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10 Fun Groundhog Day Homeschool Nature Study Activities

Whether it is Groundhog Day or you are just wanting to learn more about these mammals, enjoy these homeschool nature study activities about woodchucks, groundhogs, prairie dogs and marmots!

Enjoy these groundhog homeschool nature study activities about woodchucks, groundhogs, prairie dogs and marmots - whether it is Groundhog Day or not!

10 Groundhog Homeschool Nature Study Activities

Have fun learning about these mammals! If you don’t have groundhogs near you, enjoy the alternate nature study activities for mammals.

Read About Groundhogs in The Handbook of Nature Study

1. Read pages 229-232 in the Handbook of Nature Study. As you read, highlight or underline some facts you can share with your children. There are observation ideas on page 231 and many of these suggestions are ones that you can continue to make over the next few seasons.

More Fun Learning About Groundhogs

Have you ever seen a marmot or a groundhog? Here is a cute video to introduce you to this mammal.

Read About The Groundhog in The Burgess Animal Book for Children

Enjoy this supplemental reading in The Burgess Animal Book for Children: Read Stories 7-8. After you read each story, pause and let your child narrate back some facts they learned from the reading.

This could be as simple as looking at the illustrations on pages 48 and 54 and having them tell you a few things about the woodchuck, the marmot, or the prairie dog.

Mammals: Groundhog Homeschool Nature Study Activities

Groundhog Outdoor Hour Nature Study


Spend 10-15 minutes outdoors on a nature walk. Look for signs of mammals as you walk. Look for tracks, burrows, holes, or scat. If you are able to observe one of this challenge’s featured mammals, be sure to use some of the observation ideas from page 231. Be alert for any opportunity to observe a mammal during your outdoor time. So far we have learned about rabbits and squirrels, but be on the look out for more common mammals like dogs, cats, or horses.

Don’t have groundhogs near you? More ideas for a mammal nature study in the Ultimate Mammals Homeschool Nature Study Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Enjoy founder Barb McCoy’s family study of groundhogs and a foggy day walk.

Groundhog Nature Journaling Activity

After your outdoor time, if you observed a mammal, you can look it up in the Handbook of Nature Study. For your nature journal you can sketch something you saw during your outdoor time. One additional idea is to compare two animals that we have already studied. You can compare a rabbit and a prairie dog or a squirrel and a prairie dog. Make sketches or make a list of the comparisons. You may also use any of the additional resources for your nature journal.

Additional Groundhog Resources for Your Homeschool

Join The Homeschool Nature Study Membership for Year Round Support

You will find a continuing series on mammals plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges for nature study in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. There are 25+ continuing courses with matching Outdoor Hour curriculum that will bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool! In addition, there is an interactive monthly calendar with daily nature study prompt – all at your fingertips!

Enjoy these groundhog homeschool nature study activities about woodchucks, groundhogs, prairie dogs and marmots - whether it is Groundhog Day or not!

Written by Outdoor Hour Challenges founder, Barb and updated by Tricia.

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Snowman Bird Feeder Activity For Kids: A Winter Nature Study

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study and feathered friends.

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.

Happy birds! We had large numbers of birds visit our yard during our snow days earlier this week. We had feeders filled with seeds and suet for them to enjoy. This time we had a special treat for them….a snowman bird feeder!

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.

Winter Fun: How To Make a Snowman Bird Feeder

We created a small snowman on our deck and made eyes out of sunflower seeds and then filled the top of his head with a handful of sunflower seeds. I saw this idea on Pinterest and have been itching to try it. It took a little while for the birds to find the seeds but once they did it didn’t last for long.

They ate the eyes and all!

Here is how to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study.

The second day I refilled the spot on the snowman’s head and they came back again.

It was a simple and fun way to observe birds from our window. The birds didn’t care if our snowman bird feeder wasn’t all that pretty.

I highly recommend trying this if you have snow in your yard. Snap a few photos and send one to me!

