Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival: Getting Ready for Winter Edition

The busy month of December is coming to a close and the winter months have now arrived. This month's Outdoor Hour Challenges suggested we spend some time exploring our neighborhoods looking for signs of plants and animals preparing for winter. Taking time outdoors for nature study in December was a rewarding experience. I want to thank all the participants of the carnival for sharing your December World.

Getting Ready for Winter Edition - Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival

December World 

• Tricia gets us going with the first entry of the carnival, When A Millipede Interrupts Math. This entry so beautifully illustrates how being flexible and following interest lead to some wonderful nature study. 
• Amanda from A Thousand Words has put together the account of their outing - Winter Color: Lost and Found. Wow...love this entry! They found a lot of beautiful winter images to share and their smiles too!
• Angie from Petra School has submitted their Ready for Winter entry which combines the December World and Preparation for Winter challenges. I commented to her that there are just too many great things about this entry to even list them all. I encourage you to click over and read about their Oregon Coast style nature study.  Angie also shares their Winter Color Walk and hopes it isn't cheating to include this fabulous place. I really enjoyed it and you will too!



Photo Credit: Amanda at A Thousand Words

• December Nature Study in Flip-Flops! Amy writes about their unseasonably warm nature study as part of their December  challenge. She shares their birds and a beautiful moth for carnival readers. She also has this entry to share Enjoying God's Creation. Thanks Amy.
• Ann from Harvest Moon By Hand shares their Go On A Nature Walk entry with carnival readers. They had snow for this day's excursion...so very pretty. 
• Tricia was able to squeeze in some outdoor time this past week with her children. Read about it in their On a Sunny December Day entry to see blooming flowers, bees, lizards, and more. 
• This one really belongs down in the Potpourri section but I don't want you to miss it. Julie from Homeschool Balancing Act shares a mother's story worth reading: Brushing Off the Holidays and Getting Back to Nature. Thanks Julie.
• Janet from Across the Page submits this end of the year nature walk entry with some wonderful images and thoughts: Tree Tales, Muted Colored, Birds and Musings.

Evergreens

• Zonnah shares their Evergreen Investigation entry as part of the evergreen challenge posted last week. She shows us a great example of how to make nature study a family affair, even when someone is at first unwilling. She also includes some lovely images of cone scales. 
• Jenny Anne from Royal Little Lambs writes the story of their evergreen study. They were able to observe a pine tree up close and conclude with journal entries.  
• Shirley Anne from Under the English Sky sent in their Evergreens study for the carnival. It is sure fun to see their English countryside and winter evergreens. 

Preparing for Winter

• Amanda writes about their Preparation for Winter nature study time. Funny squirrels and beautiful birds...quail some of my favorites. Awesome images.
• Rachel from All Things Bright and Beautiful submits their Insects! in December entry as part of this carnival.  They used a field guide to give them some ideas of where to look for their insects preparing for winter. Great job!
• Diana writes about their Preparation for Winter study in their neighborhood. Their family found some signs of winter coming and some extras too. 
• Barbara from A Wildflower Morning has put together a very nice entry sharing their Milbert's Tortoiseshells in Winter.... read how this butterfly survives the cold winter as an adult. Wonderful!

 

Potpourri

• Denise from Grace and Truth has entered their Seasonal Tree 2011 Study entry. What a visual treat! They picked a California Sycamore and a Queen Anne Palm tree for their tree work. She shares their year-long tree work with wonderful images of their trees and journals. 
• Janet from Across the Page has submitted a fantastic entry about their local water habitat, A Bit About Beavers. You will enjoy the images and information about their beavers and muskrats. Great pictorial of their beaver's handiwork. 
• Nicole at One Hook Wonder shares their Osage Oranges entry with carnival readers. They did a very child-friendly study of a topic not covered in the Handbook of Nature Study. They also did a Palm Tree study while on a trip, making some very good observations! Okay, now how about some alligators...well the hope of alligators anyway? You can read about their alligator adventure on her blog One Hook Wonder. One last entry to share their Beaver study. Awesome beaver observing spot!
• Angie from Petra School has written up their Maple Hunt adventure, the one where she is humbled and we all get to enjoy her beautiful photos. Excellent.
• Bethany from Little Homeschool Blessings gives carnival readers their Rainbow Scarab AKA Dung Beetle entry to view and read. She sets a very good example for the rest of us by digging a little deeper and uses What's That Bug? to figure out the insects identity.
• Robin from Harris Homeschool shares their Bird Count entry....comparing visitors to their suet feeder and their sunflower seed feeder.  What a simple and fun idea!
• Anne has shared four wonderful winter related nature study entries with carnival readers: Weather Experiments-Thermometer and Hygrometer,  Frost and Snowflakes, Lights and Constellations,  and Make Treats for Birds.

