OHC More Nature Study - Magnets and Compass

 
More Nature Study Book #2 
Magnets and Compass 

“The first ideas to learn are that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Just by knowing this he’ll be able to tell in which direction nearby streets and buildings are from his house or town….Have him stand so that east is towards his right where the sun rises and west is towards his left, where the sun sets. Everything straight in front of him is north, everything behind him is south.” Charlotte Mason, volume 1 page 75 

Inside Preparation Work:

1. Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 776-779 (Lesson 219 on the magnet). Use a highlighter or underline sections that you would like to share with your children. Suggested magnet activities: #1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. 
2. As a supplement to the lesson on the magnet, introduce your child to a compass. Start by teaching your child the four cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West. Show them that the compass will always point to magnetic north. Now explain that south will be in the opposite direction, east to the right, and west to the left. Suggested activities from Lesson 219: #12 and #13.
3. Watch these videos: How to Hold a Compass and Bill Nye on the Earth’s Magnetism. 
4.  Advanced suggestion: Make your own compass. You may also like to try this method outdoors: Make your own compass. 

Outdoor Hour Time:

1. Spend your Outdoor Hour time in your own backyard or neighborhood. Take your magnet and compass outside with you. Let your child use the magnet to find things that are magnetic in your yard. (Make sure to keep magnets away from electronics.)
2. Take your compass outdoors and have your child find the four cardinal directions. Find landmarks for each direction. For example: north is the pine tree across the road from your house, south is the telephone pole on the next street, east is the neighbor’s flag pole, west is the mailbox. 
3. Advanced suggestion: Observe the sunset to see the exact direction it sets during the winter. Make observations over the next month, record the results, and see how the direction changes over time. Use a compass to record the exact direction in degrees. Ebook users: Use the Sunset Observation notebook page to record your results and conclusions. 

 Follow-Up Activity:

1. Take a few minutes to ask your child what they learned about magnets and compasses. They may be satisfied with this challenge at this point and the best way to follow up is to use the skills you learned in the days to come. Use the vocabulary you learned (magnetic, north, south, east, west) as you complete future nature study or outdoor activities. 
2. Your child may like to complete a notebook page recording their magnet and compass observations on notebook page or they could record their results in a nature journal. Optional: Use this Points of a Compass (Homeschool Share) activity for younger students if you wish. 
3. Advanced follow-up: Use your compass skills to determine the orientation of your house. Make a map of your neighborhood and include a compass rose. (You can learn more about a compass rose HERE.) Use this information in the future by recognizing wind direction as you observe the weather. Wind is named for the direction it is coming from and not where it is blowing to. (Example: North winds are blowing from the north.) 
4. Advanced follow-up: Map and Compass Basics-Azimuth and Navigation with a Compass. 
5. Advanced follow-up: Have you read about Letterboxing or Geocaching? Both of these family activities can be fun ways to get outdoors and use your compass and map reading skills. 

You can see how our family completed this challenge here in this entry:
 Magnets, Compass, and Moon Names.

Thistles - Starting a Year-Long Study

September 2011 Thistles - Yosemite

Our thistle study started way back at the beginning of September when we were on a family camping trip to Yosemite National Park. I had the foresight to start our study when we came across a patch of bull thistles when we were looking for milkweed. We were able to begin our study with the beautiful purple flowers along with the insects that were enjoying the blossoms.

Thistles along our walking trail

This was to set the stage of a whole season of thistle observations, ending this last week with the study of the rather brown sad looking plants that live alongside our walking trail.

Dried Thistles...thinking they are actually quite lovely

We took time to see how the seeds were now visible and the goldfinches were seen every now and then perched on top, snatching seeds for a snack. The birds didn't seem to mind that the pretty purple flowers were mostly gone and munched their seeds oblivious to on-lookers.

Bull thistles and star thistles (yellow ones)

Seed gathering wasn't easy because they were guarded by the prickly thorns. Funny how the birds did not mind the prickles but when we would try to grasp the flower and pull the seeds, we flinched back in pain. Those thorns are sharp! We managed to get a few fluffy seeds home and then we looked at them closely.

