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Posted on January 29, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Winter Series #4 Winter Weather

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Weather

Winter weather is usually pretty interesting to children. Observing snow, ice, rain, fog, hail, or just feeling the cooler air is enough to get them interested in going outdoors for this week’s nature study challenge.

I have a vivid memory from my childhood of taking a walk in a raging downpour. I challenge you to experience your weather outdoors at least for a few minutes this week. Properly dressed, your children might just make a fond memory of their own.

“There is no reason why the child’s winter walk should not be as fertile in observations as the poet’s; indeed, in one way, it is possible to see the more in winter, because the things to be seen do not crowd each other out.”
Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 86

Inside Preparation Work:
You can read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on water forms to arm yourself with some basic weather information. Pages 808 to 814 have lots of fun ideas for learning about different aspects of our winter weather.

Optional Inside Preparation Work:
More ideas for winter weather study are found in chapter two of Discover Nature in Winter. There are so many great ideas for studying snow in this chapter that you will find at least two or three that you would like to try with your family. Use your highlighter or sticky notes to mark the places that you find with interesting information or ideas for including in your winter nature study.

Check out the Winter Wednesday entry from last year to glean some ideas for your Winter Weather study: Winter Snow.

Outdoor Hour Time:
This week you can use your time to enjoy the winter weather in your backyard. If you have chosen some weather related activities to complete outdoors, make sure you bring any items you need for your study. You may wish to bring along your weather notebook page or your nature journal with pencils to take a few minutes of your outdoor time to record the weather conditions. If your children are enjoying their time outdoors, you probably want to wait until you go back inside to talk about the weather.

Follow-Up Activity:
Be sure to complete your Seasonal Weather notebook page. You could talk about the differences between what you observed in autumn and those things you recorded this time.

How is the scene you drew this week different from the autumn scene?
How are the temperatures different?
Is there a difference in the number of hours of daylight?

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Barb — 4 Comments

Winter Series #3 – Winter Sky

We have had nothing but cloudy, rainy, snowy weather since this challenge was posted. There has been no opportunity for much stargazing or moon watching. But, my son noticed this beautiful sunset a few weeks ago and we both had a grand time taking photos of the ever changing light and color.

He took just as many photos as I did I am sure of it. We both remarked that you really need to be watchful for opportunities like this one because they don’t happen every day.

What a wonderful way to marvel at the gifts we have in the every day if we are open to seeing them.

Here is a moon shot we have from a few days ago at sunset. We have some clear weather in the forecast so we hope to get out past sunset and work on our constellations.

We are prepared.

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Barb — 6 Comments

Winter Hike to the River

Before all our rain and snow, we had the opportunity to visit one of our favorite spots on the river.

We chose the Long Valley Trail this time which is a little less than two miles down to the river. It is a long sloping walk so it is very enjoyable even on a chilly, hazy day.

The first thing we noticed was that their were many brown cattails along the trail where there is a little creek running. Of course we had to stop and take a look.

You see right where the water runs because the cattails are growing along the edges of the creek.

About half-way to the river, there is an old homestead with some lovely old oaks. The tree swallows were swarming in the tops of the trees and we enjoyed stopping to watch them and listen for a few minutes. I love the silhouettes of the winter oaks.

The greens and reds on this rock caught my attention and I loved the composition of the various mosses, lichens, and plants growing together on the rock. Very pretty.

Once we reached the river, the kids and our dog were all off and running. Some climbed rocks, some skipped rocks on the water, the dog went swimming for sticks and I spent some time enjoying the reflections and ripples in this little eddy off the main part of the river.

How do these trees grow so large out of the middle of a huge rock? Perseverance.

Eventually we all sat at the river’s edge and watched the water flow by on its way down the mountain. This is the American River where gold was discovered in 1848. We all joke about someday finding a gold nugget along the edge but for now we are content to marvel at all the different types of rock found all together in one spot.

One last photo to share of our day. Winter weeds can be quite lovely if you really take a look at them. I found these growing on the edge of the water and with the nice backdrop, it makes for a nice photo.

Well, there are a few of our experiences from last weekend. What started out as a chilly, dreary day turned out to be quite refreshing. We headed home hungry so I was glad I had planned a big spaghetti dinner.

If you are looking for some winter nature study ideas, you may want to check out the entry I wrote last year giving some simple ideas for winter nature study…most indoors.

