Welcome to the Hot August Nights Edition of the Carnival! Our busy summer is winding down and autumn will soon be here. Our family did a pretty good job of completing the summer challenges although I have been slow in posting the results for the last few. I will make sure now that the Autumn ebook is finished to post our entries for you to see.
In the meantime, you will want to read what other Outdoor Hour Challenge families have accomplished in the past month. There are some fantastic entries in this carnival and I encourage you to read them for additional inspiration. This carnival is not very fancy because I have limited time this week to pull it together. The entries themselves will tell the nature study stories from August. I appreciate all the families that are willing to share their adventures and learning, it means a lot to me to be able to see how the ideas I put together are helping children all over the world become better acquainted with their own neighborhoods. Thank you.
I look forward to next month's entries from all of you.....There is one more Summer Series Challenge that will post tomorrow and then the Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges will start on September 17th.
Starting off with the Summer Series Challenges....
Summer Series #1 Mosquitoes
Kelsey from Mud Puddles and her children did a study of the mosquito as part of this challenge. She gleaned some great ideas from other families just like we do.
Summer Series #2 Seasonal Tree
Kelsey from Mud Puddles shares the end of their year-long tree study....they learned a lot from their careful observations this past year. Guess what? Now you get to pick a new tree!
Summer Series #5 Owls
Kelsey from Mud Puddles and her children continued their owl study, complete with pellet dissection. They started off squeamish and ended up enthusiastic. I call that successful.
Summer Series #6 Frogs
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool shares some great photos of some unexpected tadpoles as well as their family's study for this challenge. They are now prepared for frogs when they find them in their adventures.
Summer Series #7 Cattail Study
Angie and her boys from Petra School completed an awesome study of their cattails. They were able to make a second visit this season to do some comparing and more in-depth studies.
Kelsey from Mud Puddles wrote about their cattail observations and how they compared to their spring study. I really like their sketches too.
Summer Series #8 Fireflies and Moths
Just a note about this challenge: Since we do not have fireflies in California, I was not aware that there really is a season for observing them. I now know that it needs to really be a spring study or very early summer. I love learning new things. :)
Tricia and her children spent time not only studying but getting to know their lightning bugs this summer. I really like that they call them lightning bugs instead of fireflies and I can almost hear their Southern accent when I read the entry.
Summer Series #9 Evening Primrose and other Night Bloomers
Angie from Petra School was on a quest to find an evening primrose and they finally stumbled upon one to observe....literally. Let's just say there was joy in her heart!
Kelsey from Mud Puddles is lucky enough to have a patch of evening primrose in their yard to observe up close. They were able to see them open up after dark. Awesome!
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool gives us a great entry sharing their night blooming flowers. They are not evening primroses but they are awesome to look at and she even includes a video.
Summer Series #10 Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids
Angie from Petra School shares their entry about Bob the Cricket. This was a thorough study with some really good photos...I love reading about Angie's boys and their adventures.
Tricia from HodePodge Homeschool shares their singing cricket study. This family is a great example of how nature study folds into your everyday life.
Summer Series #12 Raccoons (Posted early but that is totally fine with me!)
Tricia writes about their raccoon study.... a little early because the opportunity came up when Tricia's grandmother shared some photos and experiences with raccoons in her birdfeeder. Delightful entry.
Other Challenges from the Past
OHC #22 Butterflies
Holli from Settled in My Home shares their beautiful butterfly entry. They saw quite a variety and she was able to capture some in some lovely photos.
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool writes about their study of butterflies, learning about the complete life-cycle and including an art project with pastels. Lovely thorough study and entry!
Spring Series #8
Makita from Academia Celestia shares their summer snake study. I love it when opportunities arise and family's take the initiative to spend a little time learning more about the subjects that arise. Check out their great photos.
Winter Series #6 Salt
Phyllis from All Things Beautiful shares their salt study, just look at those beautiful crystals! This is an activity our boys never grow tired of completing.
Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries and your Summer and Autumn Series entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be September 30th, 2010 and all entries from September are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK.
Thanks again,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
In the meantime, you will want to read what other Outdoor Hour Challenge families have accomplished in the past month. There are some fantastic entries in this carnival and I encourage you to read them for additional inspiration. This carnival is not very fancy because I have limited time this week to pull it together. The entries themselves will tell the nature study stories from August. I appreciate all the families that are willing to share their adventures and learning, it means a lot to me to be able to see how the ideas I put together are helping children all over the world become better acquainted with their own neighborhoods. Thank you.
I look forward to next month's entries from all of you.....There is one more Summer Series Challenge that will post tomorrow and then the Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges will start on September 17th.
Starting off with the Summer Series Challenges....
Summer Series #1 Mosquitoes
Kelsey from Mud Puddles and her children did a study of the mosquito as part of this challenge. She gleaned some great ideas from other families just like we do.
Summer Series #2 Seasonal Tree
Kelsey from Mud Puddles shares the end of their year-long tree study....they learned a lot from their careful observations this past year. Guess what? Now you get to pick a new tree!
Summer Series #5 Owls
Kelsey from Mud Puddles and her children continued their owl study, complete with pellet dissection. They started off squeamish and ended up enthusiastic. I call that successful.
Summer Series #6 Frogs
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool shares some great photos of some unexpected tadpoles as well as their family's study for this challenge. They are now prepared for frogs when they find them in their adventures.
Summer Series #7 Cattail Study
Angie and her boys from Petra School completed an awesome study of their cattails. They were able to make a second visit this season to do some comparing and more in-depth studies.
Kelsey from Mud Puddles wrote about their cattail observations and how they compared to their spring study. I really like their sketches too.
Summer Series #8 Fireflies and Moths
Just a note about this challenge: Since we do not have fireflies in California, I was not aware that there really is a season for observing them. I now know that it needs to really be a spring study or very early summer. I love learning new things. :)
Tricia and her children spent time not only studying but getting to know their lightning bugs this summer. I really like that they call them lightning bugs instead of fireflies and I can almost hear their Southern accent when I read the entry.
Summer Series #9 Evening Primrose and other Night Bloomers
Angie from Petra School was on a quest to find an evening primrose and they finally stumbled upon one to observe....literally. Let's just say there was joy in her heart!
Kelsey from Mud Puddles is lucky enough to have a patch of evening primrose in their yard to observe up close. They were able to see them open up after dark. Awesome!
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool gives us a great entry sharing their night blooming flowers. They are not evening primroses but they are awesome to look at and she even includes a video.
Summer Series #10 Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Katydids
Angie from Petra School shares their entry about Bob the Cricket. This was a thorough study with some really good photos...I love reading about Angie's boys and their adventures.
Tricia from HodePodge Homeschool shares their singing cricket study. This family is a great example of how nature study folds into your everyday life.
Summer Series #12 Raccoons (Posted early but that is totally fine with me!)
Tricia writes about their raccoon study.... a little early because the opportunity came up when Tricia's grandmother shared some photos and experiences with raccoons in her birdfeeder. Delightful entry.
Other Challenges from the Past
OHC #22 Butterflies
Holli from Settled in My Home shares their beautiful butterfly entry. They saw quite a variety and she was able to capture some in some lovely photos.
Tricia from HodgePodge Homeschool writes about their study of butterflies, learning about the complete life-cycle and including an art project with pastels. Lovely thorough study and entry!
Spring Series #8
Makita from Academia Celestia shares their summer snake study. I love it when opportunities arise and family's take the initiative to spend a little time learning more about the subjects that arise. Check out their great photos.
Winter Series #6 Salt
Phyllis from All Things Beautiful shares their salt study, just look at those beautiful crystals! This is an activity our boys never grow tired of completing.
Please consider submitting your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries and your Summer and Autumn Series entries to the next carnival. Deadline for submissions will be September 30th, 2010 and all entries from September are eligible. Here is the link for submissions: LINK.
Thanks again,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