What an amazing structure! My dear husband managed to resurrect our microscope which I thought was beyond repair and we had a close look at the seeds.

Thistles in various stages

We decided to keep an eye on our thistle patch to see the cycle of life in its entirety. This would make a wonderful year-long study so I will add it to the list for our winter work. I will make sure to remind you all to revisit your thistle patch. I think a Year-Long Thistle Study notebook page is in order. I will share when I finish it.

Stopped to enjoy the view on today's walk.

What a joy to take a nice long walk on a warm autumn afternoon...if it would only last. :)

OHC More Nature Study #10 Maple Seeds and Update for Nov/Dec OHC

I can hardly believe we are finishing this series of challenges! Did the time fly by for the rest of you too? I have enjoyed participating alongside you with my teenage son, learning how nature study is such a wonderful activity for older children if you go a little deeper. Each month it has been such a joy to read about your nature study time in the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. I want to thank every participating family for your kind words and for sharing nature with your children. This community is so awesome!



November/December/January Plans for the OHC
Many people have asked what winter is going to bring to the Outdoor Hour Challenge. I will briefly outline my plans for the next few months but the best way to keep up with any changes will be to subscribe to my blog for any bonus challenges and announcements.

• 1. I plan to continue the OHC Newsletter each month on the first of the month.
• 2. For the rest of November and December I will continue to post nature study ideas for you every Friday.
• 3. There will continue to be monthly Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnivals so send in your nature study entries each month.
• 4. I am in the midst of writing a new ebook to be released the first week in January 2012. Tentative title is More Nature Study - Winter 2012 and it will include ten challenges as usual and advanced nature study options. Topics are winter related but will be adaptable to all locations. I will start posting the new ebook challenges on January 6, 2012.
• If you have any questions, please email me.

OHC More Nature Study #10
Maple Seeds and Maple Tree

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 628-632 (Lesson 174). This is the section on the sugar maple. Pay special attention to the “Fall Work” section, especially #2 which describes the “key” and how to observe it. There is also a previous OHC for the Maple Tree that you may wish to look up and read for ideas to include in this challenge.
• Other Maples to Investigate: Bigleaf Maple, Silver Maple, more listed on USDA. If you have a tree field guide, page through the maple tree section and get an idea of what kind of maples you have in your local area.
• You will want to discuss with your child any winged seeds you are familiar with. We often call these winged seeds “helicopter seeds”. Another name for the winged seeds are samaras.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• For this challenge, spend some of your Outdoor Hour time looking for maple trees and maple seeds. Gather a few of the winged seeds to observe and investigate. Maple trees in the autumn have beautifully colored leaves and should help you in finding one to study.
• Have some fun with your maple seeds. Release them and measure the distance they travel and how long they stay afloat.
• If you don’t have a maple tree or seeds to observe, see if you can find another tree observe that has seeds (oaks/acorns, conifer/cones, sweet gum/sticker balls, etc). Collect a few to bring indoors to observe with a magnifying lens.

Follow-Up Activity:

• You may wish to talk about other seeds you have observed that fly or float in the air. How about dandelions, milkweed, and elm seeds as well as the maple? If you found maple seeds, compare them with other seeds you know about.
• Allow time to make a journal entry, complete a notebook page, and/or finish a coloring page. Make sure to sketch the key with the seed and wing labeled. If you observed a tree other than the maple, you can complete the Seasonal Tree Study notebook page if you wish.
• Plant a maple seed where you can watch it grow.
• Read about why and how leaves change color in the autumn: A Tree’s True Color.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Use a field guide to learn more about your maple. You can use this online tree field guide at eNature.com. Complete a notebook page for your nature journal (ebook users).
• Advanced Follow-Up: Find other autumn seeds and make some observations. Suggested seeds: acorns, seeds from a cone, sticker balls, etc. Sort your seeds: Round/Not Round, Float/Not Float, Fly/Not Fly, Seeds That Lie Flat/Seeds That Do Not Lie Flat, and by Size.

