We had a chance to enjoy another perfect spring afternoon hiking on our favorite trail. We were amazed that in the last week so many wildflowers have burst out in bloom.
As part of the Spring Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges, we completed our Spring Weather Challenge. It was warm at 69 degrees (per our car thermometer). There were some breezes moving but not much.
Sunrise 6:34 AM
Sunset 7:35 PM
13 hours and 1 minute of daylight
Official high temperature: 68.8 degrees F
Official low temperature: 40.8 degrees F
Breezes coming from the South.
Our weather forecast is for rain the next two days and then back up into the 50’s the rest of the week.
The chamise is blooming all up and down the foothills right now and with its sweet fragrance it fills the spring sunshine. The clouds were whispy and moving very fast.
More cirrus clouds were to be found around the bend. My son has been studying the weather for his aviation course so he is teaching me lots of things about clouds and weather predicting.
This is a new flower to us and we came home to look it up in our field guide. We think it is Blue eyed grass.
Our state flower, the California poppy, is blooming all around town. This is on the hillside next to our walking trail.
Here is our winter weather entry if you want to compare our differences: Winter Weather.
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Spring Series #2 Spring Weather Observation
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 851-854 in the Handbook of Nature Study. This section is not exactly about weather, but it ties in nicely with some springtime observations of the sun and its path. You might like to construct the Shadow Stick (page 852 #13) and make observations over the next few weeks and months with your children. At the very least, look up your sunrise and sunset times to calculate how much daylight you have now that it is spring in your area.
If you have the older edition of the Handbook of Nature Study, you need to look in the section “The Relations of the Sun to the Earth” for this week’s reading.
Your Outdoor Hour time this week can be spent making observations about the weather. Enjoy whatever spring weather you are currently experiencing and spend 15 minutes outside looking at the sky, clouds, wind in the trees, dew on the grass, mud puddles after a rain, or whatever else you can experience in your part of the world.
Suggested Observations
Have your children describe any clouds they see in the sky.
Notice how hard the wind is blowing by how things are moving: leaves rustling, trees bending, etc.
Notice the wind’s direction. Where is it coming from?
Describe the temperature of the air and/or look it up on a thermometer.
Notice any precipitation that you may have this week: sprinkles, rain, mist, sleet, snow, fog, hail.
If you made a Shadow Stick, make sure you spend one day marking the board every half hour from 9 AM to 3 PM. This experiment will need to be repeated again in June, September, and December if possible. (see page 852 #13)
Follow-Up Activity:
Be sure to complete your Seasonal Weather notebook page from the Misc Tab or from the Spring Series ebook. If you completed previous weather notebook pages, pull those out and compare the scenes you recorded in Autumn and/or Winter. Note that your days should be getting longer and any other differences you can find between the observations made in the past and now.
Extra Information on Clouds
If you observed any clouds, you might like to download this lesson plan and cloud identifier activity for your children: CloudKey.pdf. This is a handy tool to use in our cloud identification.
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Spring Series #1
Spring Tree Observation
“Like a friend is a tree, in that it needs to be known season after season and year after year in order to be truly appreciated. A person who has not had an intimate, friendly acquaintance with some special tree has missed something from life.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, A Study of a Tree
Inside Preparation Work:
Read pages 625-626 in the Handbook of Nature Study: Spring Work. This part of Lesson 172 should give you lots of things to think about as you prepare for your spring tree study observations. If the tree you chose to study has a section in the Handbook of Nature Study (check the table of contents), you might want to read the lesson for your particular tree in preparation for your Outdoor Hour time as well.
The Handbook of Nature Study suggests measuring the height of your tree using a stick 3½ feet long and a measuring tape. See page 626 Lesson 172 #4 for details.
Outdoor Hour Time:
Now that spring has come, it is time to check on your tree from your Year-Long Tree Study. If you are just starting out with a tree study, pick a tree from your yard that you can watch through all four seasons. Spend 10-15 minutes of your outdoor time using the ideas from the Handbook of Nature Study to do some focused observations of your tree.
Simple Suggestions for Spring Tree Study:
Pick a tree in your yard or on your street and look for its new leaves and blossoms if appropriate.
Is it just beginning to show leaves? Can you tell if your tree has all of its leaves yet?
Can you see any insects or birds in your tree?
Collect a few leaves to use for leaf rubbings in your nature journal. You could also make a leaf bouquet.
Compare two leaves from the same tree. Are they exactly alike?
Use your nature journal to record a sketch of the leaf and any blossoms.
How has the tree changed since autumn? Winter?
Follow-Up Activity:
After your outdoor time, complete a nature journal entry using the notebook page I provided for the Spring Series, a general notebook page from my freebies page, the original notebook page, or your own blank journal. Photos of your tree are a good record in your nature journal as well.
If you would like to make some leaf prints with your spring leaves, please see my blog entry with instructions: Making Leaf Prints
Drawing your tree can be easy if you follow the instructions found in this file: Guide to Sketching Trees
If you would like all the Spring Series Challenges in one book, I have an ebook gathered for you to purchase for your convenience. The ebook also contains art and music appreciation plans for the winter months as well. Please see this entry for more details: Spring Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation
Make sure to mention to your children that Saturday, March 20th is the first day of spring. Take your Outdoor Hour time this week to look for signs of spring in your backyard or neighborhood.
For many of us, this past week has brought warmer temperatures and with the time change, more light in the evenings. This is an exciting time of year for all of us as we anticipate the many changes the new season will bring.
Some signs to look for:
Green grass
Wildflowers-dandelions
Spring bulbs like tulips, crocus, and jonquils
Birds, perhaps nesting already
Warmer temperatures
Blooming trees
Insects
You can use the notebook page below to record your signs of spring or you can use your own nature journal.
“The daffodil, jonquil, and narcissus are very closely related, and quite similar. They all come from bulbs which should be planted in September; but after the first planting, they will flower on year after year, bringing much brightness to the gardens in the early spring.” Handbook of Nature Study, page 551
I don’t know if it is “early spring” but my narcissus/paper whites are all pushing up out of the ground among my violets. I know it won’t be long now until I have some fragrant beauties to enjoy.
Our birdfeeders are busy every day as many, many different waves of birds come through to feast. These finches are all sharing so nicely. I noticed that there have been quite a few birds in the birdbath as well.
We are getting ready to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count from February 13-16, 2009.
I encourage you all to look into this family activity as well. Here is the link to find out all about it: Great Backyard Bird Count
