Tag: Signs of Autumn

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Homeschool Fall Leaf Study And Activities (perfect for all ages)

To celebrate the first day of fall or autumnal equinox, we invite you on a fall leaf study in your homeschool! There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week!

To celebrate the first day of fall or autumnal equinox, we invite you on a fall leaf tour in your homeschool! There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week!

Celebrate The First Day of Fall

Here is a fun idea for the first day of fall and your fall leaf tour!

To celebrate the first day of fall or autumnal equinox, we invite you on a fall leaf tour in your homeschool! There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week!

Homeschool Fall Leaf Study And Activities

This study is designed to be completed with what you have around you. As the leaves turn, head outside, notice fall colors and collect some different colored leaves.

Compare Leaves from Two Different Trees

  • Leaf shape and leaf margins.
  • Leaf arrangement on the stem.
  • Leaf color, texture, and size. (You can measure if you wish.)
  • Come back in from your walk and follow up with a journal page.

Take a Fall Color Walk For Your Nature Study

To continue your fall leaf tour, take a fall color walk! We also start to take more hikes now that the afternoons are a bit cooler. We have our favorite trails and try to get outside every day to see what we can find of interest.

Read in the Handbook of Nature Study page 14, “The Field Excursion”. The reason I want you to read this section is so you have a better understanding of how to prepare you children for a short outdoor excursion with a purpose. Let them know ahead of time the reason you are going outdoors, have them gather their supplies, and then make the excursion outside to look for fall colors.

With our Printable Autumn Series Field Notebook included in membership, you can enjoy these studies and journal pages:

  • Seasonal tree study
  • Goldenrod
  • Oaks & acorns
  • Fall bird study
  • Squirrels
  • Mushrooms
  • Pumpkins
  • Field Notebook List

Fall Color Challenge Activity: Match Leaf Color to Your Art Supplies

A more detailed advanced study for upper level students is included in membership. Here is a peek at what you can enjoy as you continue your fall leaf tour.

Outdoor Hour Challenge founder, Barbara McCoy shared this from her family’s Color Walk one year: “I decided to make color chart in my journal with the official names from the Prismacolor pencils noted just for fun. My favorite leaves were the pistache leaves with their bright orange, red, and yellow…..dare I say vermillion, crimson, and chrome yellow to be more exact?”

Collect a variety of colorful leaves and bring them inside. Have fun matching the colors of the leaves to your colored pencils, chalk pastels, crayons or other art supplies. You might want to sketch your leaves in your nature journal.

Watercolor pencils on the left and regular colored pencils on the right.

Fall Homeschool Nature Study Ideas

Track Weather in Your Homeschool

Autumn seems to be a season that many of us look forward to and in my part of the world we welcome the cooler temperatures and the crisp morning air. We begin to see a few days of wet weather and one activity that seems to make its way into my nature journal is to keep track of that cooler wet weather.

To celebrate the first day of fall or autumnal equinox, we invite you on a fall leaf tour in your homeschool! There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week!

Simple Fall Homeschool Nature Study Ideas with Apples, Pumpkins and Pears

Our Homeschool Nature Study members enjoy these wonderful challenges!

  • Apple Challenge – Simple nature study featuring apples and the Handbook of Nature Study.
  • Pumpkins – Study your pumpkins and then eat them too!
  • Pear Challenge – Yummy nature study featuring pears and the Handbook of Nature Study with advanced study options too.
To celebrate the first day of fall or autumnal equinox, we invite you on a fall leaf tour in your homeschool! There are leaf nature studies to fill an entire week!

Autumn Series with the Handbook of Nature Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge Curriculum

There are so many fall favorites for you to explore over the next months!

Members also enjoy access to:

  • NEW, weekly Outdoor Hour Challenges to bring the Handbook of Nature Study to life in your homeschool!
  • the annual nature study plans
  • matching courses with materials and journaling pages
  • interactive calendar with daily nature study prompts
  • Nature Journaling course
  • and MUCH more!
Join Us In Homeschool Nature Study Membership Today!

More Fall Nature Study for Your Homeschool

Be inspired. Be encouraged. Get outdoors!