Make sure to send in your entries for the blog carnival. The carnival is posted on the last day of each month. You can enter at this link: Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival Submission Form.

Our Fall Leaf Study - A Lesson in Teen Nature Study

Pressed leaves going into my nature journal (See the November Newsletter for instructions.)

We are finally starting to see some fall colors all over our neighborhood. With our autumn color words in mind, we try to challenge each other to find just the right color words as we drive around town...noticing the crimson, the indigo, the mahogany, and the bronze of the leaves. (Download your own Advanced Fall Color Activity from Hearts and Trees.)

As part of the Leaf Close-Up challenge, Mr. B was happy to come along to gather fall leaves but not too excited about doing the follow-up for this one. His teen attitude was that he knew all there was to know about leaves. I let it go for that day since we had enjoyed spending time together outside and I did not want to spoil the mood.

I waited until another day to try the advanced study work suggested in the challenge which was to make our own slides using the leaves we gathered, looking closer at them using a microscope. As much as I want my teen to continue his nature study, I know that pushing him too hard takes the joy out of it and that is the opposite of my aim in continuing nature study through high school.

It can wait.

Fall leaves with larvae.

So, even though a leaf study was not a great fit for Mr. B, I tried to finish the challenge myself this week, hoping he would join me. Well, right off the bat I needed his help with the microscope. It did not seem to be working so he took a look at it for me but he could not get it going either. That ended another day of trying to get this challenge done.

Then on Friday, Mr. A (my older son who has graduated from high school) was home and I asked him if he wanted to finish up the challenge with me. He actually was eager to participate. He brought his own leaves in and got to work. The image below is a glimpse at his notebook page from the More Nature Study ebook. He ended up using the hand lens instead to view the leaves up close.

Advanced Study notebook page from More Nature Study ebook

This challenge led to a light bulb moment for me.

• Mr. B was not interested in this particular challenge but we did enjoy our time together outdoors viewing the trees and leaves. For Mr. B, that was enough.
• Mr. A *was* interested in taking a closer look with me at the fall leaves even though he has graduated from homeschool.  

Lesson? I am succeeding in keeping my teens interested in nature study. As always, I need to learn to be flexible and allow for personal taste and styles of learning.

For more on that topic make sure to read the article in the November edition of my Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter from Ellen Crandall (available to all subscribers to my blog-see the sidebar to sign up). She has a few teens in her home that she is encouraging nature study with each month.

OHC More Nature Study #9 Thistles

“On looking at the thistle from its own standpoint, we must acknowledge it to be a beautiful and wonderful plant. It is like a knight of old encased in armor and with lance set, read for the frey.”
Handbook of Nature Study 524







More Nature Study with the OHC #9
Thistles

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 524-526 (Lesson 141).
• Read and view Common Thistle Information and Canada Thistle Information. View the range maps to see which plants you have in your area.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend part of your Outdoor Hour time looking for thistles or other autumn fall flowers. The thistle is a composite flower like many other autumn blooming flowers: goldenrod, aster, yarrow, burdock, chicory, and even the dandelion. If you can’t find a thistle, choose one of the other composite flowers you have access to as part of this challenge.
• If you can pull the thistle up by the roots, this will be the subject of your nature study once you return home. Make sure you are pulling a thistle where you have permission from the landowner. (I suggest taking gloves with you for this part of the activity.)

Follow-Up Activities:

• If you were able to bring a thistle plant inside with you, take time to carefully observe all the parts of the plant. Use the suggestions from the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study to guide your children in noticing the major parts of the thistle. In autumn you will probably need to focus on the dried flower head and seeds.
• Give time to complete a nature journal, a notebook page (available in the ebook), and/or a coloring page. There are three different coloring pages available for this challenge in the ebook. 
• Watch this video on YouTube (Bull thistle) .
• Advanced Follow-Up: Watch this video about Canada Thistle on YouTube.com.
• Advanced follow-up: Sketch and compare the thistle to two other seeds you find in the autumn.

