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Year-Long Nature Study Reminders – Spring


 
Seasonal Topics – Spring Reminders

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

You may wish to start a new year-long study this spring using some of the ideas above. If you have a continuing year-long nature study project, don’t forget to put it on your calendar or you may forget to make your spring observations.

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Year-Long Nature Study Reminders – Winter


Seasonal Topics Reminders – Winter

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

Make sure to add your year-long study to your January or February nature study plans so you don’t forget!!!

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Seasonal Nature Study Reminders & Links


Autumn is here and we can start planning some of our autumn year-long nature study observations. There are so many that you can choose from but the trick is to pick one and remember to complete a study in each season.

Have you picked your topics yet?

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

We already had a seasonal cattail and a seasonal tree study. There will be a year-long weather study later this month.

Make sure to add your year-long study to your October nature study plans so you don’t forget!!!

OHC Blog Carnival

You can submit any of your year-long nature study project entries from this month to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

Nature Study Bundle Button

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Beautiful Cattails – Continuing a Cattail Nature Study

Following a year-long study of cattails is another way to learn more about your local habitat. As you find and then observe your patch of cattails you learn just what a cattail needs to thrive. We have had two year-long studies of cattails in the past, each in a different part of town. One patch was within walking distance of our home and alongside a busy road in the ditch. The second patch was growing just to the edge of our local walking trail and we watched it every week noting the changes.

Cattail Close Up @handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com

This year I spied a new patch that is thriving next to a road I travel just about everyday in the car. There is a pullout nearby so I stopped and took a few photos and I recorded a quick sketch in my nature journal.

The great thing about a cattail study is that there are so many other topics that can come up as you slow down and observe your cattail patch.

  • Summer – Insects, frogs, algae, duckweed, birds (red-wing blackbirds), pollen
  • Autumn- Seeds
  • Winter- pond water, mud, cattail roots and stalks
  • Spring- cattail leaves, more spring ideas here: Cattail Study

This is the perfect study to go along with a year-long pond study if you want to combine the two together.
Seasonal Pond Study with printable notebook page


Whatever you do, keep your eyes out for your own cattails to get to know over the next year.
Seasonal Cattail Nature Study – free printable notebook page included

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seasonal Cattail Nature Study and Printable


For this challenge, start a seasonal year-long study of cattails. This challenge from the archives will help your child learn the life cycle of the cattail in your neighborhood. Find a patch of cattails that you can observe in each season. Starting your study in the summer will be easy because they will be very recognizable.

See the suggested nature study ideas in this 2010 Challenge: Year-Long Cattail Study.

“It is an interesting process to take apart a cattail plant; the lower, shorter leaves surround the base of the plant, giving it size and strength. All the leaves have the same general shape, but vary in length. Each leaf consists of two parts; the free portion, which is long and narrow and flat toward its tapering tip but is bent into a trough as it nears the plant, and the lower portion, which clasps the plant entirely or partially, depending upon whether it is an outer or inner leaf.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 500

Printable Notebook Page – Seasonal Cattail Nature Study


Use this notebook page to start your Year-Long Cattail Study with the summer season. Complete a new notebooking page in autumn, winter, and spring to see the complete life cycle of the cattail. You can also take photos of the cattails with your child and insert them into their nature journal.

Cattail Seasonal Nature Study Notebook Page

If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #10. Why not enjoy a picnic during your cattail outdoor hour? We have cattails at a local park and it would be fun to eat outside after making some cattail observations. Make it simple and fun….make some memories!

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Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seasonal Pond Nature Study

Outdoor Hour Challenge Seasonal Pond Study @handbookofnaturestudy

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
This week you will need to find a local pond to explore. I might suggest taking a look at the Turtles and Pondweed Challenge for a few ideas. This challenge also includes a free printable Pond Study which will expand your study beyond turtles and pondweed.

Printable Activity: Seasonal Pond Study Notebook Page

   
Use this notebook page to record your spring pond study observations and then revisist your pond in each season to compare plants, insects, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
Printable Seasonal Pond Study Notebook Page

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #10. This week take an opportunity to get outside and enjoy a picnic lunch or snack. Use the ideas in this challenge to create a fun nature study experience for your family. Complete the accompanying notebook page for your nature journal while you are outdoors!

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Ultimate Ebook Library @handbookofnaturestudy

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Frog Pond Study Plus a Rattlesnake Friend

Our first attempt at a tadpole/frog study was unsuccessful. We visited my dad’s pond and could  not scoop up any tadpoles but we did get some great insect larvae to observe in the pond water sample. We brought them home in a bucket and used our pond field guide to try to identify them.


Edit to add: I was told this is not a Mayfly but a Damselfly so I will be off to do some more research….now you will understand why I say I should take Eva’s free entomology course down below. 🙂

Meet the Mayfly….which we learned are called naiads during their aquatic stage. (This is an image of a dead one I found lodged in my net.) They live in ponds, lakes, or streams for up to several years. They molt 20-30 times during that period of time. The most interesting thing about Mayflies is their short lifespan for adults- only a few hours to a few days, depending on the species. We actually observed an adult Mayfly that landed on my dad’s shirt while we were observing the pond. What a great insect to learn about!

Even if we didn’t find any frogs on this outing, we sure enjoyed our time just being outdoors at the pond.

As a sidenote: I think we need to take Eva’s Introduction to Entomology course that she is offering on her blog Academia Celestia. It is a free six week online course in a subject she is highly knowledgeable in and is passionate about. If your family is looking for a way to learn more about insects…click over and see it this would work for you.

We took a second trip to the local walking trail where I had observed some frog’s eggs earlier this month. Success! There were hundreds of tadpoles but I didn’t get a single decent image…the one below is the best I was able to get with all the reflections but if you look closely you will see some dark tadpoles swimming in the water.


We will continue to observe these critters in the weeks to come…easy to do since they are on the side of our usual route on the walking trail.

I highly recommend this Golden Guide to Pond Life. We have always been able to identify any creatures or plants we found at Grandpa’s pond using this simple field guide. Great beginning guide for young ones!

There are affiliate links in this entry. 

 Rattlesnake Video on YouTube….
My husband and I took a hike to the river on a glorious day last weekend. The grass was green, the wildflowers were amazing, and the sun was warm….perfect day for a spring walk through the Northern California foothills.

I was sort of worried about the possibility of encountering snakes but we were keeping a close eye out. I had stopped a few feet off the trail to look at some metallic insects on a wildflower stem. I was trying to get a really close look and then I stepped backwards to the trail. My husband immediately started yelling  that he saw a snake….startling me and making me scream. The snake was right by my feet….a really big rattlesnake!

He pulled me out of the way and the snake moved across the trail over to the other side. I (of course) pulled out my camera and started taking a video. That is what you see in the video above….me still all shaky and out of breath capturing this huge old rattler as it slithers into the tall grasses but not without showing us his extremely long rattle.


We ended up seeing three snakes that day, one rattlesnake and two gopher snakes. Just in time for reptile month!

So have you seen any reptiles in your area yet?

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Miscellaneous Nature Study Using The Outdoor Hour Challenges


NOTE: If the challenge is included an ebook, it is noted directly after the challenge. If you have an Ultimate Membership, you will be able to pull up the ebook and print any notebook pages, coloring pages, or other printables for your nature study.
Handbook of Nature Study Ultimate Naturalist Library

 

Outdoor Hour Challenge Mushrooms Lichen Moss Fern Index @handbookofnaturestudy

The links above are Amazon affiliate links to resources I own and love.

Mushroom, Lichen, Moss, Fern Challenges
Bracket Fungi -Autumn Nature Study Continues
Ferns – More Nature Study Spring
Field Horsetail – Autumn 2015
Hedgehog Fungi – Autumn 2015
Moss and Lichen
Moss Observation Notebook Page
Molds, Puffballs, Morels
Mushrooms -Autumn ebook
Extraordinary in the Ordinary – Mushrooms
Mushroom Cap Shapes Notebook Page
Scarlet Cup -Winter Nature Study Continues
Stinkhorn Nature Study -Autumn Nature Study Continues
Parts of  a Mushroom Notebook Page

Newsletters With a Mushroom, Lichen, Moss, or Fern Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • March 2013 – Mushroom, Lichen, and Moss study grid printable. Mushroom coloring page. Types of lichen.
  • March 2016 – Lichen and moss nature study ideas. Lichen Study notebook page. Lichen vocabulary.
  • November 2016 – Mushroom Cap notebook page. Nature study ideas for fungi.