The winner of the December Giveaway (chosen by Random.Org) is Nicole from One Hook Wonder! She will receive a copy of my soon to be released More Nature Study Book 2 Winter Wonder! Thank you to everyone who made an entry to this edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.

See you all next month! Remember that January's Newsletter link will be for subscribers of the blog only. You will need to subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription box on the sidebar of the blog.

OHC Blog Carnival - October Newsletter Edition

Have I told you all lately how much I love hosting this carnival? Well, I do....a lot. I think the Outdoor Hour Challenge with its rather simple idea of getting outside with our children a few minutes each week and then sharing together our successes and adventures has become a BIG deal to me. I love every word and image that you put into your entries.

Thank you for sharing with me and with all the readers of the carnival...wishing you all a fantastic November of nature study...just wait until you see the newsletter tomorrow! Inspiring!

Zonnah shared their leaf notebook pages.

Fall Color Walk

• Zonnah shares their Fall Colors entry with carnival readers. They made a fall color collage as part of their follow-up...beautiful!
• Kristin from Broom and Crown shares their desert fall version of fall color in A Return to the Neighborhood Nature Walk. I think they did a great job using this challenge to focus on their neighborhood color. 
• Tricia from Hodgepodge Homeschool and her family join the carnival this time with their Fall Leaf Walk. Actually she titled it, "Fall Leaf Walk is Our Favorite and Our Best". Love that! She also shares how the upper level notebooking pages from the ebook are helping her family. Thanks for your kind words Tricia.
• Amy at Hope is the Word has submitted their Fall Colors in Our Backyard #1 for you to click over and read. They focused on the maple in their backyard and did some outside journaling of the leaves. She also shares some great tree book selections. I love Crinkleroot!
• Janet from Across the Page has written a wonderful post called Leaf Love. What a joy to read about their leaf walk and to be introduced to a new poem that will be going into my own nature journal. Thanks Janet!
• Anne from About a Bug writes about their Fall Tree Study and Fall Color Walk.  They did some painting as part of their work and some rubbings too!
• You are going to enjoy reading Shirley Anne's entry from her blog Under An English Sky: OHC - Autumn Color. Not only did they see colorful leaves but they recorded their other color findings in their very well done nature journals. Be inspired!
• Angie enters their Fall Color Walk photo journal which shows their Oregon autumn rainbow of colors. They made quite a collection. 
• Robin from Harris Homeschool writes about their Nature Walk where they found some fall color, then used the Fall Color notebook page to follow-up their outdoor time.
• Julie and her son treat us to their fall color walk....in Zion! You can read their entry Fall Colors and see for yourself how they took the OHC on the road. (That is her son with the praying mantis in the photo below!)

Julie's son found a gigantic praying mantis.

Chipmunks/Squirrels

• Julie from the Homeschool Balancing Act shared their day in Zion National Park, this time with journaling, hiking, and squirrels to compare.  I would love to go to Zion in the autumn sometime soon to see the colors of the trees and the rocks.
• Desiree from Hoeks-in-UK has submitted their Squirrel Hunt entry for carnival readers. Their part of the world does not have chipmunks so they did a great job adapting this challenge for their local squirrels. They followed up their outdoor time with journal pages and an art project.
• Tricia from Hodgepodge shares their Chipmunks and Squirrels Nature Study. They chose to spread the study out over a week's time and complete the suggested activities including the free lapbook from HomeschoolShare. Don't miss reading their entry.
• Makita enters their Chipmunks and Squirrels Nature Study study for carnival readers to enjoy. Their family has lots of experience with both subjects and her daughter has written a report comparing and contrasting squirrels and chipmunks. I love it when families can combine nature study with more academic subjects like researching and writing.

Amy shared their colored leaf activity.