Tricia and her family fell in love with the Handbook of Nature Study and the accompanying Outdoor Hour Challenges early in their homeschooling. The simplicity and ease of the weekly outdoor hour challenges brought joy to their homeschool and opened their eyes to the world right out their own back door! She shares the art and heart of homeschooling at You ARE an ARTiST and Your Best Homeschool plus her favorite curricula at The Curriculum Choice.

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Seasonal Nature Study – Autumn Reminders

Seasonal Nature Study – Autumn Reminders

Seasonal+Topics+Reminder+-+Autumn+@handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.jpg

For families that are not following along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges, you may wish to still complete some autumn season observations. These activities take a few minutes, usually include a lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, and create an opportunity to learn a little bit about your habitat in a simple and relaxed way.

Here is a list of ideas to get you started with a year-long study in a variety of topics.

 

Maybe you just want a quick autumn nature study idea this week to use with your children. Why not try the Signs of Autumn nature study activity?

Signs of Autumn Notebook Page

You can download the notebooking page and read the suggested activity here in this entry from my archives: Signs of Autumn.

 

Most of my readers that responded to my question about their favorite season for nature study, responded that autumn was the best time for them to be outdoors. I would love to help you with your nature study plans with the long list of Outdoor Hour Challenges found in any of my autumn ebooks. You can read more about those topics by clicking over and reading this entry: Autumn Nature Study Ebooks

Autumn Nature Study Ebooks graphic

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – November World Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge November World Observations

Outdoor Hour Challenge
November World Nature Observations

November is a transitional season month in our part of the world…not exactly autumn and not quite winter yet. Use this week’s outdoor time to create an impression of your November World…create word pictures and enjoy the time outside with your children.

You may want to use some of the ideas in these challenges:
November World 2010 – Familiar Spot
Signs of Autumn – Challenge and Notebook Page

November World Notebook Page
(from the November 2011 Newsletter)

Have some fun completing this challenge and then record your November World observations using this simple notebook page.

November World – Know Your Own Backyard Notebook Page

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #2-Using Your Words. Create some lovely word pictures after your outdoor time for this challenge. Use the accompanying notebook page to record your words or use a blank journal page.    

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

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!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Signs of Autumn

Fall fun! It is time to really sink our teeth into some fall nature study and start looking for signs of fall. You can use any of the activities listed below to get your Outdoor Hour Challenge started this week.

Early Autumn Things To Do


Outdoor Hour Challenge Magnifying Lens Activity
(shared this yesterday)

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8-Using a Magnifying Lens. This is always a great challenge for children to complete…nature study tools make it so much more fun! Don’t forget to pull out the accompanying notebook page for your child to record their findings or they can use a blank page in their nature journal if they wish.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Getting Started Ebook @handbookofnaturestudyUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Butterfly Days – Early Autumn Time Garden Update

9 12 11 Front Yard

It feels like fall and the front yard is starting to change and take on the colors of autumn. The leaves are starting to drop from the Tulip tree, blanketing the ground with a riot of yellows, oranges, and browns.

9 12 11 Front Yard Remodel Progress

Time for a front yard update! I can hardly believe this is the same yard that we planted last fall and saw come alive last spring. You can see my July Update post for several images of the garden. We have been able to cut our watering down to twice a week and I anticipate even less next summer once the plants are all established. It is amazing the color and variety you get even within drought resistance plants. I love this yard so much more than the old ordinary lawn we replaced.

Note: We live in a dry place. Normal summers mean NO rain at all and this was a dry summer. We have had somewhat cooler than normal temperatures up until the last ten days. The heat turned on and I have been closely watching the yard for signs that I needed to water a bit but the only thing I pulled the hose out for was to fill up the birdbath.

Textures in the Front Yard

One of my favorite aspects of this garden is the many textures and the movement that you notice when you watch it from the window. The grasses sway in the slightest breezes.

Front Yard Remodel Pink Grasses

Here is a close-up of the pink fountain grass. It is so very delicate and feathery.

White Butterfly Bush with Butterfly

One of our goals in plant choices was to have the yard become a habitat for living things….like these butterflies.

