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Posted on April 1, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter – April 2017 Wildflowers

Note to my loyal readers:

My apologies for sending this at such a late date but it has been absolute chaos here for the past few weeks. We sold our house after it was on the market for only a few days and then we needed to scramble to find another house for us to call home. This we did after extensive research, driving 450 miles, and a whirlwind day of house viewing. It will be so very worth the effort but in the meantime I am much distracted and am struggling to keep to my routines.

Note:

Subscribers should have received their newsletter links already. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, you can still get a copy by following the steps below for a new subscription.

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

April 2017 Wildflowers

Please read the following explanation outlining how to get this month’s newsletter.

The newsletter link is not in this email but will come separately. Members should have received their link already.

If you don’t receive the separate email with the download link, you probably aren’t subscribed to the blog yet. This will take less than a minute to do if you follow the steps below.

If you are a subscriber and you haven’t received your newsletter email yet, check your SPAM inbox. Some subscribers have found the email buried in SPAM inbox.

If you need to subscribe:

You will need to go to the Handbook of Nature Study, look to the top right corner for the box to type in your preferred email address, and then confirm the email that comes to your email inbox.
Once you subscribe, you will receive a thank you email from me with the download link for the current month’s newsletter.

This month’s newsletter link will be available only during the month of April so be sure to download it before 4/30/17.

Remember! All of the archived and current newsletters are available as part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library…every level!

Contents of this edition of the newsletter include:

The April newsletter theme is wildflowers. In honor of the new ebook, I am featuring some interesting articles and ideas for a wildflower study.
There are two contributing articles by loyal Outdoor Hour Challenge participants: Shirley Vels from Under an English Sky and Angie from Pebblekeeper.
Printable: Trillium coloring page.

Resources for your Nature Library: I have started to build a nature library store on Amazon that will feature by category my favorite nature study books and resources. Take a look and see if there is anything you would like to put on your wish list for your family’s nature study library: Handbook of Nature Study Nature Library Suggestions on Amazon.com. Note this is my affiliate store to items I personally recommend and have read or seen in person.

Please note that Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level members have access to members only printables each month in addition to the newsletter printables. You will need to log into your account and then go to the “Other Releases” section.

This new ebook is found in the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships.

As a special promo, you can use the discount code WILDFLOWER5 for $5 off the Ultimate Naturalist Membership.

Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Membership

Join us in April for this interesting series of nature study challenges!

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenges- Spring Observations

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Spring Splendor Walk from the Archives and the More Nature Study Spring Ebook

Use the links above to find a variety of ideas for making spring observations with your children. We originally called this challenge the “Spring Splendor Walk” because it aimed to open your eyes to what early spring looks like in your very own neighborhood. You need to use all your senses and then create a nature journal entry using some of the suggestions given in the challenge.

There’s even a Spring Nature Walk Senses Scavenger Hunt printable included in the archive challenge!

Be Encouraged! Be Inspired! Get Outside!

From the Forward of the More Nature Study – Spring Ebook:

“Nature study using the Outdoor Hour Challenge aims to introduce you to your own backyard and neighborhood, seeking out the things that interest your children. I invite you to get to know your child’s special area of interest and to build from there a foundation of knowledge and experience outdoors. Using the Outdoor Hour Challenges, my own family has been enriched with a love of nature, a bond with each other, and lots of wonderful memories of seasons past.”

If your family would like to use this ebook in its entirety, you can find it in the Ultimate Naturalist Library (contains all 18 ebooks I have written).

Here are the topics included in this particular ebook:
Spring Weather, Spring Tree (buds, catkins, and blossoms), Robin, Buttercups and Poppies, Ferns, Dogwood, Goats, Vines (Sweet peas, dodder, hedge bindweed), Garden snails, and Iris.