 

Outdoor Hour Challenge Weather Index @handbookofnaturestudy

Weather Challenges
Autumn Weather – Autumn ebook
Autumn Weather Challenge #1
Autumn – Signs of Autumn
Cloud Observations 
Fall Seasonal Weather Challenge -with free printable notebook page
Fall Color Walk – More Nature Study Autumn
Seasonal Weather with Four Seasons Notebook Pages
Snow– Winter Wednesday
Spring Splendor Walk – More Nature Study Spring
Spring Weather – Spring ebook
Summer Weather – More Nature Study Summer
Weather Record Chart – printable notebook page
Weather Study with Weather Sounds Printable Notebook Page
Weather Walk – Four Seasons free printable notebook page
Winter Weather  -Winter ebook
Winter Wonder Weather– More Nature Study Winter

Seasonal Challenges
December World-free printable notebook page
November World– Autumn ebook
The Winter World

Newsletters With a Weather Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • December 2011 – Know Your Own Backyard in December notebook page. December World study grid.
  • January 2012 – January World study grid.
  • February 2012 – Know Your Own Backyard in February notebook page.
  • March 2012 – Know Your Own Backyard in Early Spring notebook page. Early Spring study grid.
  • April 2013 – April study grid.
  • May 2013 – May study grid.
  • July 2012 – Beat the Heat study grid. Know Your Own Backyard When Its Hot notebook page.
  • December 2012 – Weather study ideas. Weather nature table ideas. My Weather notebook page.
  • September 2013 – Fall Fun grid study. Fall Time Field Trip notebook page.
  • November 2013 – Weather Observation study grid.
  • January 2014 – Winter Fun study grid.
  • February 2014 – February Fun study grid.
  • March 2014 – Lion or Lamb notebook page.
  • June 2014 – Summer Fun grid study printable.
  • February 2015 – Winter nature study ideas.
  • March 2015 – Calendar of Firsts for nature observations. Printable nature calendar.
  • December 2015 – Weather chart printable. My Seasonal Weather notebook page. Weather Study big grid printable.
  • October 2016 – Weather nature study and nature journal ideas.
  • December 2016 – Silent Autumn Nature Walk notebook page.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Reptiles Amphibians invertebrates fish index @handbookofnaturestudy

The links above are Amazon affiliate links to resources I own and love.
Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates, Fish
Banana SlugCreepy Things ebook
Black Widow Creepy Things ebook
Catfish –  Autumn 2015
Common Shiner – Summer Nature Study Continues
Crayfish  –Spring Nature Study Continues
Earthworms– Spring ebook
Fish Nature Study and  Definition Copywork Page
Frogs – Summer ebook
Frog Field Guide Notebook Page
Goldfish Nature Study-free printable notebook page
Johnny Darter – Summer Nature Study Continues
LeechCreepy Things ebook
Lizard, Gecko, Anole Study –Autumn Nature Study Continues
Millipede Creepy Things ebook
Newts -Spring Nature Study Continues
Snakes-Spring ebook
Snails -More Nature Study Spring
Sphinx Moth – Creepy Things ebook
Spring Peepers -Spring Nature Study Continues
Sunfish – Summer Nature Study Continues
TarantulaCreepy Things ebook
Trout and Salmon –Autumn ebook
Turtles and Pondweed-More Nature Study Summer

You may also want to read my review of this awesome resource: National Audubon Society First Field Guide to Reptiles.

Additional Links You May Find Helpful:

Newsletters With a Reptile, Amphibian, Invertebrate, or Fish Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • April 2013 – Reptiles and Amphibians study grid.
  • July 2013 – Fish grid study. Fish Study – Trout notebook page.
  • October 2015 – Reptile Study notebook page.
  • August 2016 – Invertebrate nature journal and nature study ideas. Snail Study notebook page.
  • May 2017 – Fish study grid. Fish nature study and nature journal ideas.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Rock Index @handbookofnaturestudy

The link above is an Amazon affiliate link to a resource I own and love.

Rock Related Challenges
Calcite – Autumn 2015
Crystal Study– Winter Nature Study Continues
Feldspar Study– Winter Nature Study Continues
Granite Study and Other Igneous Rocks – More Nature Study Book Summer
Limestone – Autumn 2015
Magnets and Compass – More Nature Study Winter
Marble – Autumn 2015
Mica Rock Study  – Autumn Nature Study Continues
Quartz Study -More Nature Study Winter
Rock Observation Challenge – free printable chart
Rock Study Using a Magnifying Lens – free printable notebook page
Rock Collection Ideas – free printable activity
Rock Study and printable game activity
Salt Study – Winter ebook
Sand and Soil -More Nature Study Summer

Newsletters With a Rock Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • January 2013 – Rock study grid. Rock collection ideas.
  • February 2016 – Rock nature journal and study ideas.
  • March 2017 – Rock nature study and nature journal ideas.

 

Outdoor Hour Challenge Sky and Stars Index @handbookofnaturestudy

Sky and Stars
Moon and Moon Names– More Nature Study Winter
Moon and Craters Nature Study-free printable notebook page
My Backyard At Night Notebook Page  (free printable)
Night Sky Study- Cassiopeia – Autumn Nature Study Continues
Orion Study – Winter Nature Study Continues
Winter Sky and Stars  – Winter ebook
Winter Sky– Winter Wednesday
Year-Long Big Dipper Study -free printable notebook page

Newsletters With a Sky or Star Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • August 2013 – Night sky study ideas. Night Sky study grid.
  • July 2016 – Sky and stars nature journal and nature study ideas. Big Dipper study notebook page.

 

The link above is an Amazon affiliate link to a resource I own and love.
Pond, Beach, and CreekStudy
Cattail Seasonal Nature Study  -free printable notebook page
Pond Seasonal Study -free printable notebook page

Newsletters With a Pond, Beach, or Creek Theme (If you have a membership, you have access to all archived newsletters.)

  • August 2011 – Pond and marsh study ideas. Summer Pond Study notebook page. Pond study grid.
  • June 2012 – Beach and tidepool nature study ideas. Beach grid study printable. My Seashore Study notebook page.
  • July 2013 – Year long pond study ideas.
  • February 2016 – Creek nature study in four seasons. Creek Study notebook page.

Miscellaneous Challenges
Brook – – Autumn 2015
Small Square Study – Winter ebook
Small Square Study – free printable notebook page
Winter Berries –Autumn Nature Study Continues
Winter Colors – Winter Wednesday

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Nature Study: Starting a Year-Long Tree Study (Late Summer)

Last Friday we spent some time over at my parents’ house down the road from our place. They have a great pond and we took the opportunity to do our nature study time there this week. As the days get shorter and the leaves begin to turn colors, I feel the need to fit in some time outdoors before the season slips away.

So we made ourselves a little “jilly jar” pond scooper (Amateur Naturalist page 146) and we dipped in to find lots of interesting things to examine. We found three little fish, a pond snail, a whirlygig beetle, and another unknown insect. My son caught a Pacific Tree frog in a jar and we took some time to look at him and enjoy his sweet little face.

  Jilly Jar pond study

Here are some of our nature journal entries for the day. We used our field guides to identify the critters we found and we even used our pond guide to identify the duckweed floating on top of the pond. We each picked a tree to identify and realized that our tree identification book wasn’t as thorough as we would like so we made a note to pick up a new one the next time we were at the book store.

Oak nature journal
My son picked an oak to sketch and he also made a leaf rubbing.

Pacific Tree Frogpond fish
Here are some more journal entries for the frog and the fish.

nature journal pond entry
The boys also did some exploring in the woods and found a great spot to stake out a place to come back and observe each month. They chose a place that has a tree and some stacked wood because they thought it might include a place that a critter may live. We shall have to see and we will share our results.

square study woods
If you look carefully you can see the purple yarn and tent stakes that we used to mark our square in the woods.

So that was some of our nature day from last week. I will list some of the books we used to get our ideas for the activities for the day so you can check your library for similar books. I absolutely adore the “One Small Square” series and this is the first time we used it for the pond study. I highly recommend this series to get you started with nature study.

Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Nature Study Ideas Index @handbookofnaturestudy

You can click the graphic above to see all of the autumn related nature study challenges here on the Handbook of Nature Study. Make sure to pin this challenge and the Autumn Index!