Just cannot get enough of the fall leaves this year.
Since the official autumn nature study challenges are completed, this week you can pick and choose what topic you want to focus on in your family this week. If you weather is still agreeable, make sure to at least get outdoors for some fresh air and to explore your November World. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Use the grid and bookmark list from the November Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter to spend some time outside in your November world. (It is not too late to subscribe to my blog to receive the link in the footer of the next blog entry email. See the sidebar of my blog to subscribe.) Share your entry with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.
Go back through the More Nature Study series of challenges to see if you completed them all. Have this be your make up week and share your entry with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.
Our thistle study started way back at the beginning of September when we were on a family camping trip to Yosemite National Park. I had the foresight to start our study when we came across a patch of bull thistles when we were looking for milkweed. We were able to begin our study with the beautiful purple flowers along with the insects that were enjoying the blossoms.
Thistles along our walking trail
This was to set the stage of a whole season of thistle observations, ending this last week with the study of the rather brown sad looking plants that live alongside our walking trail.
Dried Thistles…thinking they are actually quite lovely
We took time to see how the seeds were now visible and the goldfinches were seen every now and then perched on top, snatching seeds for a snack. The birds didn’t seem to mind that the pretty purple flowers were mostly gone and munched their seeds oblivious to on-lookers.
Bull thistles and star thistles (yellow ones)
Seed gathering wasn’t easy because they were guarded by the prickly thorns. Funny how the birds did not mind the prickles but when we would try to grasp the flower and pull the seeds, we flinched back in pain. Those thorns are sharp! We managed to get a few fluffy seeds home and then we looked at them closely.
What an amazing structure! My dear husband managed to resurrect our microscope which I thought was beyond repair and we had a close look at the seeds.
Thistles in various stages
We decided to keep an eye on our thistle patch to see the cycle of life in its entirety. This would make a wonderful year-long study so I will add it to the list for our winter work. I will make sure to remind you all to revisit your thistle patch. I think a Year-Long Thistle Study notebook page is in order. I will share when I finish it.
Stopped to enjoy the view on today’s walk.
What a joy to take a nice long walk on a warm autumn afternoon…if it would only last. 🙂
For the pear challenge there is no lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study. You can read about pears online: Pear Varieties and Pear Fact Printable.
As an alternate or supplemental activity, you can read the section, “How to Begin Tree Study” in the Handbook of Nature Study on pages 622-624. Pay attention to Lesson 72—Autumn Work (#1-#5). Take note of some observations you can make during autumn.
Outdoor Hour Time:
If you have access to a pear tree in your yard, neighborhood, or near-by orchard, spend your Outdoor Hour time observing the tree: tree shape, arrangement of the branches, trunk, leaves, fruit/seeds.
If you don’t have access to a pear tree, use the information from the Autumn tree work section in the Handbook of Nature Study to observe any tree you have in your yard or neighborhood. You can use this tree as the subject of a year-long tree study if you wish. You may wish to read the information from the Autumn Tree Observation Challenge 2009.
Follow-Up Activity:
Have on hand a pear and an apple for each child to observe up-close. Use the suggestions on the notebook page (ebook users only) to compare these two fruits.
For Pear Study: Give the opportunity to make a nature journal entry recording any observations made about pears. Suggestions for discussion: shape of the pear, size, color, smell, markings on the skin, and the stem. Cut the pear in half and draw the inside of the pear in your nature journal. There is also a pear coloring page included in the ebook
For Autumn Tree Study: You can use the Autumn Tree Study notebook page linked above. You may use it for any tree you observed during your nature study.
Advanced follow-up: Complete the Dissection Lab notebook page with a pear (ebook users only).
Advanced follow-up: Make a dry brush watercolor of the pear and either its vertical or cross section.
This challenge is part of the More Nature Study – Autumn series. All of the challenges are gathered into one ebook with notebooking pages (regular and for advanced students) and additional resources. You can gain access to this ebook by purchasing an Ultimate Naturalist membership here on the Handbook of Nature Study. See the Join Uspage by clicking the link at the top of the website for more information about what comes with your Ultimate membership.
My Prairie Sunflowers are now blooming…took all summer but they are now showing their very cheery faces. I am sort of glad they waited so long to bloom because all the other sunflowers are done and in the compost.
How would you like a great link to a some coloring book pages? Celebrate Wildflowers
Apparently, flowers have a “biological clock”. I have been fascinated with this idea all summer and I think it makes for an interesting read: How To Make A Flower Clock. On that note, my Four O’Clocks are just about ready to bloom. I have been nursing them along all summer and I think they finally are getting some flower buds…need to watch for the bloom time.
We still have an abundance of insects in our late summer/early autumn garden. In fact, they are even more active from what I have observed. These bees were loving the trumpet vines…sharing at times with the hummingbirds. Make your own Bee Observations (free printable from HomeschoolShare.Com – Click the Bee Lapbook and then print Observation Cards and Pocket).