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Posted on March 28, 2017 by Barb — 1 Comment

New Ebook! Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflowers Set 1

Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Ebook 1 promo button — Ultimate and Journey Level members can click this graphic to go directly to the library to download a copy of this new ebook. Make sure you are logged in and if you are having trouble with your password, please leave me a comment or send me a direct email to receive my assistance. Email: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study

Set #1

Here are the specifics:

This 46 page digital ebook has 5 challenges and supplemental activities that will help you learn about a few of my favorite early spring wildflowers.
There are custom notebooking pages for each of the five wildflowers featured. In addition, there is a general notebook page for recording information for each of the plant families introduced in this ebook. There is also a page for use with any spring flower study and a page for following up a flower dissection.
Full color photos of every wildflower included in the ebook.
Five coloring pages.
There is enough material in this ebook to provide 5 weeks of wildflower study or more depending on how long you take to complete each challenge.
One of the resources in this ebook is a chart that coordinates each study with the Botany in a Day book.
Sample: Print an ebook sample here:OHC Wildflower Nature Study Set 1 Sample

Here are the specific flowers included in this ebook:

Wild Mustard and Wild Radish (mustard family)
Shooting Star (primrose family)
Lupine (pea family)
Purple Chinese House (figwort family)
Yarrow (composite family)

Note: If you don’t have the specific wildflowers listed above in your area, there are suggestions for studying an alternative flower or you can focus on the plant family instead. This ebook will work no matter where you live if you want to just focus on the plant families and use a local field guide to look for flowers you can observe during a nature walk in your own habitat.

How do you get the new Wildflower Nature Study ebook?

Members of the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey levels have access to the new ebook in their library. You need to click the “Members Area” button at the top of the website, sign into your account, and the ebook is there to download and save for your family to use when desired.

If you don’t have a membership yet, I am offering a $5 off discount code that will be good towards your Ultimate Naturalist membership.

Discount Code: Wildflower5

How To Get Started With This New Ebook!

Make sure you have a membership to the Handbook of Nature Study website! Click the Purchase Now button above or the Join Us button on the website. If you don’t already have a membership, use the discount code above for $5 off an Ultimate Naturalist Membership. If you are a member, sign in to your library and download the book.

You may wish to subscribe to the Handbook of Nature Study blog so you can receive the prompts in your email box each Friday. Also, subscribers receive my free monthly nature study newsletter on the first of every month. It is full of nature study encouragement, activities, and printables.

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

No Technology Nature Walk

Outdoor Hour Challenge

No Technology Walk

Taking a walk without technology can free up your eyes, ears, and hands for a more careful and engaged time outdoors with your family.

I have to admit I rarely am without my iPhone these days so going without it on a hike feels sort of like I’m naked. But, the few times I have done it lately and gone completely unplugged, it was very enjoyable. I have challenged my family to do this more often and see what fresh observations come to light when we go without our modern technology.

Afterwards, talk as a family about the experience. Were there some positive aspects to being free of technology? Can you make this a regular feature of one of your nature walks each month?

This new ebook will be loaded into the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships soon!

If you aren’t a member yet, you still have time to join and have immediate access as soon as it publishes.

As a special promo, you can use the discount code WILDFLOWER5 for $5 off the Ultimate Naturalist Membership.

Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Membership

Join us in April for this interesting series of nature study challenges!

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Nature Journal Examples – March Pages

Weekly Nature Journal Project
March 2017

I’m closing in on the end of the first quarter of 2017 which is a great time to take stock of how well I am meeting my nature goals for 2017.
My very ambitious goal of completing a nature journal page a week is going splendidly, partly because I have done some interesting things to journal about and partly because I am motivated to keep it going. There is great joy in looking back and viewing the completed pages.

I think I am onto something here.

The first two pages featured topics from my Hawaiian vacation with my family.

This page was done while sitting at the beach. I created a record of some of our more noteworthy things observed in the ocean…sea turtles and humpback whales!

We had such a wonderful experience at Greenwell Coffee Farm that I made that the subject of another Hawaiian inspired page. I love Kona coffee and getting to see the process from blossom to ‘cuppa joe’ was perfect.

Our family loves to see the spring green of the California buckeye leaves at this time of the year. It really does mean spring has arrived when the buckeyes start leafing out along our roads and trails. I want to keep up my observations of this common shrub for a complete year. Look for more pages to come!

Sigh…the first day of spring! No time for a long hike so I squeezed in a little walk to note the changes happening in my own yard and neighborhood. I tried to include my sense of smell, hearing, and sight to have a full first day of spring experience.

Don’t forget that I am sharing a nature journal page each week on my Instagram account if you want to see the pages as they unfold. Follow me here: Instagram – outdoorhourchallenge. And, if you want to create a page and share it on your Instagram for me to see, use the hashtag #OHCnaturejournal

Here is your nature journal tip for the month which is taken from an entry I wrote a long time ago entitled, “Drawing and Your Nature Journal”.
If you want your drawing skills to improve, you must practice.
Gulp. That is a tough one for most of us. I did not come from an artistic background so giving myself permission to try to learn to draw or paint or do anything artistic took a big shove from my husband. He encouraged me take a drawing class at the college. This was so far out of my comfort zone but I really wanted to learn how to draw past stick figures. It took time and effort. My suggestion for people who are striving to do a better job in sketching is to go to your library and go to the children’s section first and check out “how to draw” books and use them alongside your children. I checked one out on how to draw insects and one on how to draw birds and then found some nature sketching books to try. These experiences with the book open in front of you and your sketching from the step by step instructions will eventually spill over into your nature journal.
There is no magic formula but your success is equal to the effort you are willing to put into it.

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Pansy Flower

Outdoor Hour Challenge

Pansy Flower Study – From the Archives and in the Ebook

This challenge is coming at exactly the right time! Even with the snow last week, my garden pansies are blooming in their little pot. Most garden nurseries are beginning to have pansies for sale now that spring is upon us. With the variety of colors available, you could have a rainbow of pansies for your nature study observations!

Use the ideas in the archived challenge to create the opportunity for observing a pansy, planting a pansy, and creating a nature journal entry documenting your flower study.

For more garden flower challenges, click the Garden link at the top of the Handbook of Nature Study website.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Note: You do not need to purchase the ebook to participate but they are handy to have for planning and for the regular and advanced notebook pages included in each one. Click the graphic at above to go over to check out the Ultimate Naturalist Library membership.

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Posted on March 15, 2017 by Barb — 2 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal – March 2017

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

March 2017

We have had so much rain that the thought of traveling somewhere warm and more on the dry side was very appealing. My daughter and I had started planning this trip way back in August because she lives in New York where the winters are far too long for that California girl.

One of my favorite places to be warm and beachy is on the Big Island of Hawaii. It made sense for all of us to rendezvous there for a winter escape. The added bonus was this year our friend was able to round out our group to make it more fun. This was her first time traveling to Hawaii so we got to see all of the things through her eyes and enjoy sharing our favorite places.

We have been to Hawaii several times but never during the month of February so that part was new to all of us. What a treat! We were able to see whales just off the coast as they breached and spy hopped out of the water.

Snorkeling just about every day gave us plenty of opportunity to see the colorful fish and sea turtles in abundance. I love the feeling of just floating around in the water and watching the turtles as they feed off the coral. One afternoon we boarded a boat and did some serious snorkeling in Kealekekua Bay. The conditions weren’t perfect, but we still saw plenty of interesting things including a puffer fish.

The day the weather was gray and a little misty, we ventured to the Hilo side of the island.

We hiked to Akaka Falls which are amazing and the walk down to them is lined with all sorts of interesting plants.

Later that day we made it over to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The internet has been full of images of the lava lake and the lava spilling over into the ocean so we were hoping to see this in person. We were able to see the actual lava lake in the caldera of Kilauea but we weren’t prepared for the 8 mile round trip hike to see the lava “fire hose” going into the ocean. The weather was turning rainy too so we decided we would be satisfied with the lava that we could observe from the museum’s lookout. Totally worth it!

We visited an actual Kona coffee farm for a tour and tasting. The experience was even more special because we saw cardinals singing and a chameleon hiding in an orange tree.

I never thought I would see a chameleon up close like that and they are amazing creatures.

We did lots of beach walking in Waikoloa where we were staying but you need to put aside your preconceived idea of what a “beach” is to do that. These are not white sand beaches but rather black lava rock with coral washed up on the shore. It was fun to do beachcombing and we nearly always saw whales off shore and sea turtles sleeping on the beach.

I squeezed in some nature journaling time while there and I have a short list of things to research and record now that I am home. I will be sharing my journal entries in a separate post next week!

Sometimes taking a trip is not really a vacation but this one allowed me to relax, spend active and quiet time in nature, and enjoy the company of my family and friends.

Just a Note about the Cost of Traveling

We make our trip fit our budget by taking advantage of air miles for free tickets, researching condos for the perfect location and amenities, cooking almost all our own meals, and then planning activities that are within our financial reach. Also, traveling with other family members and friends allows us to split costs like food, gas, and the condo. Our condo had snorkel gear, chairs, beach umbrella, and boogie boards for us to use while we were there, so check into that benefit if you are thinking about booking a condo on the islands.