Make sure to send in your entries for the blog carnival. The carnival is posted on the last day of each month. You can enter at this link: Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival Submission Form.

Our October Bird List and Sparrow Study Using the Handbook of Nature Study

As part of our House Sparrow study, we kept track of the tally of birds who have visited our feeders. We have a regular contingency of sparrows but this month the numbers have greatly increased. We saw two kinds of sparrows this month.

House Sparrows

White-Crowned Sparrows 

Using the More Nature Study Challenge for House sparrows, we did some research to see what other kinds of sparrows there are in our neighborhood. We did this by going to the Great Backyard Bird Count website, clicking the Explore the Results button at the top, and then entering our town name. This brings up all the statistics from the latest Bird Count - Bird species, number of birds, number of people reporting observations of a particular bird. I found this very helpful. According to the lists, in February there are lark sparrows, song sparrows, house sparrows, and golden-crowned sparrows seen in our town.

Advanced follow-up notebook page from the More Nature Study with the OHC ebook.

We decided to look those particular sparrows up in our field guide and note their field marks just in case we happen to see these three other species sometime in our area. The trouble is that the females all look very similar. We found the What's That Sparrow? page on the Cornell website very helpful.

Here is the list of other October birds...we were not as diligent this month at recording our birds but I am going to try to keep it as a daily task for Mr. B the whole month of November. :)

October 2011
California towhee
Spotted towhee - first ones we have seen since spring at our feeder
White-crowned sparrows - increase in numbers
House sparrows - increase in numbers
White-breasted nuthatch
Oak titmouse
House finches
Turkey vultures - soaring overhead
Mourning doves
Western scrub jays
Lesser goldfinches
American robin
American crow
Anna's hummingbirds - still coming in numbers to the feeders

Heard our Great horned owl and California quail
Along the road we saw Wild turkeys, Brewer's blackbirds, pigeons, Canada geese, and a Snowy egret.
There were also several Red-tail hawks and a Cooper's hawk on a drive to town.

Do any of you participate in the Project FeederWatch Program? It starts the second Saturday in November and I think our family is going to join in this year since we have made a habit of keeping track of our feeder birds anyway. Do you want to join up too? Click over and read all about it! Or watch a video.

We also are submitting this post to Heather's Tweet and See link-up.

OHC More Nature Study #8 Fall Leaf Study - Close Up

"Make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they are investigators…….The ‘leading thought’ embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher’s mind while giving the lesson; it should not be read or declared to the pupils……..The outlines for observations herein given by no means cover all of the observations possible; they are meant to suggest to the teacher observations of her own, rather than to be followed slavishly….If the questions do not inspire the child to investigate, they are useless.”

Handbook of Nature Study, page 23

More Nature Study #8
Fall Leaf Study - Close Up

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 9-10 (The Lens, Microscope, and Field Glass As Helps in Nature Study).
• Have on hand a magnifying glass to use as part of this leaf challenge. You can see more ideas on my: Squidoo Lens on Magnifying Lenses.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend your Outdoor Hour time in your own backyard or neighborhood. 
• Look at the various kinds of leaves and have your child point out several that capture their interest.
• Choose four or five leaves to collect and bring home to look at with the magnifying lens.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Use the hand lens to make careful observations of your leaves. One at a time have your child describe what he sees as he looks at the leaf carefully. Record your results in your nature journal (or use the notebook page in the ebook).
• Press your leaves to add to your nature journal at a future date. You can watch my YouTube video to learn how to do this with simple household items.

• Advanced Follow-Up: Use this LINK and scroll down to the section, “Taking a Closer Look At Plant Cells”. Make your own leaf slides to look at under your microscope. Here is a LINK to view many leaves up close. Ebook Users - Use the Leaf Morphology page and the notebook page to complete your study.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Read this article on Wikipedia: Leaf. Read this page that illustrates Leaf Margins and Shapes (love this page with the clear images).

It is getting very close to the end of the month and the next edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Outdoor Hour Challenge entries that were written in the month of October 2011 are all eligible and are due to me no later than October 30, 2011. The carnival is posted on the last day of each month. You can enter at this link: Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival Submission Form.

OHC More Nature Study #7 House Sparrow

Remember: The June 2011 Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter featured backyard birds. If you downloaded the newsletter, you can use the Bird Study Grid, My Bird List, and the Know Your Own Backyard Bird Notebook Page as part of this challenge.




More Nature Study #7
House Sparrow (English Sparrow in the Handbook of Nature Study)


Inside Preparation Work:
1. Read pages 83-85 in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 20 English Sparrow). Highlight some points you can share about the house sparrow with your children.
2. If you have a bird field guide, use the index to look up the House sparrow and any other sparrows you may have in your area.
3. Let your children see an image of the House sparrow and have them describe what they see. (You may use the information in the Additional Links section below.)
4. Younger Children: Read the Burgess Bird Book chapter on the English(House) Sparrow online. Listen to an MP3 recording of the chapter.


Outdoor Hour Time:
1. Seize the opportunity to observe a House sparrow during your week. This may need to be done from a window at first but outdoors is always better if you can keep still and quiet as you observe. If you have a pair of binoculars, take them along with you so you can view the sparrow’s features. Try to observe their color, size, beak, tail shape, and behavior. Look for House sparrows in your yard in bushes or hedges, in parks, or even around buildings in urban areas.
2. If you don’t have a House sparrow to observe, choose another bird and have your child describe its features. (It is always good to compare size, shape, beak, and tail.)



Follow-Up Activity:
1. After your Outdoor Hour time, take a few minutes to follow-up your bird observation time. Pull out your field guide and learn a little bit more about any birds you were able to view.
2. Allow the opportunity for a nature journal entry, a notebook page, or time to color the accompanying coloring page.
3. Advanced follow-up: Compare the House sparrow with another sparrow in your neighborhood. You can use the accompanying notebook page for your notes (ebook users only).
4. Advanced follow-up: Watch for the House sparrow in all four seasons. Keep a record of what months you see them in your yard or neighborhood.

Additional Links:
All About Birds: House Sparrow
My Squidoo lens on birdfeeders: Birdfeeders in the Winter
Advanced students—for research: House Sparrow on Squidoo

Found My Orb Web!

We were busy pulling all of the dead and brown things out of the garden when I spotted it! The most perfect spider web I have seen in a long time was right next to the hose reel. I actually touched it before I saw it and it startled me.


The sun was shining just right to see most of it in a photo so I ran inside and snapped a few images to share here on the blog. I called Mr. A and my husband over to take a look and we admired the preciseness of the web and we talked a bit about how it was constructed with a frame and then the web spun around and around.


I took the opportunity to see if the inside threads were sticky like we read about in the Handbook of Nature Study which led to a short video (30 seconds) to show our experiments.




Isn't that grand? I love learning new things alongside my boys....

"The radii or spokes, the guy-lines, the framework, and the center of the web are all made of inelastic silk, which does not adhere to an object that touches it. The spiral line, on the contrary, is very elastic, and adheres to any object brought in contact with it. An insect which touches one of these spirals and tries to escape become entangled in the neighboring lines and is thus held fast until the spider can reach it. If one of these elastic lines be examined with a microscope, it is a most beautiful object. There are strung upon it, like pearls, little drops of sticky fluid which render it not only elastic but adhesive." Handbook of Nature Study, page 440.

Thanks Anna Botsford Comstock for bringing such an amazing detail to our attention. We have a heightened sense of awe over something we have overlooked our entire lives. Now I can rest our web study for the season, unless a new web presents itself.