Butterfly Bush White with Butterfly

We also wanted fragrances and with the lavender, sage, and butterfly bushes all in bloom we have a yard that smells inviting to humans and other creatures.

Butterfly Bush White with Skipper Butterflies

If you look closely at the left bloom, there are two skipper butterflies stopping by to enjoy the flower this morning. The plantings also encourage the birds to visit and the hummingbirds can be seen daily in and out of this garden.

Butterfly Bush with Delicate Colors

Everything about this yard inspires me to be creative….the delicate pinks of the butterfly bush, the lavender of the sage, the crimson of the crepe myrtle. I just want to snap as many photos as I can so on a cold winter afternoon I can pull them out and paint some in my journal to cheer me up, reminders of warmer days.

Sage and a Butterfly

One last butterfly on the sage….this plant didn’t look very healthy at the beginning of the season but it loved the heat and sunshine. It made an amazing comeback. (I like the shadow of the sage on the rock below the butterfly…just like lace.)

Another great update showing the progress in our frontyard remodel. It has been a year since we underwent the big change and I have no regrets.



Jami’s Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

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Autumn 2010 OHC #10 November World-Familiar Spot

Outdoor Hour Challenge November World Observations

Autumn Series #10
November World

“Yet, with all my familiarity with this brook, I did not know it in the winter. Its pathway up into the winter woods was as unexplored as the arctic regions. Somehow, it was not a brook in the winter time. It was merely a dreary waste, as cold and as forbidding as death. The winter was only a season of waiting, and spring was always late.”
The Nature Study Idea, L.H. Bailey, contemporary of Anna Botsford Comstock.

Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 1-2 of the Handbook of Nature Study as a refresher. Mark and highlights points that you want to keep in mind before you embark on this last of the Autumn Series Challenges. How have these challenges awakened a love of nature study in your heart? What changes have you seen in your children as they have participated in a regular course of nature study? What practical and useful knowledge has your family gleaned from the “comprehension of the individual life of the bird, insect, or plant that is nearest at hand”?

Outdoor Hour Time:
Sometimes it is fun and interesting to revisit a familiar place in a different season. Perhaps you have a certain park you go to in the summer but you have not explored there in the autumn or winter months. There may be a trail or creek you explored as part of a previous Outdoor Hour Challenge and it might be interesting to go there now that the seasons have changed. If you are just starting out with the challenges, choose a place to visit this week that you can go back to in a future season.

Colorful Leaf on the Rock Nov 2010

Spend 15 minutes outdoors in your chosen spot and enjoy the November world. Use all your senses and let your children find something to show you. Remember not to talk too much or lead them but rather try to see what your children see. Sometimes it is nice to just to let something interesting come your way without a particular focus.

“The author can think of nothing she would so gladly do as to spend days and months with the birds, bees, and flowers with no obligation to tell what she should see. There is more than mere information in hours thus spent.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 7

So this challenge is really for the parents. Let the nature study unfold and then enjoy the time with your children. Be refreshed.

Follow-Up Activity:
For this challenge, leave the nature journal or notebook page as an option. If you child is inclined to complete a follow-up entry, make an opportunity for one but if they are content with just having spent time outdoors, there is no obligation to complete an entry. There is a printable notebook page in this entry: November World. You might like to use my free Signs of Autumn notebook page.

As always see if they have any questions about their nature study time. Follow their lead by looking up the answers in the Handbook of Nature Study. Skim down the table of contents to see if there is a lesson covering what you child found interesting. If not, check your local library for a book to use as a resource. Last year we made a list of things to research during the winter. You can find a notebook page on which to list your things in this set of free notebook pages that I put together last month: Autumn Series 2009 Notebook Pages.

 

Note: This nature study challenge can be found in the Autumn 2010 ebook.

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!

Autumn 2010 Cover ImageUltimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Signs of Autumn Challenge and Notebook Page

Outdoor Hour Challenge Signs of Autumn with printable @handbookofnaturestudy

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

Signs of Autumn Notebook Page

You can use the Signs 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.

 

Yhttps://naturestudyhomeschool.com/2012/07/for-love-of-trees-year-long-tree-study.html/

Here are some ideas from year-long nature study topics we have done in the past: