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Posted on March 31, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Nature Study Goals 2016 – Update

Nature Study Goals 2016- Updated for the first quarter!

Complete 2 out of 4 Outdoor Hour Challenges each month posted on Fridays. I think this is ambitious goal. I will be including our experiences in my monthly nature study recap posts. Our January entries: Starling Bird Study and our Pines and Cones study was included in my Outdoor Mom’s Journal for January. Our February entry: Weeds and Seeds. March entry: Fungi Photos
Research and learn about four birds. Learn the call, field marks, and create a nature journal. I completed a nature notebook page for the white-breasted nuthatch. One down, three to go!
Focus on learning my local wildflowers. Create some sort of record of each flower. I have not decided what form this record will look like but once I get started I am hoping it will come together. I started a list in the front of my nature journal with date, location, and flower name.
Take Yosemite photos from the Yosemite photography book- Since this was a fail last year, I am going to aim to take three photos during each trip in 2016. I took photos during our January trip!
Visit a new national park. (You can see a list of my national parks entries below.) We are thinking Bryce Canyon, Olympic, or Rocky Mountain depending on which way we head out from California. We visited Cabrillo National Monument in February! Look for an entry next month.
Visit two new state parks. We camped at San Clemente Beach State Park in February.
Identify three rocks from my original challenge. This has been more difficult to accomplish than originally anticipated but with a more concentrated effort I think we can really make this happen. Nothing accomplished for this goal yet.
Read 10 nature related books! I have read all three books for January, February, and March.

White Breasted Nuthatch Notebook Page @handbookofnaturestudy — You can find this page at this link: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/bbimages/PDFs/ColoringBook.pdf

Looks like I accomplished quite a bit this quarter and I am determined to keep it up during the second quarter. It looks like I need to do a better job of working to completion my Outdoor Hour Challenges. Many times I do the outside work but then either don’t follow up with a nature journal or a blog entry. Time just slips away and I need to be better about following through so you can see how I enjoyed each challenge.

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow – Book Review

“Every place, creature, or event in the natural world provides an opportunity for wondering and writing.”

If you have a child that is finding it difficult to add some creative writing in their nature journals, this is just the resource you NEED. I am going to keep it alongside my Handbook of Nature Study volume to remind me to pull it down whenever I have a hard time putting words alongside my nature sketches.

This month I have been working my way through this nature related book, A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow. I have had it on my shelf or a long time but it hasn’t been given justice as far as implementing the ideas on the pages. [Please note there are Amazon.com affiliate links in this post to books I purchased with my own money and am happy to share my honest review for here on my blog!]

I am so happy that I took the time to look more closely at this book. It is a great inspiration for a nature journal which I desperately need…I’ve been going through a dry spell as far putting words on paper. It reminds me just how much I love to play with words and nature inspires much word play.

Intrigued? Here are some further points about this book: A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow.

This book focuses on the writing of poetry in a way that you can help even the youngest writer to get started. You will be gathering words and building on those words in an organized way. The sections are step-by-step instructions on how to write a particular kind of poetry and there are plenty of examples from children of all ages to sample and inspire you.
There are whole sections dedicated to keeping a nature journal.
My favorite parts of each “lesson” are the Questions and Thoughts to Explore and the Suggestions for Writing. These give concrete suggestions for completing the poem writing ideas.
You can use this on a field trip or in your own backyard!

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Barb — 94 Comments

Smash This Nature Journal #1 – Review and Giveaway

The giveaway is over but I invite you to read all about this encouraging nature journal product and then click over to Nadene’s website to order your own copy.

I know many of us are always trying to find ways to add some spark to our child’s nature journaling experience. We sort of get stuck in a rut with just a quick sketch and a caption…which is a perfectly fine way to keep a nature journal. But, sometimes it is fun to mix it up a bit and try something completely different.

Perhaps your child hates a blank page or they don’t think they sketch well.

Are you looking for an inexpensive downloadable nature journal product that your whole family will enjoy?

Have I got an option for you!

My friend Nadene Esterhuizen from Practical Pages has created her first in a series of Smash This Nature Journal downloads. What a great idea!

It was super easy to download the file, read the printing instructions, print the pages, and then get started with the prompts in the journal. The prompts do not need to be done in any order so you can pick a page that fits your nature experience of the day.
I used my comb binder to bind up my journal but Nadene says in her instructions that you can “staple, bind, tie, or secure” the pages instead. You might want to try this method: Rubberband and Paperclip.
Most of the pages can be completed in just a few minutes so plan on completely more than one during your outdoor time.
Children can use this book independently if they can read.
Not all of the pages require drawing…some are of a more creative suggestion! I love the variety of ideas in this journal!
This product is inexpensive and can be printed as many times as you want for your family
There are few supplies you will need with this journal but all are common household items you most likely already have on hand.
See sample ideas and pages in her entry: Smash This Nature Journal #1.

I love this nature journal idea so much that I asked Nadene if I could review and then giveaway some copies of this for my readers. She generously has supplied three copies of the Smash This Nature Journal #1 for me to share with three lucky families! Enter below using the Rafflecopter gadget…..easy to enter with just a comment answering a nature journal question.