OHC More Nature Study #6 Chipmunks

"While the chipmunk is a good runner and jumper, it is not so able a climber as is the red squirrel, and it naturally stays nearer the ground."
Handbook of Nature Study page 239




OHC More Nature Study #6
Chipmunks


Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 239-241 (Lesson 58). Take note of the differences between a squirrel and a chipmunk.
• Listen to Chp. 6 in The Burgess Animal Book For Children: Striped Chipmunk and His Cousins.
• View this website that has simple information for chipmunks and squirrels: Backyard Nature: Squirrels.
• Optional YouTube video: Chipmunk in Slow Motion.

Golden Treasury of Natural History from 1952

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Go on a chipmunk hunt! Spend a few minutes of your Outdoor Hour time for this challenge looking for chipmunks. Chipmunks and squirrels are diurnal, or active during the day.
• If you observe a squirrel instead of a chipmunk, make some observations and comparisons. Compare color, stripes, tail, and behavior. 

Golden Treasury of Natural History from 1952 - love the expression

Follow-Up Activity:

• Give the opportunity for discussion and follow-up to your chipmunk hunt. Complete a notebook page (ebook users), a nature journal page, and/or the coloring page (ebook users only) for you nature journal.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Compare a chipmunk and a squirrel by careful observation. Subjects can include: stripes, tails, behavior, diet, size, voice.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Research and record in your nature journal about the method the chipmunk uses for building his home. There is a notebook page in the ebook to record your study.

Additional Links:
Chipmunk Lapbook and Unit Study on HomeschoolShare.com
For Advanced Study: Chipmunks 101 on Squidoo.com


Make sure to share your entry with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Please jump in even if this is your very first OHC. All you need to do is share the link to your blog entry. Easy as pie. 







Now for our Giveaway!


The winner of the Circle Time - Plan The Best Part of Your Day is Kelsey from Mud Puddles.
Congratulations!

Taking The Challenge - Upper Level Fall Color Work

October 11, 2011 - Our Collection of Leaves

Our timing is not perfect on this Fall Color challenge. The weather is autumn-like with cooler nights, rain (actually lots of rain), and sunny afternoons but the majority of the leaves have not changed color and are still hanging on the trees.

Observing closely we did note some red on the edges.

You can see our trees are still mostly green with a few of the leaves tinged in red. There are just a handful of leaves on the ground and probably only because we have had five inches of rain in the last week.

The trees are still full of leaves.

Walking in the afternoon is a favorite activity now that the temperatures have dropped so today we went out with the express intent of looking for some color. As always, with added focus, we were able to observe some colorful leaves, gathering a few to bring home to look at closely and then enjoy on our nature table. Of course, we had fun trying to match the leaf with the color from our pencil box.

I think we ended up with a great variety of leaves.

I decided to make color chart in my journal with the official names from the Prismacolor pencils noted just for fun. My favorite leaves were the pistache leaves with their bright orange, red, and yellow.....dare I say vermillion, crimson, and chrome yellow to be more exact?

Watercolor pencils on the left and regular colored pencils on the right...

Mr. B did not complete a notebook page or a journal page for this challenge yet. He wants to wait until we have more colorful leaves to gather and he may use a camera to capture the beauty for me and his journal. I think I will find some frames to use and we will perhaps do this leaf project. 



Never wanting to miss out on the fall fun, Miss Cocoa jumped up on the railing as I took these photos. This cat is a great hunter, although she mostly does "catch and release". In fact, last week she brought a live mouse into the house and dropped it at my feet. Oh yeah, I moved really fast to capture that rodent and put it right back outside. This time of year she also likes to climb up into the tree and watch the birds at the feeder. Silly cat.

I just realized I didn't post an entry with our fall drive photos from last weekend. We went out into a neighboring county, taking in the beauty of the time of year in the vineyard regions. I will try to get those posted sometime soon because it was a really fun day.



As always, keep your Outdoor Hour Challenge entries rolling in for the end of the month carnival. I already have quite a few fantastic entries but there is plenty of room for everyone!

OHC More Nature Study #5 Fall Color Walk

 It finally feels like fall here in Northern California. We had a really big rainstorm that knocked out our power for a short time and brought down a shower of leaves along with the raindrops. I was so glad that we had brought in the chair cushions, tucked away the lavender that was drying, harvested the last of the dahlias, and mowed the grass one last time. There is a nip in the air this evening that means autumn has arrived.



