Here is your great big reminder that the Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday, February 17, 2012! I am anxious to count birds with my family and to compare our results with last year. I am wondering if our unusual winter weather will effect our numbers and species.
Since we don’t have access to a sheep to observe up close, we opted to study wool instead. Mr. B was not all that excited about this particular challenge but once we started we had some fun with it. We did notice some sheep in a pasture over the weekend but that was about as close as we got to a real sheep.
We started off with the video on YouTube showing how wool is made and we also watched a few videos on shearing sheep. This led to a few more videos on spinning yarn from the wool roving. Now we have more of an appreciation for the wool yarn that goes into our hats and scarves.
With new interest, Mr. B completed his research into the Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family of animals, finishing off with a written narration of his investigation. Links found in the original challenge. If you want an interesting discussion, try to find some information online that discusses the Artiodactyla order and whales. It led to some interesting thoughts in our home. (You can Google “Cetartiodactyla”.)
Lastly we looked at wool under the microscope…amazing to see up close. I encourage you to give it a try if you have a microscope.
Sometimes our nature study is not of the outdoor variety but I knew that when I included sheep in this series of challenges. We chose a rainy day to complete this study and it was fun to think about wool when we were out on our snowshoe hike recently. Nature study can connect many real life experiences if we give it a chance. I look forward to seeing if any other families took this challenge and found a way to make it successful with their family.
If you want to look at other mammal using the Outdoor Hour Challenges, you can find a list here on this page: Outdoor Hour Challenges – Mammals
You may also be interested in another Winter Mammal Challengefound here on the Handbook of Nature Study.
More Nature Study Book #2 Winter Insect Study – Gall Dwellers
“There are many forms of gall dwellings, and they may grow upon the root, branch, leaf, blossom, or fruit.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 335
Inside Preparation Work:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 335-337 (Lesson 39). Galls occur on a wide variety of plants, but the Handbook of Nature Study tells the story of galls on oaks, goldenrod, and the willow. The lesson also includes illustrations or images of actual galls and for this lesson it will be helpful for your children to know what to look for during their outdoor time. You can use this excellent visual resource to learn more what a variety of galls look like:Plant Galls. Interesting video of one kind of gall we have in California: Jumping Oak Galls.
Other trees and plants to observe for galls: rose bush, hickory, hackberry, maple, spruce, or poplar trees.
Spend fifteen minutes outdoors with your children, looking for signs of gall insects. Look at this challenge as a sort of “gall hunt” and encourage your children to use their observations skills.
Examine any galls you find. Use as many words as you can to describe the gall. (Ebook users: Some suggested words are found on the Gall Study notebook page.) Make sure to look for “exit holes”.
Alternate activity: Look for any signs of insects in your backyard or neighborhood
Follow-Up Activity:
Galls provide a way for certain insects to survive the winter. Use your follow-up time to have your children explain the life-cycle of the gall dweller or allow time for a nature journal to record their findings. Use the illustrations in the Handbook of Nature Study to help them draw a gall if possible.
Advanced Study: The formal name for the study of galls is “cecidology”. Read this link: Gall-Making Insects. Summarize the information with words or drawings.
Advanced Study: Record in your nature journal or on the ebook notebook page four different galls either from your outdoor experiences or from your research. Also, explain in your own words the life cycle of one of the gall insects featured on your notebook page (egg, gall forms, larva develops, adults, egg).
Advanced Study: Sketch a gall dwelling insect from your area. Write an account of its specific life cycle on the journal page in the ebook or in your nature journal.
Connect With Our Homeschool Community On Social Media
Did you enjoy this Outdoor Hour Challenge? Be sure to tag us on Instagram @outdoorhourchallenge and use the hashtag #outdoorhourchallenge so we can see and comment!
So what did we do to study weeds a little more in depth this year?
We have been collecting weeds on just about every walk. They have made into bouquets, looked at under the microscope, and drawn in our nature journals.
We looked for weeds on our last snowshoe hike and made quite a few observations while adventuring in the snow.
We have been observing our “laboratory” of mullein in the garden as it has changed over the past six months. It isn’t very pretty at this point but we are going to leave it until the spring greening. There are still parts of the plant that are greenish so we figure some creature in the yard might find a use for it.
Mr. B did the additional mullein research suggested in the More Nature Study Book 2 challenge and then he completed a notebook page.
Weeds and seeds of all shapes and sizes.
I decided to sketch and record my weed observations in my nature journal. I am trying to get better at identifying winter weeds
My mullein entry in progress
There is just so much to learn about winter weeds….it is like a whole new world to explore once you get started and train your eyes to see beyond the brownness of them. I spent two afternoons just looking closely, sketching, and researching in my field guide.