Join us for our Winter Wednesday homeschool nature studies!

winter homeschool nature study

More Winter Homeschool Nature Study Resources

Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder Barbara McCoy

How to make a snowman bird feeder in your own backyard. This is a fun winter idea for your homeschool nature study and feathered friends.
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Project Based Homeschool Nature Study: Keeping a Calendar of Firsts

Keeping a perpetual calendar of nature firsts is a wonderful long-term nature study project for families. It’s a simple way to learn the cycle of life in your world, noting the nature firsts that catch your attention each year. Comparing the dates of the firsts in nature will give you a more accurate telling of the passage of time.

Keeping a perpetual calendar of nature firsts is a wonderful long-term nature study project for families. It’s a simple way to learn the cycle of life in your world, noting the nature firsts that catch your attention each year. Comparing the dates of the firsts in nature will give you a more accurate telling of the passage of time.

Keeping a Calendar of Nature Firsts

Calendars: It’s a great idea to have children keep a calendar to record when and where they saw the first oak leaf, the first tadpole, the first primrose, the first ripe blackberries. Then next year they can pull out the calendar and know when to anticipate seeing these things again, and they can note new discoveries. Imagine how this will add enthusiasm for daily walks and nature hikes! A day won’t go by when something isn’t seen to excite them.

Charlotte Mason-in modern English
calendar of firsts nature study

Download Your Free Calendar Page

(Note that members have this printable in your Planning Resources course in Homeschool Nature Study membership!)

Get Your Nature Study Calendar Page!

Subscribe to get your free nature study calendar page.

    We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    You can use a calendar page for each month with the list of days down the side or a more traditional grid style calendar where you fill in the boxes as you go. Whichever way you choose will work if you just remember to weekly take a minute or two to note any nature firsts you observed. Make sure to record the date (including year), time, and or location of your observation.

    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    Nature Study Items To Look For Each Year

    • First elk
    • First ground squirrels
    • First snow
    • First robin, junco, swallow, hummingbird
    • Last leaves on the aspen (Yes, you can keep track of “lasts” as well.)
    • First campfire of the season
    • First fire in the wood stove
    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    More Nature Study Firsts for You to Observe in Your Homeschool

    • First bee seen
    • Frogs chirping– first day heard
    • First mosquito bite
    • First skunk smell
    • First trillium or other wildflower blooming
    • First acorns on the ground
    • First green grass
    • First tulips blooming
    • First day warm enough for shorts and t-shirts
    • First freezing temperatures
    • First snowfall

    As you can see from the list, you are not limited to any one season or any one area for your firsts. Challenge your children to come up with some nature firsts of their own.

    A calendar of firsts can be kept by the entire family or by each individual child. The observations can be listed in words and/or pictures!

    The beauty of this project is that it can be started at any time and can be completed over many years with no guilt if you forget to record something for a period of time. If that happens, just pick up where you left off.

    Keeping a calendar of firsts a great project based activity for your homeschool nature study. Here's how to make it work.

    More Ways to Include Nature Study in Your Homeschool

    Here are a few more ideas you might enjoy:

    Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

    Written by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy in 2015. Updated by Tricia 2022.

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    Homeschool Nature Study for Teens: Three Steps For Success

    Once my children were teens, our nature study sort of stalled out. I made the mistake of presenting our outdoor studies in the same way that I had always done with them in the past. I would pick a topic, share some information from the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study, and then we would be out on the search for the subject.

    It was a habit but not really the habit I had set out to create. Where was the enthusiasm I had seen when they were younger? Why did we end of feeling like it was an item to check off our to-do list? I knew we could do better.

    Make your homeschool nature study for teens engaging and fun with these three steps for success. Includes practical examples.

    Homeschool Nature Study with Teens – Adapting to Different Needs

    “Nature Study – It is the intellectual, physical, and moral development by and through purposeful action and reaction upon environment, guided so far as needed by the teacher.” John Dearness, 1905

    “Some children are born naturalists, but even those who aren’t were born with natural curiosity about the world and should be encouraged to observe nature.”

    Charlotte Mason, vol 2 page 58

    The Challenge of Teens and High School Nature Study

    These questions led me back to the internet to research more closely how nature study develops into upper level science.

    “The Field Lesson. When planning a field lesson, three points should be kept in mind:
    First. The aim, to bring the children into sympathy or in touch with nature, through the study of that part of nature in which they have been interested.
    Second. The conditions out of doors, where the children are at home, where they must have greater freedom than in the schoolroom, and where it is more difficult to keep them at definite work, and to hold their attention.
    Third. The necessity of giving each child something definite to find out for himself, and of interest to the children so that each will try to find out the most and have the greatest number of discoveries to tell.”

    Nature Study and The Child, Charles B. Scott, 1900.
    Make your homeschool nature study for teens engaging and fun with these three steps for success. Includes practical examples.

    I found with my teenagers that there needed to be a different sort of follow-up to our nature observations…more than just a nature journal. They needed to be more connected to their nature study by finding patterns and relationships between past experiences and new ones.

    “But true science work does not stop with mere seeing, hearing, or feeling; it not only furnishes a mental picture as a basis for reasoning, but it includes an interpretation of what has been received through the senses.”

    Nature Study for the Common Schools, Wilbur Samuel Jackman, 1891

    This is the part of nature study I found the most meaningful to my children. To take what they already knew and to build on it with new observations, developing a real interest in knowing more. I could no longer just relate facts, no matter how interesting the facts were.

    Here is the key: Teens need to find the answers to their own questions and then express those answers in a way that makes sense to them.

    Three Steps To A Better Nature Study Experience for Homeschool Teens

    My research found that this pattern – observation, reasoning, expression – is nothing new or unique to nature study. This pattern is the process that all science is built upon. I have created a printable that explains this process and you can download and read it here (NOTE: Homeschool Nature Study members have this guide in your Getting Started course in membership):

    Get Your Three Steps To Nature Study Success Guide!

    Subscribe to get your free nature study success guide.

      We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

      Three Steps to a Better Nature Study Experience How to Offer Age-Appropriate Nature Study for the Whole Family

      Homeschool Nature Study members will find this resource in your Getting Started course when logged in to membership.

      If you are not yet a member, you can download this resource for free, below:

      Make your homeschool nature study for teens engaging and fun with these three steps for success. Includes practical examples.

      What Can Parents Do? How to Encourage Homeschool Nature Study With Your Teens

      It would be ideal if all nature study could be spontaneous but that hardly seems practical in a busy homeschooling week. For ease of scheduling, there must be some provision for getting outside each week (or in a perfect world it would be every day).

      Aim for three things in your nature study:

      • to really see what you are looking at with direct and accurate observation
      • to understand why the thing is so and what it means
      • and then to pique an interest in knowing more about the object

      What if my teen is still not interested in nature study?

      Sometimes, despite all my efforts, my teens’ interest wasn’t equal to my interest in nature study.  I could take them to the most fascinating places to explore and they would just want to sit and talk or take a walk by themselves. The setting was perfect and the subjects abounded, but they are more interested in throwing rocks or digging a hole.

      I knew the value of getting teens to get outside and see the wonderful things that existed right there under their noses. I knew I could not force them to do nature study but giving up was not an option. The answer is patience. The best way to handle this issue was to allow them the space and time to experience nature on their own terms.

      In My Homeschool Mom Experience:

      Here is a real-life example My two boys and I regularly made visits to my dad’s pond together.  When younger, they would go right to the business of scooping up water and critters and talking in excited voices about what they were finding. But once they reached the teen years, I noticed a different atmosphere, an attitude of “we’ve been here and done that”. I tried to remind myself that this was their normal teenage reaction to just about everything. They rarely appeared to be too excited on the outside. More often than not, they would later on relate the whole experience in a more favorable light to their dad or one of their siblings. Apparently, the outside of a teenager doesn’t accurately reflect the inside at all times.

      So if you have older children and they appear to not be interested at first, don’t give up. It may be that they just aren’t showing it outwardly but inside the experiences are deeply affecting them. Don’t give up on the habit of nature study with your teens.

      Enhancing a Nature Walk with Teens

      Digital Photography: A love of the natural world does not come automatically for all children and sometimes we need to find a way to hook them into getting outdoors. Most of our children have a lot of screen time each week. Rarely are they without a device that has a camera function. Take advantage of this tool in enhancing your time outdoors!

      Although there are advantages to taking a walk “unplugged”, there are distinct benefits to allowing your teens to take photos as part of their nature study time.

      • It slows them down.
      • Helps them focus and really see an object.
      • Everyday things in their own backyard can now be captured and viewed.
      • They can see the beauty.
      • They make their own connections.
      • Perfect for our teens…they are comfortable with the technology and love to share with their friends.

      More Homeschool High School Nature Study Encouragement

      Here is even more information on how nature study can enrich your homeschool teen’s high school experience:

      Advanced Studies in Each Outdoor Hour Challenge Homeschool Nature Study

      Each week when we release a new Outdoor Hour Challenge, we include advanced studies with our older students in mind.

      Charlotte Mason Style Exam Questions for Homeschool High School

      Several of the courses included in Homeschool Nature Study membership include Charlotte Mason style exam questions for advanced students. Author Barb McCoy says, “This series has proved to be a huge success in our family, helping to bring nature study up to a level for my teens. Also, I saw families with large age ranges of children completing the challenges together, each on their own level and enjoying it.”

      Make your homeschool nature study for teens engaging and fun with these three steps for success. Includes practical examples.

      Include Nature Study in Your High School Plans

      Gradually I have learned the value in allowing some leeway in the high school nature study topics we learn more about because I can see the growth in my children’s love for and connection to the world they live in. I hear their appreciation for the complex system of life that was created for us to enjoy and benefit from.

      Written by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy and updated by Tricia.

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      A Robert Frost Style Winter Nature Study for Your Homeschool

      You can enjoy a Robert Frost Style winter nature study for your homeschool! Frost’s poem, Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening can be a jumping off point. Enjoy these ideas for your snowy adventure.

      You can enjoy a Robert Frost Style winter nature study for your homeschool! Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening can be a jumping off point. Enjoy these ideas for your snowy adventure.

      There was so much snow in our favorite woods…it brought to mind the Robert Frost poem that we have been reading in our poetry study the past few weeks.

      A Robert Frost Stopping By The Woods Winter Nature Study

      “Whose woods these are I think I know.

      His house is in the village though;

      He will not see me stopping here

      To watch his woods fill up with snow.”

      Robert Frost (Few lines from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, 1923).

      Using Snowshoes or Cross Country Skis for a Snow Hike

      Our Winter Wednesday color walk and cattail observations were combined into one snowy hike…snowshoes firmly attached. It started off with 18 degree weather but by the time we finished it was around 40 degrees, sun shining brightly.

      Look for Winter Colors in Your Homeschool Nature Study

      We started off with not much aim other than looking for colors and finding the cattail pond. I decided that it is nice to have something in mind as we head out in the really cold air….otherwise you keep your eyes down and forget to look up and out.

      The color palette of this snowy world is actually quite beautiful. The blue sky, the evergreen pines, the red-yellow-orange of the shrubs, the colorful lichens, and the blue of the lake really stand out against all the snow.

      1 6 11 Cattails at Taylor Creek with snow
      Our cattails this year are quite secluded and we aren’t even sure if we will be able to get out here since we think this is marshy in the spring and summer. It will be interesting to see how the terrain changes by the season.

      1 6 11 Cattails in the snow Taylor Creek
      Look at the mountain covered with snow! The colors really pop when you have all this whiteness going on…blue sky, reddish-oranges of the willow and dogwood, green evergreens.

      1 6 11 Snowshoe trail

      Keep Your Cross Country Ski Route in Mind

      It seems unlikely that we would get lost but we did wander around following someone else’s path. It is a really good idea to have in mind a route when you are out in the woods like this. We knew our general direction but you get tired trudging through large amounts of snow even with snowshoes on. (I also got hot…too many layers.)

      Our problem was that there are two large creeks that run through the snowy meadows and if you don’t plan it right you are stuck on one side with the water running between you and the rest of the path. I could see where animals had just jumped across the gap but with snowshoes on, you don’t jump very well. We had to find a way to go around.

      1 6 11 Taylor Creek with Snow
      Another factor is that with all this snow, our familiar landmarks are erased. The bushes are flat with snow and there is far more water than we are used to. All those lumps are bushes weighed down with a couple feet of snow. You can’t really hike over the top. Going around again.