Winter Nature Study-Taking it Inside

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Barb — 8 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series #3 Winter Sky and Stars

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Sky and Stars

Inside Preparation Work:
There is a section starting on page 823 on the Winter Stars. The clear explanations of the constellations in the Handbook of Nature Study make it an excellent first resource for families. For example: The lessons on page 820 explaining the North Star and the Big Dipper are clearly put down for anyone to follow and are timeless. The language used in the Handbook of Nature Study makes it enjoyable to read.

“After the polar constellations are learned, we are then ready for further study in the still earlier evenings of winter, when the clear atmosphere makes the stars seem more alive, more sparkling, and more beautiful than at any other period of the year.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 823

“Orion is one of the most beautiful constellations in the heavens. It is especially marked by the three stars which form Orion’s belt, and the line of stars below the belt which form the sword.”
Handbook of Nature Study page 825

Read pages 823-829 in the Handbook of Nature Study. These pages outline a study of the winter stars along with some ideas for observations and activities.

Read pages 855-859 in the Handbook of Nature Study. This section on our moon is a delightful lesson showing some basic facts about the moon and its make-up. On page 858 there are 16 suggestions for observing the moon. If you purchased the Winter Nature Study ebook, you may wish to print out and take the Moon Observation Notebook Page so you can record your nightly moon observations this month. Otherwise, you can record your observations in your nature journal.

Additional Preparation Work:
Read chapter three in Discover Nature in Winter. Read the chapter with a view to picking some winter stars to learn about and observe as a family. Start with the North Star or Orion’s belt if you are not sure what you are doing yet. You can also choose to view the moon in the winter sky. Please note this link to Amazon is an affiliate link.

Page 37 give this advice, “Unlike owls and other nocturnal creatures, our eyes are not well designed for seeing in the dark. After leaving a lighted building at night, it takes about thirty minutes for our eyes to become adjusted to the lower light levels.” Allow plenty of time for your eyes to adjust and to take in the night sky.

Our family decided to make sure we can find these four constellations in the winter sky:

Big Dipper (North Star as well) page 44
Ursa Major page 45
Cassiopeia page 47
Orion (using Orion’s belt) page 49

Outdoor Hour Time:
Use your outdoor time this week or any week this month to observe the stars and moon. Our family bundles up with blankets to observe the winter sky. We use our binoculars to observe the moon especially when it is full or near to being full.

If you can’t fit in some night time star gazing, how about some sunset observations? Being able to name a star or constellation is a great skill but it can be just as satisfying to spend some time contemplating the universe while gazing up at the winter sky.

Follow-Up Activities:
Follow up with the notebook pages (Winter Sky and Moon Observations) in my Winter Nature Study ebook or with any of the general notebook page from my Freebies Page. You can also record your observations and thoughts in a blank journal of your choice. Star gazing is something you can do at any time of the year and we try to make it a habit in our family to observe the moon as it makes its full cycle.

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Barb — 4 Comments

Winter Tree Study: Tuliptree

We completed our Winter Tree Study a few days ago before all the rains started. Last fall we chose our Tulip tree or Tulip Poplar to observe in every season for the next year. It is the tallest tree in our front yard. It lost quite a few branches during our December snowstorm so it has a little different shape than it did back in October.

There are virtually no leaves left on the tree at this point.

The boys noted that there are still a million helicopter type seeds left on the tree.

The ground under the tree is covered in seeds. The boys are going to sketch some of the seeds into their nature journals.

Mr. A wanted me to note that he had to spend the better part of an afternoon last week cleaning out the rain gutters and downspouts and the bulk of the mess was from this tree with its helicopter seeds. They are just thin enough to sift through the screens over the rain gutter.

Here is a small cluster of the seeds on the ground under the tree. We noted they look like wooden flowers.

The most interesting part of our winter tree study is the moss and lichen growing on the trunk. It is really noticeable now that the tree is bare. We took a few minutes to observe the moss. Words like soft, fluffy, bright green, and spongy were used to describe the moss. It is most definitely more prominent in the winter and far greener than the fall.

Here is a link to our Fall Tree Study so we can compare the two seasons. What a difference! Now we will wait until spring to make our official study of the changes in this great tree in our yard.

As a sidenote…

Here is something that made me smile. Look at those bulbs peeking out of the ground already! I know that underneath the ground there are dozens and dozens of bulbs just waiting to pop out in flowers before long now.