Leaf Study

• Jenny Anne from Royal Little Lambs submitted their Leaf Study entry for the carnival. It looks like they really enjoyed making their sketches and rubbings. 
• Tricia and her children also completed the Up-Close Leaf Study and they share their wonderful entry with carnival readers. They couldn't find their hand lens so they came up with some clever alternatives.
• Zonnah and her son adapted the leaf study and she shares it in her entry, Leaves Up Close. See her image above. 
• Diana joins the carnival with her Leaf Study and a follow-up art project featuring pointillism. 
• Desiree shares the Nature Walk and Fall Nature Notebooks with carnival readers. They did a great job recording their outdoor time.

Ellen's daughter Anya took this gorgeous image of an orb web.

Fall Webs (from last month)

• Tricia and her family completed their Cobweb Hunt and How To Draw a Web entry and have submitted it to the carnival. They have a glorious spider to share! Tricia also has shared their follow-up study of a really beautiful web in their backyard. Don't miss it: More Spider Web Studies and the Shirt To Prove It. 
• Makita shares their Spiders and Their Webs entry with carnival readers. She even has an intriguing video of two spiders building a web together...interesting! Their family also wanted to share their special Meeting Dr. Jane entry with carnival readers. What an inspirational story!
• Ellen has submitted another wonderful entry Webs and Cookies. They did a great finding webs and taking great images. They also followed up with some spider web cookies!

Potpourri

• Desiree from the UK shares their Pear Study as part of their first Outdoor Hour Challenge. They did a great job observing, recording, and then eating their pears. 
• Makita gives us their families Leaf Roller Update. I am so glad that she made the effort to bring home one to look at and then they found some more! Excellent way to get this challenge done. Makita also wrote a wonderful post sharing Self Directed Journaling done by her young son. What an inspiring example.
• Makita also shares an unexpected but fascinating field trip with carnival readers: Sweet Tart Cranberries!
• Anne is busy learning right alongside her daughters and you can read all about their Constellations - Big and Little Dippers study on her blog Harvest Moon at Home. They also submitted their Grasshopper Nature Study which has some great images and information. 
• Zonnah has shared their Praying Mantis entry with some awesome up close images!
• Kristin from Broom and Crown found a great way to incorporate a little fun in their nature study. Read about it in her entry, Nature's Maracas.   
• Leslie and her daughter completed their fall pear study...yummy entry with a wonderful follow-up notebook page: OHC: Yes You Can Compare Pears. They were also able to complete their amazing Milkweed! study too so don't miss seeing their fantastic images.

Newsletter Giveaway
After a random drawing, the October Newsletter giveaway gift goes to Julie from Homeschool Balancing Act.  She will be getting the the Window Star from Ann at Harvest Moon By Hand ($10 value). Congratulations and please email me so Ann can get you your beautiful Window Star. (I LOVE mine!)

See you all next month! Remember that November's Newsletter link will be for subscribers of the blog only. Please click over to the blog and subscribe using the form on the sidebar.

New Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival

I am happy to announce that there will now be a monthly Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival on the first of every month. You can submit any Outdoor Hour Challenge or Winter Wednesday experience that you completed during the current month.

My hope is that this blog carnival will encourage and inspire even those families that are just starting out with nature study to share what they are up to each week with the most current entries.

The deadline for the first carnival is January 29th and the carnival will post on Monday, February 1st. You may submit entries that you completed during the month of January 2010.

You can submit your first entries here:
Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival

I know that most of you complete more than one entry per month so please feel free to submit more than one entry for each carnival. I am going to try to group the entries together by category for easier reading.

I look forward to seeing your first entries.

If you have any questions about the carnival or how to enter, please email me at anytime: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

I Would Love Some Feedback on a New Idea

I am sitting here on my very rainy day reading and enjoying lots of posts on Mr. Linky from older challenges, both the Outdoor Hour Challenge and the Winter Wednesday Challenges.

It started me thinking that many of you are not able to keep up with the links on older blog entries like I am and it is a shame that you are not able to read how newer families are completing the older challenges.

I had an idea. How about an Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival? Everyone could submit their links on Mr. Linky but also to the blog carnival as well. This way all the most current blog entries would be gathered into one post. You could submit on any topic you are currently working on and it would be a great way to encourage us all to stay regular with our nature study.

Please leave me a comment about your interest in submitting nature study posts on any topic to a Outdoor Hour Challenge blog carnival. I am thinking that a once a month carnival would be a great way to share what we all are doing in our part of the world.

Any other ideas are welcome and you can email me if you want to respond in that way: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Thanks so much,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom