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Posted on April 1, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

April Nature Study Plans and Printable

April Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

This month we’ll be starting to use the new Outdoor Hour Challenge Bird Set #1 ebook available in the Ultimate Naturalist Library. I’m anxious to get started with this set of bird nature study challenges right alongside you and your family. I birdwatch just about every day but slowing down to take in information about one particular bird is very rewarding. Even if I’m not able to observe the bird in person, learning all about a bird ahead of time prepares me for the time when the opportunity does arise.

Just last week we spotted four killdeer in our back pasture. I easily identified this pretty bird from the details I had read in a field guide and online.

Spotting a new bird is always a thrill!

Please note that all of the birds in this series are ones not found in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Instead, the challenges will be providing field notes for each bird, as well as online links and videos. If you have access to the ebook, you’ll also have notebooking pages and coloring pages to print and use as desired.

4/2/2021 – Pelican Nature Study

4/9/2021 – Swan Nature Study

4/16/2021 – Snipe Nature Study

4/23/2021 – Sandhill Crane Nature Study

4/30/2021 – Clark’s Nutcracker Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Bird’s Egg Study notebook page: One aspect of learning about birds is to learn that each bird has a unique egg. Learning the size, color, and other distinguishing features of a bird’s egg can be followed up with this notebook page.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

Join us graphic

If you’d like to have access to the member’s printables and the newsletter archive, I invite you to join with an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership. Your membership will be valid for one year from the date of purchase. Click the graphic above to see the many benefits of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

I highly recommend using the ebook for these challenges. I’ll be sharing just a small portion of the challenge each week here on the blog but members will have access to all of the resources for each bird.

Please note that you can opt to use the Learning About Birds ebook with your family if you feel it’s more practical. I realize not everyone will have access to the birds we study each week and the Learning About Birds ebook could supplement your bird study with information from the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.

Posted on March 30, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Mom: March 2021 – Spring is Coming!

Outdoor Mom

March 2021 – Spring is Coming!

My last update was back in January and since then we’ve had snow, and then snow, and then snow. We haven’t had any major snows as far as number of inches, but it will snow and then melt and then snow again. We have parts of our yard that are just now starting to thaw from all the freezing temperatures and the ice layer. I sort of feel the same way…just now starting to thaw from winter.

Now is the very unpredictable time of year when we can have just about any kind of weather all in the span of a week! I’m dreaming of warmer days where I can really get outside and work in the yard.

In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting…

We’ve kept busy with garden planning and building new nesting boxes before the migrant birds show up. We are putting up the last boxes this week. I had my husband build me two Northern flicker nesting boxes. I had no idea they would be so large!

As a side note, if you’re looking for printable bird nesting box patterns, I highly recommend going to the Nestwatch website and looking up the birds you are interested in attracting to your yard.

All About Birdhouses on Nestwatch.org

The most inspiring thing we experienced was…

March has been a busy month of birdwatching! We’ve had so many early arriving birds to add to our list. The most exciting observation we’ve made is the nesting of killdeer in the back pasture. I use my binoculars to watch them work on the nest in the short grass. This is something new to us and I’m eager to see how things turn out for them.

Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about) …

The emergence of the rodents from their winter homes has been fun to watch too. First, we saw the Belding’s ground squirrels poking their heads out from their holes. Now we have least chipmunks under the bird feeder just about every day. They are so tiny! We always have gray squirrels in our yard but right now we will regularly have 5-6 of them scurrying around to find food and playing chase up and down the tree trunks.

One last image…

steelhead falls march 2021 — Steelhead Falls on the Deschutes River

We’ve been hiking quite a bit in the past month as the sun has warmed up and the days are longer. We found a couple new waterfalls not too far from us and now they’re on the list of regular places to hike and take out of town guests. The hikes are not too difficult or too far which is fun for a day trip and a picnic.

I am so looking forward to more hikes as the spring season progresses. I felt like we missed out on a lot of things last year with the pandemic and I’m eager to get back into the hiking, biking, and kayaking routine.

You can follow me on Instagram to see more of our outdoor life here in gorgeous Central Oregon.

Want to join in the Outdoor Mom post?

Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.

During our outdoor time this month we went…
The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about) …
In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting…
I added nature journal pages about…
One last image…

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Early Spring Grid

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Early Spring Grid – Printable from the March 2012 Newsletter

Look in the Newsletter Archives for this Outdoor Hour Challenge.

No matter where you live and what early spring looks like in your world, it should be a perfect time to start getting back outdoors regularly each week as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Members here on the Handbook of Nature Study have always said that spring is their favorite time to do nature study with their children.

Join us this week for an easy nature study idea!

The activities in the Early Spring Grid (March 2012 Newsletter) are simple enough for most of us to complete without a lot of extra planning or work.

Print this page out and cut out the grid to adhere in your nature journal. As you finish each suggested activity, cross off the box (or shade it in with colored pencils).

Nature Study Newsletter grid example pages (7) — Here is an example of how to include the grid in your nature journal.

Another suggestion is to post the Early Spring Grid on your refrigerator with a magnet. This will be a reminder to do a few spring related nature activities as you go through the month of March.

The newsletter archive is available to all members.

To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time. You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Barb — 1 Comment

Your Backyard Habitat:Look for Something of Interest

Your Backyard Habitat

Look for Something of Interest

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months working on a new ebook for all of us to use in creating a backyard habitat designed to attract birds, bees, and butterflies. I’ve heard from so many of my readers that they think their backyard space is boring or nothing out of the ordinary. So this week, I’m going to challenge you all to get outside and prove yourselves wrong!

summer garden 2020 — Last year’s garden was filled with lots of living things.

Every space has something to observe, and the list below will help you start thinking differently about whatever your outdoor space is currently looking like at the beginning of spring. As part of the process in creating a backyard habitat, the first step is to make an assessment of what you already have and then decide how you can improve it. Challenge your children to check off as many things as they can from the list below.

What Do You Observe?

Trees: leaves, bark, twigs, roots, flowers, cones, needles, seeds, pods, nests, birds
Patch of weeds: leaves, roots, bugs, flowers
Dirt: worms, gravel, stones, seeds, mud, ants, mushrooms, moss
Sky: clouds, sun, moon, stars, birds
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

We need to train our eyes and hearts to be open to the opportunities that arise in our everyday travels.

I’m anticipating the new backyard habitat ebook to be in the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members by the end of April 2021. Exciting times coming for you and your family as you start the process of creating a backyard habitat to use for nature study and so much more!

Members have access to the Garden Flowers and Crops ebook in their library. This is also a fantastic resource for learning about gardening along with your children.

We’ll be using the Herb Nature Study ebook later this summer for our weekly Outdoor Hour Challenges. If you have access now, you can get a jump start by reading through the book and planning a few herbs to grow for your nature study time.

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Spring Ebooks from the Ultimate Naturalist Library!

Spring Ebooks from the Ultimate Naturalist Library!

Getting outside with our children has been the sanity saving activity we all needed this past year. As spring approaches, have you considered adding a little nature study into your weekly routine? I’ve heard from families that they were reluctant to start a nature study plan, stating that they thought it would restrict their freedom to focus on one topic. But, they found that having a focus each week actually helped them to stay regular at getting outside and it helped them be better at taking a few minutes to learn about an object they encountered, even if it wasn’t the original aim for getting outdoors.

The key is to make a regular habit of getting outside and taking note of things that interest your family.

If you’re looking for a more “free form” style of nature study, I invite you to read this post from my archives: Focus and Consistency

Spring is a fantastic time to start a season of nature study. Please see the ebooks listed below along with their specific topics. Consider working through an ebook or you can pick and choose subjects from any of the ebooks. Without a lot of extra effort, you can customize your spring nature study by picking your favorite topics from any of the ebooks listed.

Spring Nature Study Continues

Did you know this ebook also contains art and music appreciation?

More Nature Study Book #3 Outdoor Hour Challenges – Spring Splendor

Spring Series 2010 Ebook Challenges:

The Garden Flower and Plant Challenges in the Ebook:

The Ultimate Naturalist Library currently has 26 ebooks covering hundreds of topics. There are 76 newsletters in the archives and dozens of printables available too!

Please click over to see all the benefits of a membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

Right now, I’m offering a super discount just to get you started.

Use the discount code SPRINGFUN to receive $10 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership! The discount code will expire on 3/27/2021.

The current library contains 26 ebooks covering hundreds of topics. There are 76 newsletters in the library and dozens of printables in addition to the ebooks!

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge-Bleeding Hearts Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Bleeding Hearts Nature Study

“The flowers of the bleeding heart are beautiful jewel-like pendants arranged along the stem according to their age; the mature flower, ready to shed its petals, is near the main stem while the tiny unopened bud is hung at the very top, where new buds are constantly being formed during a long season of bloom.”

Handbook of Nature Study

Anna Botsford Comstock placed the bleeding heart in the garden flowers section of the Handbook of Nature Study. But many of us live in areas where we can also find bleeding hearts as a blooming native (wildflower) plant. The Pacific bleeding heart is found in your field guide under the name Dicentra Formosa.

Hint: It can be found both as a garden plant and as a native plant in many areas.

View the original challenge here: Bleeding Hearts Nature Study

If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there are two notebook pages to choose from for your nature journal.

To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.

You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Posted on March 5, 2021March 29, 2023 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Violets Nature Study for Your Homeschool

In this violets nature study, learn how to identify violets plus enjoy suggestions for your outdoor homeschool nature study. Follow up activities include nature journaling pages for labeling flower parts and resources for how to grow violets.

fragrant violet - In this violets nature study, learn how to identify violets plus enjoy suggestions for your outdoor homeschool nature study. Follow up activities include nature journaling pages for labeling flower parts and resources for how to grow violets.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Violets Nature Study

I love violets! In the summer, we have thousands of them that come up all over the yard. They are in the flower beds, in the lawn, and even between the pavers of our walkway! I love their happy colors and I’m anxious to see them again once the season changes.

Most of our violets are transplants from a friend that have gone wild and reseeded themselves. But, we do have one native violet that grows as a wildflower along the edges of our property. It is the goosefoot violet and it’s yellow.

goosefoot violet - In this violets nature study, learn how to identify violets plus enjoy suggestions for your outdoor homeschool nature study. Follow up activities include nature journaling pages for labeling flower parts and resources for how to grow violets.

I need to be careful when I’m weeding along the fence because I could easily weed them right out of the flower bed. Learning their leaf shape, a distinctive “goose print” shape, has helped me to let them be when I’m cleaning out the weeds. Plus, it helps me remember its name! The goosefoot violet is one of our spring ephemerals and signals us that spring is on its way, making it a very welcome flower when we see it starting to bloom.

I think Anna Botsford Comstock had a love for violets as well. When you read the violets nature study lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study you can hear her appreciation for their form and beauty. She does mention the fact that not all violets are fragrant. This was a surprise to me because our violets in California all had that distinctive violet perfume fragrance. The goosefoot violet has no fragrance at all. Turns out, Anna was helpful in giving us some valuable information in order to correctly identify the wild violets.

Violet Nature Study @handbookofnaturestudy
In this violets nature study, learn how to identify violets plus enjoy suggestions for your outdoor homeschool nature study. Follow up activities include nature journaling pages for labeling flower parts and resources for how to grow violets.

Homeschool Nature Study Members: View the original challenge in Homeschool Nature Study membership in the Winter Course.

Learn about violets in the Winter Continues course in Homeschool Nature Study membership.

Make sure to check your local field guide to see which violets are native and then be on the lookout for some to observe in your nature study. As suggested in the challenge, look for “johnny jump ups” in your garden nursery as a substitute for wild violets.

In this violets nature study, learn how to identify violets plus enjoy suggestions for your outdoor homeschool nature study. Follow up activities include nature journaling pages for labeling flower parts and resources for how to grow violets.

Learn About Wildflowers in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

Annual members can download and use any of the wildflower challenges from the three sets of Wildflower curriculum available in the Member’s Library.

You will find hundreds of homeschool nature studies plus all the Outdoor Hour Challenges 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!

Learn More About Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

by Barbara McCoy, Outdoor Hour Challenges founder

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Flower Nature Study Planning

Garden Flower Nature Study Planning

This is the season for planning your garden whether it’s a flower garden or a vegetable garden. Anticipating the colorful flowers, the delicious tasting fruits, and the many hours of happily tending the garden is more than half the fun in my opinion. Paging through seed catalogs or scrolling your favorite gardening sites online can fill your cold winter days with pleasant thoughts of things to come.

I’ve already started my garden planning for the year and put in my seed order to Renee’s Garden Seeds. If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you already know that I love this seed company. I always have great results from their products and they are my go to place to purchase seeds for the garden.

Because of our short growing season here in Central Oregon (less than 60 days), our garden is mostly flowers now and not veggies. But, I have decided to try a green bean and broccoli raab crop this year as an experiment. I will keep you posted on our results.

Want to know my list of seeds?

4^th of July Heirloom Cornflowers

Lace Perfume Fragrant Dianthus

Lace Mantle Sweet Williams

Rainbow of California Poppies – We grew these last year in our garden and they are gorgeous!

Lemon Queen Sunflowers – These are the sunflowers suggested to grow as part of the Great Sunflower (bee counting) Project.

Classic Slenderette Green Beans – We’re going to try this variety because of its short growing to harvest time.

Early Rapini Heirloom Broccoli Raab – This is another crop we hope we can grow here in our cooler climate.

Astia Container Zucchini – I grew this in California in a big pot on my back deck. I’m hoping to have some success with it here in Oregon.