Hope you get to your Winter Tree Study soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Barb — 5 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series #2 Winter Tree Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Winter Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:
Now that winter is upon us, let’s take this week and observe the tree we chose last autumn to study during each of the four seasons. This week you will use the suggestions on pages 624-625 of the Handbook of Nature Study to make general winter observations of your tree. You may wish to read through the suggested ideas for studying your tree before heading outdoors so you will have those in mind. If you started a year-long tree study a few months ago during the Autumn Series of challenges, you may want to pull out your nature journal and refresh your memory about your particular tree. Hopefully when you go outdoors you will observe some big changes.

Also, if you have the Discover Nature in Winter book, turn to pages 76-81 for valuable information on branch patterns, tree silhouettes, twigs, and seed containers.

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take your 10-15 minute outdoor time to study your tree. If you are just starting out with a tree study, pick a tree from your yard that you can watch through all four seasons. Have your children make as many observations as possible, perhaps comparing the appearance to how it was during autumn. Another way to record your tree changes is to take photographs in every season. This makes for a very easy nature journal entry once you get back indoors. If your weather is too cold or snowy to go outdoors, you can pick a tree to observe from your window or you can bring in a twig or cone to study from your tree instead.

Simple Suggestions for Winter Tree Study:
1. Pick a tree in your yard or on your street and view its branch patterns and silhouette.
2. Find a tree that has lost its leaves and sketch its shape in your nature journal. This activity can be done from a window if your weather is too cold or snowy.
3. Collect some seeds from trees that may still be left over from last season. Look for sweet gum, locust, yellow poplar, ash, mimosa, or sycamore.
4. Collect twigs from different trees and compare them.

Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, complete a nature journal entry. If you purchased the Winter Nature Study ebook you will have a custom notebook page or there are several free alternatives by using a general notebook page from the sidebar of my blog, the original Seasonal Tree notebook page, or your own blank journal. You can take photos of your tree to put in your nature journal as well. The Handbook of Nature Study suggests sketching your tree to show its shape as it stands bare. File your nature journal page as a record of the season.

Additional Project:
Anna Botsford Comstock in the Handbook of Nature Study suggests on page 624 to take a twig from your tree in February and look at it carefully. She suggests placing the twig in a vase of water and then leaving it in a warm, light place and see what happens to the buds.

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Barb — 3 Comments

Winter Cattails-Surprised Again!

We started our cattail study last fall with this entry: Cattails in Autumn.

We had two locations to visit for this study….one within walking distance and another up on our regular walking trail on the other side of town.

Here are the cattails near our house.

Our cattails are starting to look a little ragged. The water that was there in the fall has now completely dried up. The stalks of the cattails are dry, stiff, and hard. The leaves are stiff as well.

Here is our cattail area that is along our walking trail. I think that someone came and cut a lot of the actual cattails. Even thought they are still growing in water, the leaves and stems are all brown and stiff.

There is still a little water in this area that flows down to a creek. We all noticed that the water was a little smelly this time of year….hmmmm. We enjoyed having a purpose to our walk today and it was nice to focus on something other than the cold air. 🙂

The other interesting thing that we noted on this walk was that there were lots of mushrooms growing. Here are three different kinds that we stopped and looked at.

There were lots of this kind pushing up through the leaves.

There were some that were really white.

Then we saw this cute little yellow mushroom.

We are off to another hike today but this time down to the river. We will keep our eyes out for anything interesting.

Hope you get a chance to look for your cattails.

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Barb — 12 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Winter Series: Cattails in Winter

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Winter Series Ebook
Cattail Study-Winter

Inside Preparation Work:
Read the section on cattails in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 500-503. Pay close attention to suggestion #7 on page 502. If you completed an autumn cattail study, you may wish to pull out your nature journal page and refresh your memory with how your cattail looked a few months ago.

Outdoor Hour Time:
Take your Outdoor Hour Time and visit your cattail location if possible. Many of us were surprised that we actually had cattails close to our homes and it will be fun to revisit the area now that winter is upon us. (If you do not have cattails in your neighborhood, see the alternate activity below.)

You may wish to take along your nature journal or your camera to record how your cattails look during the winter. Use your best observation skills and observe as much about your cattail as possible.

You might include:

Is your cattail still growing in water or has it dried up?
What does the “cattail” parts of the plant look like now?
What color and shape are the leaves?
Do you see the cattails seeds or balloons?
Can you pull some of the fuzz from the cattail and observe it more closely?
How do you think the seeds spread, by wind or water?
How crowded are the cattails growing together?