Our zinnias are such great performers and are relatively maintenance free except for cutting the flowers and enjoying them in a vase on your kitchen table. 🙂
We have enjoyed our container dahlias this year…seeds from Rene’s Garden. I found this paper craft for dahlias…so very pretty and fun. Then again, I may just pull out the watercolors later and made an entry in my journal.
We are working on cleaning up the garden … lots of trimming, raking, pruning, harvesting, picking, and composting going on here. Garden update next week.
I really, really meant to post a mini-Challenge today for us all to complete this week but the day is over and here I am sitting at my computer wondering what happened to my good intentions.
So I will share a quote and some photos from my day instead, perhaps it will inspire you to get outdoors this week and have an adventure you can share with me.
“Nature Study is natural study, that is, studying by natural methods. It is intellectual, physical and moral development by and through purposeful action and reaction upon environment, guided, so far as need by, by the teacher…..Information comes from Nature Study, and that or enjoyment, usually both, may be what the child seeks; but from the teacher’s point of view the vitally important part of the lesson is the series of activities put forth by the child.”
The Nature Study Course, by John Dearness. 1905.
I have been thinking about this idea for a couple of weeks now and it is poking at my heart. I tend to guide too much and insert my thinking too much when we are observing and researching things we come across in our outdoor life. So maybe not having a mini-challenge is the challenge this week. Spend time outdoors with my boys, reacting to our outdoor setting, allowing them room to put in some effort…..another challenge for me.
Here are some photos from my day to round out this first Friday in December post.
Brown leaves falling on my new rock garden…it makes for a wonderful scene from my front window.
Plenty of leaves clinging to the big tree in the side yard.
Autumn red…should be a Crayola Crayon color.
The birches with their bright yellow leaves stand out brilliantly against the dreary autumn sky.
View from under the deck…with some green leaves on the vine. My husband’s metal butterfly sculpture makes a great silhouette don’t you think? I love the little curly-q’s on the vine that you can see now that much of the foliage has fallen off. Looks like doodles and I may just have to doodle them into my nature journal.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and spend some time outdoors with your children. I just checked our weather forecast and it says cloudy/showers for the whole weekend. Sigh.
I headed out with the boys for a walk in our neighborhood to see what interested them from our November World. I tried hard to just listen and observe what they commented on or stopped to look at as we spent some time in the crisp November air….we are expecting snow any time now so the air is cold, about 38 degrees F. The wind howled last night and the rain came in but now snow yet.
Back to our walk….I made a mental list as we walked of all the things they noticed.
Golden mushrooms- not very large and partially hidden under some fallen leaves.
Dark clouds and little peep holes of blue shining through occasionally (Hey, look at the blue sky Mom!)
The variety of colors of leaves on the ground.
The differences between the two kinds of oaks we saw….one has big leaves and the other has small pointy leaves
The sound of a crickets in the late afternoon.
Pretty good list for just a casual walk don’t you think?
I challenged myself to just take a walk and not bring my camera. I know how much I can be distracted by my own interests when I have the camera in my hand. I wanted on this walk, for this challenge to just spend time with the boys and notice things. I noticed that the air is different as the storm makes its way into our area, a sort of stillness that feels heavy. There is also a smell of dampness from the morning dew that isn’t present in the summer. There are still colors to be seen if you look closely and try to find them in the autumn weeds.
The birds seem more active when the weather is changing and after our walk I spent some time filling feeders and listening to the boys talk about the red-tailed hawk they saw earlier in the week, still gushing about its greatness and size.
It feels good to be living a life so close to our natural environment and learning about the lives of other creatures that cross our path. It is comforting to learn about the cycles of birth, growth, death, and then rebirth that takes place right in our own backyard. Yet, with all the knowledge of such things gained in years previous, we know there is so much more to glean as we keep inviting the opportunities to come by making time to get outdoors every week….just about every day.
Our November World has pretty much turned into a Winter World since I started writing this post a few days ago. We have had really cold temperatures and wild weather. It now feels like time to start thinking about winter nature study.
Autumn Series #8 Seasonal Weather: Autumn Observations
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 780-783 in the Handbook of Nature Study (beginning pages of the section on Climate and Weather ending at The Atmosphere).
Make a weather chart like the one on page 807 (last page in the weather and climate section) or use the one provided in the autumn ebook. You may wish to purchase an outdoor thermometer and a rain gauge to enhance your study of the weather during the autumn and then into the winter.
Compare The Weather on Two Different Days
Compare a sunny day and a rainy day. Compare temperature, clouds, and wind direction and speed. Don’t forget to use all your senses: smell, touch, hearing, etc.
Compare weather on the same day in the morning and then again in the evening.
