Don't Miss the Nature Journal Hall of Fame
Our Nature Journal Hall of Fame is growing each week with participants who have completed Outdoor Hour Challenge #21-Thirty Page Notebook Challenge. See the sidebar of the blog for samples of their nature journal pages and links to their family's blog. You can still join in at any time and let me know when you reach thirty pages and I will add your child's name too. See Challenge #21 for more details and the rules.Outdoor Hour Challenge Brochure
Winter Nature Study Resources
As part of the Outdoor Hour Challenges this winter, I am going to be incorporating two books in addition to the Handbook of Nature Study. These books are by no means absolutely necessary to the challenges but I anticipate them both adding a dimension to the study of mammals and the winter landscape.The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess: This book will be used during the Outdoor Hour Challenges that include a study of mammals. Many of the animals we are going to focus on and learn about are not animals that are readily observable by most. Some of the animals are nocturnal and rarely show themselves during normal daylight hours. Some of the animals hibernate for at least a portion of the year and are not readily available for direct observation. This book shares in a narrative style the habits and behaviors of these animals. Younger children will enjoy having the stories read to them and young independent readers can read the stories on their own. I would suggest that this book is appropriate for children younger than middle school.
You can also find this book to read online at: Project Gutenburg
Discover Nature in Winter by Elizabeth P. Lawlor: This book has been on my shelf for a few years but it never struck a cord with me until reading it over this past weekend. It was as if I had fresh eyes to the opportunities to study aspects of the winter landscape. It covers the following topics: snow, winter sky, various common U.S. trees, insects, winter weeds, birds, and mammals. I am excited to be able to have fresh ideas for families that are experiencing bitterly cold winter conditions. Even though our family does not have the harsh winters that people deal with in other parts of the United States, I found the projects suggested to be very applicable to our local area as well. I will be incorporating the activities into the Outdoor Hour Challenges. The book is a great resource and the introductory pages to each topic are packed with interesting information. I highly recommend having this on your science shelf.
Outdoor Hour Survey and Evaluation
Later this week I will be posting and sending out a survey about the Outdoor Hour Challenge. I am in the need of some feedback and opinions. I hope that many of you will take a minute or two to complete the survey and send it to me so that I can refine and refresh the Outdoor Hour Challenges as we approach our second year of participating together. Look for it here on the blog on Wednesday.Barb-Harmony Art Mom