How about your part of the world? Are you feeling like autumn or is it lingering summer? Whatever your world looks like you can take a fall walk and discover some fall color...maybe not your leaves but look for berries, nuts, and weeds that are changing color.

Working on some fall leaf watercolor nature journal entries..

OHC More Nature Study #5
Fall Color Walk

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study page 14, “The Field Excursion”. The reason I want you to read this section is so you have a better understanding of how to prepare you children for a short outdoor excursion with a purpose. Let them know ahead of time the reason you are going outdoors, have them gather their supplies, and then make the excursion outside to look for fall colors.
• You may wish to review a previous Autumn Colors/Leaf Challenge.
• You can view this video on YouTube: Why Leaves Change Color.
• Make sure you have several shades of fall colors in your colored pencil collection: reds, yellows, greens, oranges. 
• You can also use the Nature Study Grid from the October Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter to enhance your Fall Color Walk and leaf observation.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Spend some of your Outdoor Hour time looking for fall colors in your own backyard. If your children are older, have them choose carefully their colors. Not all greens are the same. Not all yellows are the same. Try to match your colors by choosing your colored pencils to match as best you can.
• Gather several leaves to collect for the up-coming Leaf Study (#8). You may with to press these so they will not be dried before you can examine them. You can watch my YouTube video to see how to do this with simple household resources.
• If your children are very young, just point out the fall colors or you can use Monica’s idea to use color word cards.
• Advanced Study: Take your watercolors outdoors along with your brushes and pad. Use watercolors to make a record of your fall scene. Look for complementary colors: yellow leaves and blue sky, red berries and evergreens, etc. Capture autumn color in your local area….make the painting show the mood of the change of season. 

Follow-Up Activities:

• If you didn’t complete the Fall Color Walk notebook page (ebook users only) during your outdoor time, you can complete it now. An alternate follow-up activity could be to make a list of all the colors you saw and record them in your nature journal or to use the Hearts and Trees Advanced Fall Color Activity.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Read these websites: The Chemistry of Autumn Leaf Colors. And The Chemistry of Autumn Colors. Write a summary narration for your nature journal.
• Advanced Follow-Up: Complete the Upper Level notebook page included with this ebook (ebook users only).

Make sure to share your entry with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Please jump in even if this is your very first OHC. All you need to do is share the link to your blog entry. Easy as pie.

So Many Webs - So Many Questions

No webs in this image, just a pretty flower.

Looking for spider webs can become a little obsessive. We have been hypersensitive to webs over the past few weeks in anticipation of the Fall Web Challenge, spotting them just about everywhere. Are there always this many webs and is it only because we are focusing on them right now that they seem to pop up in so many places? I guess that is a question we will answer over the next few months. We are in the middle of a huge rainstorm so I am glad that I have been snapping photos as we went along...it is very wet out there today.



We seem to see the most of this kind of web....very filmy and not at all like a web you would draw or think of when the word is mentioned. They seem disorganized and messy, that is until you get up close and really look at the structure.



There they are...the outline lines of the web. We wonder how they get from here to there and back again since the distances are quite far. We could never actually see a spider spinning a web which is now on our list of things to be on the lookout for in the months to come. We could not determine if this was truly a "filmy dome" as described in Lesson 113 of the Handbook of Nature Study.



These photos were all taken in our backyard and were mostly in the crepe myrtle bushes.



See how the web seems to almost encase the leaves and branch? We observed many of these webs in our backyard and although they were a great source of interest, we were disappointed that we didn't see a pretty orb web. We all decided that this will be a study we save for when the opportunity presents itself, to study a web up-close and maybe, just maybe to see the spider spinning the web.

We are looking forward to this Friday's challenge....the current rainstorm has started the leaves falling and I even spotted a few colored ones! We did have snow up the road from our house this morning but it has melted already in the rain. This is going to be an interesting autumn.