The final challenge has arrived for the Autumn Series. This has been a fantastic experience and so rewarding for everyone involved. Meeting other families who value nature study and want to share their experiences here on my blog has greatly encouraged me. I hope that this series has encouraged you as well in your endeavors to get outside with your children each week.I thought with this last of the Autumn Series Challenges we could go back to the basics. Similar to Outdoor Hour Challenge #1, you will be reading a section of the introductory pages to the Handbook of Nature Study to refresh your minds about the basic ideas of nature study. The idea for the actual challenge will be to keep a running record of anything you find of interest during your outdoor hour time or during your daily activities for the next week. My hope is that even though you do not have time to research and journal about everything on your list this week, the list will become the basis for some of your winter indoor nature study lessons. Think of it. Winter weather has set in and you are not able to go outdoors or your children are just getting over the flu and you don't want to take them outdoors. Pull out the list you made in this challenge and take the opportunity to research and study something from your list.
I did this winter work last year with my wildflower photos. I spent cold winter evenings with my photos, my nature journal, and a field guide completing journal entries from the summer before. What an enjoyable experience!
Outdoor Hour Challenge
Autumn Series #10
Field Notebook List
Inside Preparation
Read pages 1-8 of the Handbook of Nature Study. Even if you have read it recently, skim through it again to refresh your mind and heart.
"It is rejuvenation for the teacher, thus growing old, to stand ignorant as a child in the presence of one of the simplest of nature's miracles-the formation of a crystal, the evolution of the butterfly from the caterpillar, the exquisite adjustment of the silken lines in the spider's orb web."Outdoor Time
Handbook of Nature Study, page 4
Spend your 10 to 15 minutes of outdoor time exploring your own backyard or the street you live on. Follow your child's lead and try to see your yard through their eyes. You might like to take along this week's notebook page on a clipboard and record any items of interest you find. You will find the notebook page in the free downloads section of the sidebar of my blog. Remember that you are not going to try to research and study everything on your list this week, but you will keep the list for future indoor nature study times over the coming winter.
Follow-Up Time
If you filled in your notebook page during your Outdoor Time, pick something from the list to discuss with your child. Do they need help identifying the object? Would they like to complete a nature journal entry for the object? Remember my formula for a simple journal entry is to make a simple sketch, a label, and a date.
Now would be the time to record your list if you did not do so during your Outdoor Time. Keep it simple and fun. If your child can only think of one thing to put on the list, do it with enthusiasm. Most children will be able to think of at least two or three things to record and one of those things can be this week's subject for nature study. Remember the most important part of any challenge is to get outside and everything else is just icing on the cake.
I will be keeping the Autumn Series Squidoo Lens up for future reference. Please feel free to use any of the links and suggestions at any time.
Make sure to come back to this post and share your link on Mr. Linky.
The next Outdoor Hour Challenge will be posted on January 1, 2010! As a result of my sidebar poll, I am going to be outlining a Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. Stay tuned for more details. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the Winter Series, please email me at anytime.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