Read more about my experiences: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

How Do You Join?

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 week 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….
I am reading…
I am dreaming about…
A photo I would like to share…

You can use the free monthly newsletter along with the Handbook of Nature Study book for your nature study. Adding a membership gives you access to the Ultimate Naturalist Library’s ebooks and printablse which provides members with even more in-depth studies each month.

Read more about it!

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Wildflower Series – Coming Soon to the Outdoor Hour Challenge

Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study Set #1

Don’t miss the special promotion code at the bottom of this email!

Exciting News! I am creating NEW wildflower challenges based on flowers that I have become familiar with over the years. These are flowers that are NOT specifically covered in the Handbook of Nature Study written by Anna Botsford Comstock. They will be flowers that many of you know about and have seen in real life and now you can use the brand new OHC lessons to create a meaningful nature study for your children. In addition to the specific flower, each challenge will help you learn about a different plant family.

This is a huge undertaking and much more time consuming than I originally anticipated, so I am going to create a series of smaller ebooks and release them over the next few years. I am planning on releasing the first set of five wildflowers by the end of March 2017. Then starting in April 2017, this series of fresh wildflower Outdoor Hour Challenges will post every Friday. The ebook will contain custom designed notebooking pages for each wildflower, including more advanced pages for older students.

Please note the notebooking pages will only be available to ebook users and the ebook will be available for those that have an Ultimate or Journey level membership.

A Little Background

In choosing which flowers to start with in this series, I tried to narrow the list to early blooming plants that many of you will have access to in person. I’ve also included suggested substitutions for flowers that may also be common in your area by listing related flowers in the same plant family. Learning more about the plant families is something I’m going to be stressing in this new series of nature study ideas by referencing the Botany in a Day book and providing internet links for you to use as resources.

Want a sneak peek at the topics?

Wild Mustard and Wild Radish (mustard family)
Shooting Star (primrose family)
Lupine (pea family)
Purple Chinese House (figwort family)
Yarrow (composite family)

This new ebook will be loaded into the Ultimate Naturalist and Journey level memberships soon!

If you aren’t a member yet, you still have time to join and have immediate access as soon as it publishes.

As a special promo, you can use the discount code WILDFLOWER5 for $5 off the Ultimate Naturalist Membership.

Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Membership

Join us in April for this interesting series of nature study challenges!

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Barb — 6 Comments

New Printables for Members – Spring Walk and Rock Photo Hunt

New this month in the Member’s Library!

1. Spring Walk Notebook Page – This is an easy page to complete after a spring walk. Use the prompts to help you record all of the special things you observe.

2. Rock Photo Hunt – As part of your March 2017 newsletter activities, you can print this list of rock related photo ideas to help inspire some enthusiasm for a rock hunt.

Handbook of Nature Study Members Only Printables List March 2017

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Magnet and Compass Fun

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Magnets and Compass

From the Archives and found in the Winter ebook

You can use any of the activities listed in this challenge to prepare for a study of magnets and/or the compass. Magnets are a simple item to carry along on a nature hike and after you have discussed what a magnet is and what it does, your children will have fun on a little magnet hunt looking for things in nature that are magnetic. Or, if your children are a bit older, you can use a compass to learn about the four cardinal directions and use this knowledge to describe a nature walk. Are you hiking east, west, north, or south?

I have an app on my iPhone that is a compass so you can look for that in your app store. I nearly always have my phone with me when I hike so it is easy to pull it out and find which direction we are headed. This is a skill that will help your child now and in the future as they learn more about maps.

I hope you have a great week of nature study and are able to get outdoors!

You also can complete this challenge as an alternative or as an additional study: Winter Sky and Stars.

If you are interested in purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist Membership at this time, you will gain access to the custom notebooking pages that go along with each of the challenges in the ebook.

Spring Plans!

We will be working through a new series of wildflower challenges starting in April using a new ebook that will publish sometime in March. The new wildflower ebook will also be added to the Ultimate Naturalist Library so if you purchase a membership now, you will have the new ebook as soon as it is available. I will posting details about the new ebook soon.

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

April 2017 Wildflowers

Be Encouraged! Be Inspired! Get Outside!

Outdoor Hour Challenge Wildflower Nature Study

Set #1

New this month in the Member’s Library!

Spring Plans!

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!