awesome landscape. There is one trail where there are ancient petroglyphs.
Hiking out past the end of the road on the lava. Reflectors mark the trail. 2005
Our family hiked out on the lava several years ago and we were able to see actual lava flowing. It was an amazing experience and I hear that at times you can hike out on this section of the park after dark and see the lava actually flowing into the ocean. We have never done that and it seems a little risky to me but many people have done it and survived.:)
Moving lava – see the red hot spots?
Warning: The day we were there the museum and several of the trails were closed because of toxic fumes from the volcano. The winds were not blowing and the accumulated fumes were on a level that was dangerous for prolonged exposure. See this page for more details: Area Closures.
We took a bike tour of the park with a touring company. It was a fantastic day and the guide was super knowledgeable about volcanoes as well as the plants that we saw along the way. I highly recommend this tour for families: Bike Volcano.
At the steam vents 2013
At the end of the Chain of Craters Road, there is a picnic area, restrooms, and little shop for snacks. You can walk out where the lava has covered the road in past eruptions.
Flying in a helicopter is the best way to see the active volcano
My husband and two of my sons took a helicopter tour that flew up over the volcano. They said it was an awesome experience to see down into the caldera with active lava flow. They saw lava skylights where the lava flows through tubes and the top opens up so you can see the glowing red lava. They flew with Safari Tours and were very impressed with the safety and knowledge of the guide.They flew out of the Hilo airport. Check out the video on the Safari Tours website.
There are two campgrounds in the national park. There is also the historic Volcano House. We have never stayed there but have been inside and it looks like a great place to stay.
We have experienced all kinds of weather at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Twice it rained on us and the last time it was perfectly clear and beautifully sunny. Even when it rains it is not cold so shorts and sweatshirt are the most you would ever need.
This past November during our trip to this awesome national park we realized that we need to spend some more time there on the next Big Island visit. We would like to explore the area on foot and perhaps stay at the Volcano House Hotel. There is also an art center at the park that we have not visited yet…so many things to do!
There are two other national historical parks we visited on the Big Island.
Pu ‘uhonua O Honaunau – The Place of Refuge is a reconstructed ancient Hawaiian city. It is an awesome example of history and culture. The view from the park is amazing.
Pu ‘ukohala Heiau – This is a great place to get out and stretch your legs. Walking on the path of ancient Hawaiian kings and learning more about the history of the Hawaiian Islands. This is also an incredibly beautiful part of the Big Island. Take a trip here and then explore the area’s little charming towns.
If you find yourself on the island of Oahu, you can visit Pearl Harbor or the World War II Valor In The Pacific National Monument. We took our boys when they were studying modern history and this place immerses you in the history of this landmark location. We really enjoyed the tour, the museum, and learning so much in one small place.
We have felt so blessed to be able to travel to these amazing Hawaiian National Parks and Historical Sites. They have helped build in our hearts a special place for Hawaii and the national park system.
If you have any questions, please feel to ask me and I will hopefully be able to help you out.
Here on the Handbook of Nature Study we have weekly nature study ideas posted every Friday! You can subscribe to my blog to receive those in your email inbox.
Or, if you would like to have all the archived newsletters and ebooks (20 of them!), you can become an Ultimate Naturalist Member and have access to everything!
We will be working our way through the Winter Wednesday series of nature study ideas starting in January. This ebook includes premade notebooking pages for you to use with your family. It is included in the Ultimate Naturalist Library.
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