Giveaway is over – Congratulations to the winners!

Don’t miss this giveaway which will end on Thursday night at midnight. I will randomly choose three entries to win their very own copy of this download and announce the winners on Facebook on Friday. I will also contact you via Rafflecopter (email) in order to deliver your electronic prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Hunt for Early Spring Bulbs

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Early Spring Bulb Hunt
Archive Challenge

This week take your outdoor hour time to get outside and look for signs of early spring bulbs. You can use the ideas in the Early Spring Bulb challenge from the archives.

Early Spring Bulb Outdoor Hour Challenge

In that challenge, you will find directions for reading about the crocus, the daffodil, and the tulip in the Handbook of Nature Study. Also, there are suggestions for where to look for bulbs and journaling ideas for your nature journal. You may also wish to view my own entry for ideas on how to complete this challenge: Early Spring Bulb Study-Watercolor Time.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Winter Nature Study Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Spring Reminders – A Few Fun Ideas for Nature Study

Spring Nature Study Ideas and Reminders

Here are a few of my favorite spring nature study challenges from the archives.

Spring Weather Observations-free printable notebook page

Spring Splendor Walk – spring nature walk scavenger hunt

Spring Earthworm Study – There is an earthworm nature journal topper in the May 2014 Newsletter (in the archives).

Spring Bird Observations – free printable bird list

Spring Season Reminders -This post has many of the year-long spring season reminders.

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Spring 2016

We are going to anticipate the start of the spring season with a challenge from the archives.

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Signs of Spring

Note: The first day of spring for is March 20, 2016….that is this coming Sunday!

Take some time to go outdoors and look for any signs of spring you can find. If you click over to the challenge linked above, you will find a free printable notebook page to use with your nature study this week.

If you own the Discover Nature Close to Home book, you can use the information found on the bottom of page 78 to learn more about From Flower to Seed. This section talks about wildflowers and their bloom times. If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, check your library in the printables section for a Wildflower Bloom Time notebook page. You can use this same idea for a spring wildflower bloom list if you wish. You can access the notebook page by clicking the “members area” button at the top of the Handbook of Nature Study website.

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

A Place for Birds and Butterflies – Book Review

A Place for Butterflies and A Place for Birds are two of the books in the series written by Melissa Stewart (see all books in this series on her website). I first saw these at a gift shop at a national park and was tempted to purchase them because of their gorgeous illustrations (done by Higgins Bond). These award winning books were my February selections for my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Please note that the above amazon.com links are affiliate links. I purchased these books with my own money and have written an honest review.

Along with the beautiful illustrations, I really enjoyed the concept of how to create in our local communities a space and place to nurture the native butterflies and birds that make their homes there. Specific birds and butterflies are discussed along with a location map and interesting facts.

The main message of this series is how we can combat the negative effects some practices and progress can take on the habitat where the birds and butterflies need to live. For instance in A Place for Birds, there are suggestions that people put up decals on their windows so birds don’t fly into them and even provide nesting boxes for birds.

I would love to share both of these books with the young people in my life. From start to finish, I found these books to be a delight and they are now resting on my picture book shelf for any young visitors to my home to enjoy. I can imagine sitting on the sofa with a child alongside me as we page through and enjoy the words and illustrations together.

Additional Information:You can find teacher’s guides for both books on this page of her website: Curriculum Guide for A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies.

Note: There is brief reference to the idea of evolution in each book.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge – Tips and Images

During our autumn visit to New Jersey, we had the chance to spend the afternoon at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Did you know there are over 560 national wildlife refuges? I was surprised to find one in this area of the world and so close to New York City. (26 miles to Manhattan but it’s going to take you a little over an hour to get there depending on traffic).

The literature says there are 244 species of birds that live or pass through this refuge during a typical year. We saw a handful of birds during our visit but we weren’t there very long and we were dodging raindrops when we were hiking on the trails.

We began our time at the refuge by going to the visitor center where we were greeted by enthusiastic and knowledgeable docents volunteers. They showed us the wonderful displays and answered our questions before sending us out to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the day.

Once again we were on the Passaic River just like at Paterson Great Falls. It wasn’t very swampy when we visited but I could imagine the place once the rains and winter weather rolled in. The signs at the park said this is a place with mosquitoes and ticks so be prepared during the wetter seasons to wear pants and bring repellent.

I loved seeing my very first shagbark hickory trees along the trail. We were practically the only visitors on this day and it was amazing to stand out in the forest to watch and listen for any signs of birds and animals.

The forest canopy was a blaze with color during our visit. We spotted bat boxes and birdhouses too along the trail.

Just another lovely image from our hike. Can you believe this is about an hour from New York City?

Around the nature center there was a nice area to picnic with tables and a view of some interesting bird houses. I would plan a visit with my children during the spring or summer and then hit the nature center, have a picnic, and then go exploring on the trail or by taking the auto tour.

This captured my attention too! They had a habitat for birds and butterflies around the nature center. In the summer I can only imagine how busy this area of the park is to our insect friends.