      1 6 11 Snow Shoes at Taylor Creek
      In the end, we made it back to the car by following the creek and finding the bridge. It was a wonderful romp through the woods, successful in refreshing our hearts with some wonderful awesome vistas that you would never see if you didn’t break out the snowshoes or cross-country skis.

      You can enjoy a Robert Frost Style winter nature study for your homeschool! Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening can be a jumping off point. Enjoy these ideas for your snowy adventure.

      A Homeschool Snow Study

      If you don’t have snowshoes or cross-country skis, you can still enjoy a fun homeschool snow study! Browse all of these fun ideas: Homeschool Snow Study

      You can enjoy a Robert Frost Style winter nature study for your homeschool! Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening can be a jumping off point. Enjoy these ideas for your snowy adventure.

      A Robert Frost Art Lesson and Tea Time

      Follow up your outdoor hour time with a fun art and homeschool tea time! Fun ideas for Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening Homeschool Tea Time with You ARE an ARTiST. A printable Robert Frost poem is included in ARTiST Clubhouse membership.

      You might also like a Winter Snowflake Study with Snowflake Bentley.

      You can enjoy a Robert Frost Style winter nature study for your homeschool! Stopping By The Woods on a Snowy Evening can be a jumping off point. Enjoy these ideas for your snowy adventure.

      More Winter Homeschool Nature Study

      Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:

      Be sure to share photos of your Robert Frost winter nature study with us! Tag us @outdoorhourchallenge

      Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

      Written by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy in 2011. Updated by Tricia 2022.

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      The Purpose of Nature Study: How to Use Questions and Answers in Your Homeschool

      Just what is the purpose of nature study? Use these examples for how to use questions and answers in your homeschool as a jumping off place for even more discoveries and further adventures! Learn together and make memories as a family.

      Photo by Amy Law

      The Purpose of Nature Study: How to Use Questions and Answers in Your Homeschool

      Nature study is more about asking questions than it is about finding answers. I always enjoy a good question because it means that my children are taking something they see or hear and are internalizing it and then coming up with a good question. Many times just asking the question helps solidify what they already know.

      “Nature study does not start out with the classification given in books, but in the end it builds up in the child’s mind a classification which is based on fundamental knowledge; it is a classification like that evolved by the first naturalists, because it is built on careful personal observations of both form and life.”

      Handbook of Nature Study, page 6

      For instance, if they see a little creeping creature and wonder what it is, they will need to look a little closer. On examining the creature, they see that it has six legs. Six legs equals an insect and not a spider.

      So already before asking me what it is, they have decided it must be some sort of insect and we can then pull out the proper field guide to see if we can identify it by habitat, color, shape, and size.

      Using Field Guides and References in Your Nature Study

      If we never positively identify a particular insect, we still have taken some time to investigate it further both in the field with our eyes and afterwards in the house with the field guide. The important work was done. We could be finished there if we felt satisfied or we could dig further, checking on the internet or at the library if we were inspired to know more.

      Other than the Handbook of Nature Study, a science reference shelf with a collection of field guides are the best tools for research. The process of going through identifying a subject leads you through a series of questions…good questions.

      questions and answers in nature study

      Nature Journaling in Your Homeschool

      Some families are making the next step and trying to keep a record of their time in nature with a nature journal. Our family finds this activity very rewarding but we don’t always draw in our journals after every outdoor time.

      Honestly, when we do take the time to try to draw what we see during our nature time, we get a lot more out of it. There is something about the process of taking your experiences and putting them down on paper that creates a special bond between you and the subject whether it is a leaf, a spider, a flower, or anything else you choose to draw.

      questions and answers in nature study

      Maybe you have a collection of items from a picnic nature study last summer….the process of collecting the items can be more fun than spending time identifying them. Just enjoy them and then leave them there at the beach. Maybe next time you will have some questions ready to ask and the proper field guide on hand and will get down to the business of knowing the particular rock and tree.

      So don’t be afraid of questions….questions are a great tool. You don’t need to know all the answers to the questions that your children have about nature study. Consider it a good thing when you find something you need to research because you will learn right alongside your child.

      More Ways to Spark Interesting Questions and Answers in Your Homeschool

      Here are a few more ideas you might enjoy:

      questions and answers in nature study

      Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

      by Barb McCoy, Outdoor Hour Challenges founder, September 2008

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      January Nature Studies Perfect for Winter Homeschooling

      Enjoy January nature studies perfect for winter homeschooling! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside.