My journal included some details of the weed seeds.
“The farmer and the gardener owe quite a debt of thanks to the birds that eat weed seeds. Of course there are still bountiful crops of weeds each year; but there would be even more weeds if it were not for the army of such seed-eating birds as sparrows, bobwhites, and doves.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 45
I was thinking about this link between weeds, seeds, and birds this week after reading this in the Handbook of Nature Study. The design in the food web is such an awesome thing that we could very well overlook the fingerprint of the Creator if we don’t take the time to learn more about it.
There is always something new to think about and learn from our nature study…even if we have been at it for many years.
Yes! We have a new Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival button! Click over to read about it at Fisher Academy International....she has the code for you to grab and the official announcement of the winning design and CurrClick prize!
Here we are in the middle of winter with its many splendors and wonders. Each season is something to savor…winter is the season that defines all other seasons. We look forward to the greening of spring, to the long days of summer, and to the colorful autumn hours spent readying for another winter. Charlotte Mason understood the value of nature study and I hope this carnival helps you in your family’s outdoor studies.
Thank you to all the participants!
Nature Study
Angie from Petra School starts us off with their family Twig Study (part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge from the month of January). This entry is packed with outdoor goodness…their time outdoors, their study, and then their nature journals. Excellent example of nature study with boys.
Nancy submits her Shakespeare and Starlings entry for you to enjoy. She has put together a very interesting post which ties these two topics together. I invite you to read and see for yourself!
Michelle from The Holistic Homeschooler shares their interesting outdoor nature study related entry: Field Trip-Air Potato Roundup. This is a new to me topic that you will find interesting.
Lanaya from Gore Family News gives us their Nature Study Lately post to read and enjoy. She shares their family’s nature study process…very nicely done!
Sarah from All That is Good has written and submitted her post Thinking Ahead to Nature Study for this edition of the carnival. Loads of information for you to glean from in this entry.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom (that’s me!) submits Nature Study For High School Students – Reflections. This entry shares some thoughts from the Handbook of Nature Study and some practical tips for your family to apply as the years go by.
Patti from School Days Scrapbook treats us to a glimpse into their icy world: Tracks and Trails. I invite you to visit her blog and enjoy her beautiful wintery images.
Martha from Sunrise to Sunset shares their Outdoor Time entry from their Texas nature study. They look like they are going to have an early spring.
Tammy from Aut-2B Home in Carolina has complied their nature study projects for the carnival. Read all about their nature study ideas in her entry, Nature Study in a Ginormous Room.
Leah from Home Grown Babies has put together a photo journal sort of entry as part of this nature study edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival. I invite you to read her entry, I Love Days Like These.
Makita from Academic Celestia shares their Gall Nature Study with the carnival. She shares their large collection of galls…fascinating topic!
Other Charlotte Mason Related Topics
Tricia and her Middle Girl have started a series of acrylic paint tutorials. Be sure to check out their very first one: Cupcake-Acrylic Paint Tutorial. I love the color selection and the whimsy of this project. We all look forward to the next one.
Cindy from Our Westward Journey shares an Armor of God Object lesson with carnival readers this time around.
Michelle from The Holistic Homeschooler shares her very artistic daughter in her entry, Another Artist From My Home. What a treat!
Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage has written a thoughtful post and she shares it with you in this edition of the carnival, Homeschooling is Like Exercise. This is a great analogy and I invite you to read the comments as well with some additional ideas to apply.
Leah from Home Grown Babies has put together a living math post for the carnival: Charlotte Mason Maths. She shares some great ideas.
Nature study in winter can be a challenge. February is always a hard month to get through as we anticipate the coming spring. My free printable is all about learning age-appropriate activities for nature study with a special focus on advanced study. I show you how to adapt nature study to all ages of children and to get the most out of your time outside. I hope it encourages everyone from beginners to experienced nature study families.
I have teamed up with five other bloggers to bring you some mid-winter encouragement to get outdoors for some refreshing nature study. Each of us has put together a free printable download for your family. We are encouraging you to visit each blog and take advantage of the opportunity to get a variety of stimulating ideas to use in your family.
No strings attached…just free downloads. If you feel encouraged, please leave us a comment, give us a Facebook like, share on Twitter, or pin this post on Pinterest. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about our Nature in Your Notebook Printables Link-Up.
You are invited to subscribe to my blog and receive my free monthly nature study newsletter too!
Here are my partners…a great group of women bloggers!