This is a wonderful place to visit for a walk on a trail or a boardwalk, to learn more about the interesting habitat, and to enjoy the opportunity to view such a variety of birds and animals in New Jersey.

Additional tips:

There is a visitor/nature center and gift shop but no place to eat so pack your lunch!
There are restrooms at the visitor center.
No entrance fee!
You can download a map here: Great Swamp Map.
For your pre-trip planning: brochures for birds, animals, mammals, reptiles, wildflowers, and a driving tour.

You can read more of my national park entries by following these links:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Redwoods National Park (California)
Channel Islands National Park(California)
Death Valley National Park(California)
Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
Joshua Tree National Park (California)
Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
Point Reyes National Seashore (California)
Muir Woods National Monument (California)
Zion National Park (Utah)
Weir Farm National Historic Site (Connecticut)
Pinnacles National Park (California)
Paterson Great Falls National Historic Site (New Jersey)
Morristown National Historical Park (New Jersey)
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (New Jersey)

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Small Square Bits

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Small Square – Bits

How about we do a small square study this week? Pay close attention to your square and see if you can observe some lichen or moss. If you do, use the ideas in the March 2016 newsletter to complete a nature journal entry as well as your small square study.

Look for small bits of things in your square…challenge your child to look closely and to try to identify as many objects as possible.

Here is the original Outdoor Hour Challenge for a small square nature study: Outdoor Hour Challenge #9 (from the Getting Started ebook).

This challenge is found in the Getting Started ebook which is included in every level of membership. The ebook provides the challenge as shown above as well as custom notebook pages for your follow up nature journal if desired.

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Barb — 6 Comments

Outdoor Mom’s Journal + New Printables for Members

I apologize in advance for the number of times I use the word “amazing” in this blog entry.

February was an excellent month for this Outdoor Mom! I had the pleasure of my daughter’s company for ten whole days and we crammed in as much California outdoor time as we could to refresh her from the New York winter. We started off locally with a hike to the river with our crazy dog who loved taking a swim even if the water was cold!

Then it was off to southern parts of California for a camping trip at San Clemente beach (between Los Angeles and San Diego). The campground is up on the bluff and you can take an easy trail down the hillside, over the railroad tracks and out onto the beach. The ice plant was in full blossom and so very pretty. The air was warm in the high 60’s and low 70’s the whole time we were there. What a joy!

There is a trail from the campground down to the San Clemente Beach Trail. This is about 2 miles in length and passes right by the pier. We walked out onto the pier and the image above shows the turquoise blue water and the pretty little beach town. We spent one morning just enjoying the beach trail, flowers and all!

The trail parallels the train tracks and it was fun to see the Amtrak Surfliner come by and the Metrolink too. The view looks right out onto the Pacific Ocean which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Another day we drove into San Diego and went straight to Balboa Park. I have been to the San Diego Zoo in the past but our family has never done any exploring in the adjoining park. Of course, we decided to visit the Botanical Building first. Well, we did actually go to the visitor center first to get a good map because this park is massive and we had no idea how to navigate the roads, paths, and shuttle system. We quickly figured it out and had fun walking and learning about this historical park.

If you are ever in San Diego, I highly recommend this park with its free shuttle and free exhibits. Check this link out: Balboa Park – San Diego.

Here are a couple of the gorgeous flowers found in the Botanical Building. It was awesome!

We also visited Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego and I will be sharing a complete entry on this park in a future entry. For now, here are a few of the highlights from our tidepooling adventure. Can you believe the size of the shell? It was the biggest intact shell I have ever found. Of course, we took photos and left it there for someone else to “discover” as well.

Look at those smiling faces! We both thought the tidepools were the highlight of our whole week…that and the sunshine.

Switching gears, we also made a drive out to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park during our trip down south. My husband and I had been there before but my daughter was experiencing the desert landscape for the first time. It was hot! We had most of the trails we took to ourselves and it was fun to see the two of them rock scrambling!

I was content to be the camera person.

Here is a sampling of the wildflowers we saw on our hikes. I will of course be sharing an entry about Joshua Tree in the near future for you to get all of the details of this amazing place!

Back at home, spring came to visit. I want to share this image of my redbud in bloom…truly a miracle of color in my yard this year. Drought or no drought, this plant has survived and is flourishing.

One last image from a guest….my husband. He takes a hike just about every day and he is always sending me images of things he finds as he walks. He wanted me to share this mushroom with what he says is a “happy California cow” on the top. Do you see it?

I hope you enjoyed seeing my outdoor life over the past few weeks. I know here in California we are spoiled by incredible February weather this year. As I write this entry, I am thinking about the past four days and the over 9 inches of rain we received…totally flooded my basement room! It isn’t always so perfect here but I hope it inspires you to look for spring in your neighborhood. Don’t miss the new printables for members below!

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world.

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…

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.

Need help getting started with your nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study? Check out the fresh “Getting Started” page here on the website!

Spring Nature Study Ideas and Reminders

Outdoor Mom’s Journal

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!