      Enjoy January nature studies perfect for winter homeschooling! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside.
      Photo by Amy Law

      January Nature Studies Perfect for Winter Homeschooling

      The best times I can remember with my children are the times we just took it slow and easy, looking for the little things that most people pass by. Turn over a rock and see what’s underneath. Look up in the branches of the trees and see if you can find any birds or other critters. Take a walk and listen to the crunch of the snow. Breathe the air and enjoy the day.

      Go On a Winter Nature Walk

      Getting outside for a walk in winter may be one of the most refreshing activities you could do with your children. Simple and fun!

      snow experiments for your January homeschool
      Melting snow nature study activity

      Learn About Snow in January

      In this homeschool snow study there is so much to discover! Included is a field guide to snow, experiments like filtering, guidance from the Handbook of Nature Study and more!

      Enjoy January nature studies perfect for winter homeschooling! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside.

      Study Insects In Your January Homeschool

      We are focusing on winter insects in our homeschool nature study outdoor hour challenges. We are using the Winter Wednesday course and Handbook of Nature Study curriculum with our members. You can join our membership at any time. You will find a button at the end of this post that will take you to the signup page.

      When Winter Weather Drives Your Homeschool Nature Studies Indoors

      Taking your winter nature studies indoors when the weather outdoors is proving to be a challenge may be just the thing you need every once in a while. We have a lovely post from the archives to inspire your homeschool nature studies indoors for those days that you can’t face getting outdoors.

      Are you ready? Enjoy these Great Backyard Bird Count Homeschool Resources as you watch birds in your backyard this February!

      January Homeschool Bird Study

      Winter Bird Study for Your Homeschool – Even when the landscape is covered in snow or ice or mud, there are always birds that will come to visit if you create a little bird-friendly habitat with some seeds, suet, and freshwater. You can observe birds right from your window if the weather isn’t friendly. Or, if you have the right conditions, take a bird walk in a nearby wood. Winter is an amazing time to stroll your neighborhood looking for resident or visiting birds.

      January Stopping By the Woods Study and More

      January always brings with it new hope and promises of a fresh start. We are going to kick off our January homeschool nature studies by using Robert Frost’s beautiful poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” as a springboard. Explore them here.

      As we move through the month we will be on the hunt for gall dwellers, looking at quartz and learning all about mullein.

      Winter Nature Study Crafts for Kids

      Winter is in full swing so with the plummeting temperatures looming on the horizon let’s take advantage and make these beautiful ice sun catchers! Victoria shares how in the Nature Crafts in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. Find out more about our nature study crafts for kids!

      Winter Homeschool Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation

      This winter homeschool nature study curriculum contains all the nature study Outdoor Hour Challenges, custom notebook pages for nature study as well as art and music appreciation, and three months’ worth of art and music appreciation.

      Writing this winter homeschool nature study curriculum has helped us appreciate the winter season more than we ever have before. Part of our enthusiasm has come from spending more time outdoors bundled up with our families exploring the winter landscape.

      More Winter Homeschool Nature Study Resources

      Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:

      Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

      Enjoy all kinds of January nature studies perfect for winter homeschooling! Get outside for a brisk nature walk and follow up with a nature journal page.

      Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

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      How To Find The Joy of Nature Study in Your Own Backyard

      How do you find the joy of nature study in your own backyard? Here are some encouragement for easy homeschool nature study right out your back door.

      How do you find the joy of nature study in your own backyard? Here are some encouragement for easy homeschool nature study right out your back door.

      The simple truth is that everyone has something special and unique to explore in their own backyard or neighborhood.

      How To Find The Joy of Nature Study in Your Own Backyard

      I always go outside with the expectation that there will be something interesting.

      Sometimes you have to look harder to find it than other times.

      Nature study has made me more of a positive person…I expect to find something outdoors to make me joyful. I expect that there will be something that we can observe and notice.

      How do you find the joy of nature study in your own backyard? Here are some encouragement for easy homeschool nature study right out your back door.
      Wow! Look at the color of this fungi? We think it is called Witches Butter.

      There is just so much to see and learn about, but we need to train our eyes and hearts to be open to the opportunities that arise.

      seeds nature study
      I am amazed by these seeds. As many times as we have hiked down this same path, by this same plant, I have never noticed these really great seeds but there they are.

      Keep your senses open to any opportunities and you may be surprised what you find to be interested in along with your children.

      How do you find the joy of nature study in your own backyard? Here are some encouragement for easy homeschool nature study right out your back door.
      There were lots of fresh critter holes along the trail this week. This one was especially large. We see signs of lots of mammals as we walk and holes are some of the most intriguing signs that we are not alone.

      Tips for Simple Homeschool Nature Study

      I got to thinking about all of the simple things we have nature study in our own backyard that we have noticed over the years.

      • Trees: leaves, bark, twigs, roots, flowers, cones, needles, seeds, pods, nests, birds
      • Patch of weeds: leaves, roots, bugs, flowers perhaps
      • Dirt: worms, gravel, stones, seeds, mud
      • Sky: clouds, sun, moon, stars
      • Air: temperature, wind, smells, breath on a cold morning
      • Birds: flying, pecking, eating, chirping, hopping, shapes and colors, beaks, wings, tails, feet
      • Sounds: wind, frogs, rain, leaves, crickets, bees, fly buzzing, mosquitoes
      • Weather: rain, clouds, temperature, snow, ice, dew, wind
      • Flowers (garden or in a pot): petals, pollen, roots, leaves, stem, fragrance, shapes, colors, seeds
      The ferns are growing right now like crazy. Every day there are more and more to enjoy.

      More For Your Homeschool

      Find out more about homeschool nature study encouragement and prompts in The Joy of Nature Study in Your Homeschool Year.

      If you are not a Homeschool Nature Study member yet, please consider joining to gain the benefit of having a nature study library at your fingertips. There are numerous resources available for you to help create the habit of nature study within your family.

      How do you find the joy of nature study in your own backyard? Here are some encouragement for easy homeschool nature study right out your back door.

      What can you put on your list?

      Above all, have fun and be joyful!

      By Barb McCoy, Outdoor Hour Challenges founder

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      First Day of Winter Nature Walk Ideas for Your Homeschool

      Enjoy these first day of winter nature walk ideas for your homeschool! Getting outside for a walk on the first day of winter may be one of the most refreshing activities you could do with your children.

      The temperatures drop and we huddle inside more and more, especially on the shortest day of the year! Make plans to get outside for a brisk nature walk and then to follow up with a nature journal page recording all of the interesting things you found while outside on winter solstice.

      Get outside with your family with these first day of winter nature walk ideas for your homeschool! Simple and fun prompts to do together.

      First Day of Winter Nature Walk Ideas for Your Homeschool

      Encourage everyone to use all of their senses on this walk. Here are some winter nature walk ideas:

      • Did they see something colorful or unusual?
      • How does the air feel on your skin?
      • Is there a particular fragrance to the air?
      • Can you listen carefully for a minute or two to distinguish any particular sounds?

      Another idea is to ask your children to find differences in the landscape, comparing your neighborhood habitat on this winter solstice day to what they remember about the first day of summer. This is a little harder and you may need to help them get started with a few of your own observations.

      Get outside with your family with these first day of winter nature walk ideas for your homeschool! Simple and fun prompts to do together.

      More Winter Homeschool and Winter Solstice Nature Study Resources

      Here are even more winter nature studies for you to enjoy together:

      Take Your Homeschool Winter Study Indoors

      Taking your winter nature studies indoors when the weather outdoors is proving to be a challenge may be just the thing you need every once in a while. We have a lovely post from the archives to inspire your homeschool nature studies indoors for those days that you can’t face getting outdoors.

      Make Memories Together This Winter

      Most importantly, take along a good attitude and leave yourself open to whatever the experience brings. Allow your children to direct you to things they find interesting and then share in their excitement. A good nature walk is pleasurable for everyone and allows you and your children to develop a relationship with our Creator.

      The best times I can remember with my children are the times we just took it slow and easy, looking for the little things that most people pass by. Turn over a rock and see what’s underneath. Look up in the branches of the trees and see if you can find any birds or other critters. Sit quietly by the edge of a pond or stream and see what comes along. Breathe the air and enjoy the day.

      There’s a printable in Homeschool Nature Study Membership for the First Day of Winter Nature Walk for you to use as part of this activity. A simple list and a sketch will make a perfect follow up to your outdoor time.

      Get outside with your family with these first day of winter nature walk ideas for your homeschool! Simple and fun prompts to do together.

      Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

      First published by Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barb McCoy.

      Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

      Posted on Leave a comment

      A Winter Tree Study For Your Homeschool

      Enjoy a beautiful winter tree study for your homeschool. Learn about evergreen trees as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

      Enjoy an evergreen winter tree study for your homeschool as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

      The Beauty of The Season With Evergreen Trees

      As we approach Christmas, one of the evergreen trees, the spruce, becomes an important symbol in our Christmas celebrations and winter traditions.

      But just why have evergreen trees, be they spruce, pine or fir, become such an intrinsic part of Christmas? What are all of the types of Christmas trees? A little peek through time reveals some interesting facts about this winter tree.

      A Christmas Tree for The Animals event! Enjoy an evergreen winter tree study for your homeschool as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

      A Christmas Tree for the Animals – An Event for the Whole Family!

      Receive the full Spruce Tree study filled with fun learning by Outdoor Hour Challenge hostess, Shirley Vels. Sign up for our special Christmas Tree for the Animals Event! Spruce Tree Nature Study included!

      • Sign up below and receive the replay of this wonderful holiday event!


      Sign Up To Attend Live or for Replay

      Get access to attend live and to enjoy the replay of the event – Plus accompanying resources

        Plus a wonderful tutorial on decorating an outdoor tree for the animals, a craft creating an outdoor ornament for your tree, O Christmas Tree hymn study and accompanying composer study too! Joyful Art, Nature and Music for Your Christmas Homeschool

        Winter Tree Nature Study For Kids

        There are so many ways to enjoy a winter tree study with your family. Here are a few options you can use for your homeschool:

        Enjoy an evergreen winter tree study for your homeschool as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

        Pine Trees and Pine Cones

        Let’s jump into exploring pine trees and pine cones in nature! This homeschool nature study has everything you need to start learning about pine trees and pine cones. This Outdoor Hour Challenge is based on the Winter Wednesday curriculum which is available to our members but you can follow along regardless using this post as a bit of a guide. In the Winter Wednesday curriculum you will have access to notebooking pages and a host more ideas and links.

        Hemlock Tree

        This dense and graceful tree with its drooping branches of soft needles casts such a heavy shadow that not much can live beneath it. This is a Homeschool Nature Study membership tree study and is also available the Autumn Outdoor Hour Challenge curriculum.

        Winter Tree Silhouettes

        We are going to be on the lookout for interesting winter tree silhouettes in our own yard and neighbourhood.

        Winter Tree Twigs

        A fun Homeschool Nature Study membership Outdoor Hour Challenge that includes forcing blooms from a winter tree twig.

        Enjoy an evergreen winter tree study for your homeschool as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

        Winter Tree Study

        Use these simple suggestions from The Handbook of Nature Study and spend a few minutes outside or observing a winter tree or evergreen through a window.

        My Tree is a Living World

        What a fun way to learn about the trees for each season. Such a simple homeschool nature study with beautiful results. This printable for members is a fun way to observe then record all of the living things you observe in your tree.

        Red and Green Homeschool Nature Study

        Red and Green Outdoor Hour Challenge – this is a fun way to notice red and green in nature. Get started with these ideas.

        Enjoy an evergreen winter tree study for your homeschool as part of your winter season nature studies and make beautiful memories together this Christmas!

        Additional Resources For Winter Nature Study

        In Homeschool Nature Study membership, you can also find a study of the Hemlock Tree in the Autumn course and Evergreens in My Yard study and journal page in the Trees course. Each season includes a new tree study.

        Here are a few more resources you will love:

        Winter is such a wonderful time for homeschool nature study! Won’t you join us? In Homeschool Nature Study membership, each challenge gives you step by step instructions to get started with simple weekly nature study ideas whatever season you are in! This may just be what your homeschool week needs.

        Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

        Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.