More Nature Study Book #3 Winter Weeds – Mullein Study
Inside Preparation:
Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 537-539 (Lesson 146). Share a few facts and the images with your children so they can be on the lookout for mullein in your area. The distinctive rosette growth, the velvety leaves, and the flower stalk make this plant an easy one to spot, even in winter. (Ebook users have images included in the book and others can use the videos and the links in the Follow-Up section to view mullein.)
Make sure to note that mullein is a biennial (takes two years to mature and produce seeds).
Optional: Watch this short YouTube video that gives you an idea of what a winter mullein looks like: Common Mullein. I also made my own mullein video from my garden: Mullein in Autumn.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Common mullein is found throughout the United States and Canada. During your outdoor time this week, try to find some common mullein to observe in its winter state. First year mullein will be look like green, soft, rosettes. Second year mullein will be the brown plant with the flower stalk. Observe how the leaves grow out between the two of the lower circle, that the upper leaves are smaller than those below, and that the upper leaves do not lie flat.
Observe the mullein plant, looking at ways it survives the winter cold, rain, and snow. Make note of the plant’s location and plan to revisit it over the next year in each season.
Alternate winter weed activity: Find and observe any winter weed in your neighborhood. Even if you have snow, see if you can find a part of a plant sticking up out of the snow and make some observations. You may want to click over and read my Winter Weeds challenge for additional ideas for your family.
Follow-Up Activities:
Complete a follow-up nature journal entry or notebook page for your mullein observations. Ebook users choose from the Common Mullein or Winter Weed notebook pages.
Advanced follow-up: Research the mullein plant online and find how it is used its traditional, medicinal, and health uses. Try this LINK or this LINK (this one is excellent!). Ebook users: Complete a notebook page.
Advanced follow-up: Research annual, perennial, and biennial plants on Wikipedia. Ebook users: Complete the notebook page with a summary of the information and give examples of each kind of plant.
Supporting a Global Community in Their Nature Study
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 February. 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.
The OHC Newsletter is a companion to the Outdoor Hour Challenges that are posted here on the blog every Friday. There are 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.
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.
Available Now! Watch my introductory video on YouTube.com.
Make sure to read the February 6, 2012 entry for an extra special link-up that I have planned with five other bloggers. We will each be offering a free printable to encourage you in your nature study during the month of February. Coming February 6, 2012!
I am also hosting the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival on 2/7/12 and I would love to have lots of you contribute. The theme is nature study…of course! Make sure to get your entry in by the 2/6/12 deadline. Thanks!
The end of January is already here! This has been a very fast moving month with weather that was very conducive to getting outdoors for nature study…at least in our part of the world. There is a wonderful mix of winter nature study blog entries for this carnival and I hope you can make some time to visit each entry and be encouraged. I gleaned some good ideas and loved seeing all the children getting outside for nature walks, bird watching, twig gathering, and have a good time!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this edition of the carnival.
Our Winter Window Garden – Cactus
Winter Wonder
Shirley Ann writes about their Winter Wonder Silent Nature Walk on her blog Under An English Sky. She does a wonderful job documenting their experience in words and pictures.
Another Winter Weather Walk from Angie at Petra School finds its way to the carnival for this edition. She includes their journal pages which demonstrate that everyone can follow-up in a way that fits their personality.
Winter Wonder and Weather Walk shows how Tricia and her family completed this challenge. I loved seeing nature study at different age levels and hearing why worms are pink. 🙂
Julie from The Homeschool Balancing Act shares their version of the Winter Wonder challenge with Winter Walk with Nature in California. It sounds like they had a great bird day!
Kelsey has combined their Winter Wonder walk and their Chickadee study into one entry: Winter Hike. She always has such great images of their outdoor time and this entry doesn’t disappoint.
Janet from Across the Page has submitted their Winter Walking: Tracks and Birds entry for your delight. It is jammed with birds, tracks of all kinds, and animals too….you will want to share this one with your children. They also share their nature journals for your inspiration.
Diana shares their Winter Weather – Silent Nature Walk entry with carnival readers. She has written such a creative entry showing all the natural and man-made things they observed during their outdoor time. Thanks Diana.
Barbara from Schoolhouse on the Prairie recorded their Silent Winter Weather Walk and I invite you to click over and read how many interesting things they found on their walk. Don’t miss the hawk photo!
Our Backyard Resident Hummingbird
Winter Bird – Chickadee
Makita from Academia Celestia shares their family Chestnut-backed Chickadee study as part of the carnival. Don’t miss seeing their chickadee artwork from the chickadee pastel tutorial.