Sweet Greens and Reds lettuce mix – This is another variety of a lettuce we grew last year from Renee’s.

Garden Babies Butterhead container lettuce – This is a new lettuce for us and I’m hoping it produces a few heads for us to enjoy.

Cinnamon Sun Sunflowers – I’m excited to try a new color of sunflowers in this year’s garden.

Chocolate Daisy – This is an old favorite that I want to try this year in our new garden box. (It does have the fragrance of chocolate!)

I am eagerly awaiting their arrival! It will be a while before I can actually plant them, but I can dream about the warm summer afternoons in the garden while I wait.

Maybe you would like to start dreaming and planning for your summer flower garden nature studies. I have completely updated my chart of garden flower topics from the Handbook of Nature Study. Each flower has an Outdoor Hour Challenge associated with it on the website and an ebook with notebook pages to use for your study. Use the links in the chart to decide on which flowers you will study this summer!

Download a copy here: Handbook of Nature Study List of Garden Flowers with the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Ultimate Naturalist Library members have access to all the ebooks required. If you’d like to purchase an annual membership, click the link above and then use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your membership.

All memberships are valid for one year after your purchase. The library of ebooks, the newsletters, and all the printables will be only a few clicks away.

For those of you following the Ambleside Online nature schedule, the spring topic is garden flowers and weeds. Please feel free to combine your nature study with the Outdoor Hour Challenges found in the archives.

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

March Nature Study – New Printables, Plan, and Planning Page

March Nature Study Plans – Outdoor Hour Challenge

I cannot tell you how excited I am that we’re continuing with our early spring wildflower studies! Although we don’t have any wildflowers blooming yet in Central Oregon, I know that making a pre-study of any topic makes it more likely I’ll recognize that subject in the future when we do see it on our travels.

Don’t forget to use the Plant Family notebooking pages that are in the Member’s Library to enhance study of any wildflower you encounter.

Note: Violets are in the violet plant family and bleeding hearts, Dutchman’s breeches, and squirrel corn are in the poppy family).

3/5/2021 – Violet Nature Study

3/12/2021 – Bleeding Hearts Nature Study

3/19/2021 – Dutchman’s Breeches and Squirrel Corn Nature Study

3/26/2021 – Early Spring Grid Nature Study

New Printables in the Members Library

Leaf Veins Observation and Drawing notebook page: Once the spring leaves start to emerge, collect a few to draw on this notebook page. Research the vein patterns to help your children go a little deeper in their study of leaves and plants.

March Quick Observations notebook page: You still may be experiencing colder temperatures so a quick walk may be a great start to your spring nature study. Use this new notebook page to make simple and quick observations of 1 plant, 1 tree, 1 bird, and 1 unusual or extraordinary thing you discover on your weekly nature walks. I created two versions of the page for you to choose from depending on your family’s interests and ages.

Click the graphic above to view the complete list of printables available as part of an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members also have access to the Nature Planner pages in their library. Print out this month’s page and use it to stimulate your weekly nature study time.

The Outdoor Hour Challenges this month are from the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook.

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge Hepatica Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Hepatica Nature Study

Suggested alternate study for West Coast people: Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata).

“There should be from first to last a steady growth in the intelligence of the child as to the places where certain plants grow. He finds hepaticas and trilliums in the woods, daisies and buttercups in the sunny fields, mullein on the dry hillsides, cattails in the swamp, and water lilies floating on the pond. This may all be taught by simply asking the pupils questions relating to the soil and the special conditions of the locality where they found the flowers they bring to school. ”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 458

Oh, the joy of wandering the woods in search of spring wildflowers. When I lived in California, March was the real start of our spring wildflower season. Here in Central Oregon it starts much later, so I’m dreaming of wildflower season! My daughter who still lives in California will be sending me photos for sure!

Use this week’s Outdoor Hour Challenge to learn more about hepatica using the Handbook of Nature Study as well as the links and videos in the original challenge linked below.

Alternate Study Idea: Look for the Spring Beauty if you live in the western United States.

View the original challenge here: Outdoor Hour Challenge – Hepatica.

If you have access to the Winter Nature Study Continues ebook, there are two notebook pages to choose from for your nature journal.

To purchase an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership, click on over to the Join Us page at any time.

You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Members can download and use any of the wildflower challenges from the three ebooks available in the Member’s Library.

Use the discount code SPRINGFUN to receive $10 off an Ultimate Naturalist Library membership! The discount code will expire on 3/27/2021.

You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Violets Nature Study

Learn About Wildflowers in Homeschool Nature Study Membership

You can use the discount code NATURE5 to receive $5 off your Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!