Follow-Up Activity:
Follow up your outdoor time with a chance to draw the cattail in the nature journal. You can use the notebook page I created for the Winter Series (available only with the ebook or notebooking page purchase-see link below), the notebook page from Autumn, a blank page in your journal, or any other general notebook page listed on my sidebar of my blog.

Alternate Study:
If you don’t have a cattail study started or you do not have cattails in your area, you can choose another plant to observe over the course of a year if you would like. Just about any plant would make a great subject if you observe it closely. The idea is to start to see how the seasons and plants change around you.

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Barb — 7 Comments

Winter Blah-It Even Happens To Me

Yesterday I decided I needed some outdoor time. Grabbing my camera I went out the door with a feeling of anticipation. I always feel that little spark of adventure even in my own backyard. I know it like the back of my hand, but it always has a way of surprising me

The winter storm we had really took its toll on our plants and trees. I shed a few tears as I surveyed the damage to my roses, butterfly bushes, and other flowering plants. Some sort of rodents have been digging around in my garden and under the birdfeeders…what a mess of holes and tunnels! How could such a beautiful space be so ugly in winter? It really made me sad.

I turned and started walking back up to the house, sort of feeling like winter had let me down. After all my pep talks on this blog about winter and winter nature study, I was the one having the bad attitude.

I noticed that the birdfeeders were getting down to the last few seeds so I stopped by the storage room and filled my seed pail with dinner for the birds. I filled every feeder up and started up the stairs again to go inside.

This time I heard a little scuffling behind me. I turned and realized that the birds had flocked to the feeders right after I had filled them up. There were juncos, sparrows, my favorite little titmouse, a couple of towhees, a scrub jay, and few finches. These birds did not care that all around them the branches of the trees are hanging down, broken from the winter storm. A few were scratching around under the feeders where the muddy rodent holes and tunnels were just inches away. The birds didn’t see any problem.

I stopped and looked up over the trees and there was a turkey vulture swooping and gliding in the crisp winter air. He didn’t seem to care that the roses were all broken down in my yard…he was just having a good time flying in the afternoon sunshine.

Okay, I remember now…winter just has its own ways of bringing beauty. The clearing of the old is a way of making way for the new. Didn’t I just realize that a few weeks ago?

My tears were dry and I was now smiling at the antics of the birds in the feeders….the scrub jays being such bullies and the titmouse flying in and out like a crazy bird. The sky seemed a little bluer and the bird sounds were like a winter musical concert just for me.

The Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges, starting on January 8th, are going to really get me focused again on regular focused nature study. I know that many of you are planning on following along so I will bring my very best winter nature study attitude with me when I come on Fridays. My boys have already asked about the cattail study and that will be our first challenge…to catch up with our cattails to see how their winter is going.

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Barb — 88 Comments

Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges-Ebook Now Available!

I am really excited to announce that I have finished writing a completely new ebook for the Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. This ebook is a unique product that includes not only ten nature study challenges but three months’ worth of art and music appreciation with a winter theme! This is the first time I have combined all three elements into a full length ebook and I am anxious to share it with all of my readers and their families.

I have worked hard to produce an exciting ebook to help you with simple winter nature study and give you some help and direction in providing art and music appreciation. This unique nature study book also includes everything you need to study art and music all winter long. I invite you to download the sample and see how you can get started with nature study, artist study, and composer study this winter!

Here is an overview!

10 Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenges: winter cattail, winter tree, winter sky, winter weather, pine tree study, salt study, winter bird, small square, winter mammal, and early spring flower study.
13 custom notebook pages to complement those challenges
3 different artists to study-one per month (Caspar David Friedrich, Gilbert Stuart, and Claude Monet)
3 different composers to study-one per month (Vivaldi, Waldteufel, and Dvorak)
11 custom notebook pages to use in following up your art and music study
3 paintings included for you to print or view
Ideas for art projects to complete your art appreciation with common art supplies you probably have on hand
Resource list
Clickable links
View a sample: Winter Series Sample

In total, this new Winter Nature Study ebook is 56 pages long. You will have a complete plan at your fingertips for your winter nature study, art appreciation, and music study. All of the art prints are included in the ebook and there are links to viewing them online as well. All of the music planned is available to listen to online. You will need to have the Handbook of Nature Study in order to complete the nature study challenges. I have aimed to keep these challenges and studies as simple as possible with very few additional resources needed.

Please realize that the challenges are listed on the winter tab at the top of my blog but the ebook gathers the challenges all into one easy to use resource along with the custom notebook pages.

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Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!