Compare how your landscape looks today to what you remember about the summer or winter.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Spend fifteen minutes outdoors observing your autumn weather. Note the direction of the wind, the direction the clouds are moving, and where the sun is rising and setting. The main aim for this challenge is to make weather observations and comparisons. Enjoy the season’s delights and have fun with your children.
In addition, as part of the comparison activity, use your senses to make observations about the weather on two different days (perhaps choosing a sunny day and a rainy day to compare). Record your results on a Venn Diagram. If you would like an example of a Venn Diagram, HERE is a link.
Start and maintain a Weather Record Chart as many days as you can.
Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, talk about all of your observations. Pull out any previous weather challenge journals to compare with today’s observations. Complete the notebook page in the ebook, the weather notebook page from previous challenges (HERE), or make an entry in your own blank journal.You could also complete a Signs of Autumn notebook page. Extra Resource: National Weather Service –Look up your state for weather warnings.
If you would like to own this ebook, it is part of the Ultimate Naturalist Library for members. You can find more details on how to get your own membership here: Join Us!
We decided that our autumn study of leaves was going to be incorporated into our annual fall trip to see the colors of the aspens up in the high country of the Sierra Nevada. The trip is about 100 miles round trip from our front door but it goes through magnificent forests, by snow fed lakes, and in view of some of the most breathtaking mountains in existence.
The first leg of the trip goes through the pine forests and we thought our day had come to an end before it really started when we encountered a control burn of the forest floor by the US Forest Service. They clean out the underbrush by setting fires and then controlling the burns. It makes a lot of smoke but we were able to drive down the highway and past the fires onto our destination.
The second part of the forest is actually in Alpine County and the forests are mixed in with aspen groves to make wonderful color in the fall. You know the minute you hit this part of the habitat because you start to see the yellows, oranges, and golds of the leaves.
We have a favorite side road that has the prettiest meadow. Yes, that is my son out there taking just as many photos as I am on this day….it is awesome to share a hobby with your grown up kids.
Here you can see the shape of the aspen leaf and the trunk of the tree in all its beauty. I never tire of looking at aspens.
It was fairly cloudy this afternoon but for a few minutes the clouds parted and we had a chance to capture the blue sky in contrast to the bright yellow leaves.
We drove the next leg of the road which leads through a place called Hope Valley. This is “the” place to see fall color in our area. There were many of us lined up on the side of the road to capture the oranges and yellows and golds of the trees on the mountain. Isn’t it dreamy?
Then as we headed back around to Christmas Valley, we saw this scene. There were some people on horses rounding up a herd of cattle. Stop the car! Yes, we had to take a few photos of this and it was the perfect way to end up this part of drive.
We observed some of the leaves “quaking”. We learned from our field guide that the reason they shake that way is because the stem is flattened near the leaf and so when the wind blows they shake or quake. It sounds sort of like the ocean to me when you hear them quaking and is a nice sound. Here is a link to try: USDA Quaking Aspens.
There was more to this trip but I will save that for another post. We actually went to see the salmon spawning and there were quite a few ducks to observe as well. Stay tuned for a salmon postwhen that challenge comes up in a few weeks.
I also am going to post a separate entry for our leaf comparisons since this post became rather long. Stay tuned for part two. We also have picked a new tree in our backyard to observe for a year-long tree study and I will share our fall observations with the leaf post.
Today we will be working on the apple challenge but the horse challenge is still in the works.
Updated 2017: This challenge was originally written for the first day of autumn 2010 but it can easily be done on any day and in any year. I hope you enjoy learning more about your early autumn world using the ideas and the printable in this challenge.
It is really hard to believe that it is already time for the fall color and fall weather. We have had an unusual summer as far as weather and growing seasons so it should be interesting to see how the autumn months unfold.
As a way to get us thinking about the change of the seasons with our children, here is a bonus challenge you can complete on the first day of Autumn, September 22nd, 2010.
Some signs to look for:
Dry grass and weeds
Seeds
Wildflowers-thistles, goldenrod
Birds eating at feeders or flying overhead to migrate
Chilly morning temperatures or dew on the grass
Fruit ripe on trees
Insects or webs
Nuts, acorns, or berries
Clouds and wind
You can use theSigns of Autumn notebook page to record your signs of autumn or you can use your own nature journal. I put together a Squidoo Lens from last year’s autumn nature/art study where you might glean some more information and inspiration this season.
Here are some ideas from year-long nature study topics we have done in the past:
The region of California that I live in gets very dry and hot in the summer. We rarely have rain between early June and late October…it is our “drought” season. Pretty much by now all the wildflowers and grasses are brown and very dry.
This is a typical landscape along our walking trail.
But with willing eyes, you can find beauty even within this dry landscape.
These are such pretty white dried-up flowers and they are everywhere right now.
Oh, see those clouds in the top photo? Not a drop of rain that day….just lots of ominous looking clouds. I was hoping we would get a shower to water the garden but I had to go out and hand water as usual.
Looking forward to another week that promises to be a little cooler.