Shirley Anne shares their UK version of the chickadee study with some wonderful research information and images. Check out their Coal-tit and see if it doesn’t look like the Black-capped chickadee: Under An English Sky- Chickadee/Coal Tit.
Angie has put together their Winter Bird Study on her blog Petra School. Their family spent some time observing and researching one of their Winter Wonder questions, “Why do the birds only hop and never walk?” Excellent entry full of information and images of their feeder birds. Thanks for sharing your research!
Julie from the Homeschool Balancing Act shares their Winter Bird and Twigs entry in this edition of the carnival. Her son proclaimed it the “best day of his life”. That must have been some great outdoor time! They also realize that there is a lot to know about twigs.
Tricia from Hodgepodge submits their family’s Backyard Birds in Winter entry for you to enjoy. She captured quite a few of their feeder birds and their extra activities too.
Diana from Homeschool Review and Crafting Too wrote about their Chickadee Study…they were able to consult a local nature center to find out which species of chickadees live in their area. This is a great idea.
Winter Weeds and a Sweet Pea
Winter Tree -Twigs
Zonnah is sharing their Twigs Entry with carnival readers this time around. Her son was a more than willing participant and we even get a glimpse at his nature journal.
Tricia and her family treat us to their Twigs Nature Study entry showing us that this opening your child’s eyes to the world around them gives them a special sort of vision. I also love the way her son shares that twigs are also useful for playing in rain puddles. Perfect.
Shirley Ann shares their Twiggy Challenge on her blog Under An English Sky. Make sure to check out her additional links for some resources you may be able to use.
Our Sharp-shinned Hawk – Verified by Cornell University
Potpourri
Nicole from One Hook Wonder has already completed their Gall Study for carnival readers. This is an awesome entry! Nicole also has submitted their Winter Cattail Study . She does a great job showing the comparison between summer and winter cattails. Makes me want to study cattails again!
Bethany shares their Nature Study with a Naturalist entry from their blog Little Homeschool Blessings. They share photos of many of the interesting things they discovered in their little woods.
Makita has a written and entry sharing their over-wintering ladybugs: Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs. Read her entry and learn a little about this interesting place…shhh it is a secret place.
Kim shares their Winter Bird Feeding entry with carnival readers. Lots of great information and plenty of ideas to share.
Janet from Across the Page has got a wonderful idea in her entry: Back Yard Bulletin. Check out their family nature newsletter!
Robin from Harris Homeschool shares their Tracks in the Snow. She did a great job of capturing a tough subject.
Amy from Hope is the Word made the effort to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. You can read their account A January Jaunt and be inspired to get outside with your family soon.
See you all next month! Remember that February’s Newsletter link will be for subscribers of the blog only. You will need to subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription box on the sidebar of the blog.
Make sure to read next Monday’s entry. I am linking up with five other bloggers for a nature notebook event. We will each have a free printable to encourage your winter nature study. Another great reason to subscribe to this blog…you won’t miss a single entry!
This was the study I was most interested in when I wrote the new More Nature Study ebook. It truly is something we have never studied before and I was interested to see what we would learn.
We chose three of our backyard trees to collect twigs from: sweet gum, white birch, and pear. Later we added a twig from our silver maple and a few branches from our forsythia bushes. All week I have been enjoying just looking at them in the vases…still not taking the time to do the study.
Well, the time finally came to actually do the formal study after we had done lots of casual observations. We pulled out the new ebook, printed off the notebook pages, gathered our tree field guide, and fired up the internet. I love doing nature study with older kids since they can ask and then answer many of their own questions with the tools we have at our disposal.
Here are some of our observations:
1. Mr. A cut the twigs with his knife so we could observe the shape of the pith inside. They were all round inside.
2. Each of the twigs had different shaped terminal buds, with completely different colors.
3. We have never noticed the leaf scars before and now we know what to look for.
4. The lenticels on each twig were very different. Now we can use this observation to identify a tree since we know what we are looking for.
Stay Tuned for a Bud Study in the new Spring Ebook 3/5/12
This study has brought into focus once again the design of each living thing around us. Who would have thought that you could identify a tree by looking at its twigs and buds? I enjoyed getting to know how to use a new tool with the Winter Tree Finder guide. All of us are going to look at twigs with a new eye now and some new vocabulary as well. This study would be a perfect supplement to a high school biology course.
We were sitting outside in the warm afternoon sunshine and noticed that the silver maple has burst open its buds. We then noticed that there were probably a hundred bees buzzing in the top of the tree. Is it early for the bees to be so busy in the trees? I’m not sure. This is where a nature journal record is valuable. Stay tuned next week for a free printable to keep track of your seasonal “firsts”.
