Learning About Wool - More Nature Study

More Nature Study Book 2 - Sheep/Wool Study

Since we don't have access to a sheep to observe up close, we opted to study wool instead. Mr. B was not all that excited about this particular challenge but once we started we had some fun with it. We did notice some sheep in a pasture over the weekend but that was about as close as we got to a real sheep.

• We started off with the video on YouTube showing how wool is made and we also watched a few videos on shearing sheep. This led to a few more videos on spinning yarn from the wool roving. Now we have more of an appreciation for the wool yarn that goes into our hats and scarves. 
• With new interest, Mr. B completed his research into the Artiodactyla order and Bovidae family of animals, finishing off with a written narration of his investigation. Links found in the original challenge. If you want an interesting discussion, try to find some information online that discusses the Artiodactyla order and whales. It led to some interesting thoughts in our home. (You can Google "Cetartiodactyla".)
• Lastly we looked at wool under the microscope...amazing to see up close. I encourage you to give it a try if you have a microscope. 

Sometimes our nature study is not of the outdoor variety but I knew that when I included sheep in this series of challenges. We chose a rainy day to complete this study and it was fun to think about wool when we were out on our snowshoe hike recently. Nature study can connect many real life experiences if we give it a chance. I look forward to seeing if any other families took this challenge and found a way to make it successful with their family.

If you want to look at other mammal using the Outdoor Hour Challenges, you can find a list here on this page: Outdoor Hour Challenges - Mammals 

You may also be interested in another Winter Mammal Challenge found here on the Handbook of Nature Study.

Handbook of Nature Study February Newsletter

Handbook of Nature Study Newsletter

Companion to the Outdoor Hour Challenges

Supporting a Global Community in Their Nature Study

I have attached the newsletter download link to the bottom of my blog feed so if you are a subscriber you will receive the link to the latest newsletter at the bottom of every post for the month of February. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can still subscribe and receive the newsletter in the next post that comes to your email box. You can subscribe to my blog by filling in your email address in the subscription box on my sidebar.

Make sure to click and save the newsletter link from the email for future reference.

The OHC Newsletter is a companion to the Outdoor Hour Challenges that are posted here on the blog every Friday. There are special printable activities, additional links and ideas, as well as articles and photos from a variety of OHC participants. I invite everyone to subscribe and get the newsletter each month in your inbox.

If you have trouble getting the newsletter to download, try right clicking the link, save the link, and then open it.  (The link is in the email and not in this blog post.) I am not going to be archiving the newsletters at this point. You will need to SAVE the FILE on your computer each month if you want to save back issues.


Available Now! Watch my introductory video on YouTube.com.

Make sure to read the February 6, 2012 entry for an extra special link-up that I have planned with five other bloggers. We will each be offering a free printable to encourage you in your nature study during the month of February.
Coming February 6, 2012!




I am also hosting the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival on 2/7/12 and I would love to have lots of you contribute. The theme is nature study...of course! Make sure to get your entry in by the 2/6/12 deadline. Thanks!

Outdoor Hour Challenge - More Nature Study #2 Leaf-Miners and Leaf-Rollers

Here comes the second challenge in the new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges! I will be posting one new challenge each Friday and you are welcome to jump in and work through the challenges as you have time. You can post your blog entries at any time and then send me the link for the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entry that will post on the last day of the month.




Inside Preparation Work:
1.Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 329-334 (Lessons 77 and 78). Pay special attention to the “Leading Thoughts” and the “Methods” sections in each lesson. These will give you hints and ideas for searching for Leaf-miners and Leaf-rollers.
2. Optional YouTube Video: Watch a leaf roller HERE. One short one showing it up close HERE.
3. Preview this YouTube video of a leaf miner at work: The Good, The Bad, the Ugly...Larva. Awesome! Watch it full screen if you dare.

• Hints: Look on sumac, basswood, and witch hazel for leaf-rollers. We have found leaf-rollers on our crepe myrtle and coneflowers. For leaf-miners, look on nasturtium, columbine, lamb’s quarters, dock, and burdock. You may also try pine needles for yellow tips. We have found leaf-miners on oaks.

Outdoor Hour Time:
1. Go outside with the intention of looking for and observing some insects. Keep in mind the images of the leaf-miner and the leaf-roller. Look for signs of these kinds of insects on the leaves in your garden or in your neighborhood. There are many varieties of each kind of insect so you may wish to consult your field guide before you head out.
2. If you don’t find any insects to observe, take a few minutes of your Outdoor Hour time to examine various leaves with a hand-lens. Look for anything that has damaged the leaves and describe what it looks like. Many things can damage leaves besides insects.

Follow-Up Activity:
1. Insects are hard to identify but the point of this challenge is mainly to look for Leaf-miners and Leaf-rollers and how they use leaves during their life-cycle. If you can see the larva or the insect itself, you may have a good chance at identifying it. On the other hand, you may just need to talk about the behavior of this kind of insect and give the opportunity to sketch the leaf and your observations. You can use the accompanying notebook page for convenience (ebook users only).
2. Advanced Follow-Up: Read this link for more information on leaf rolling insects: Leaf Rollers on Ornamental and Fruit Trees ( UC Davis). Complete the Upper Level notebook page with your research (ebook users only).

You may also be interested in taking a look at my Autumn Squidoo Lens for additional ideas across the curriculum. I list autumn themed poetry, autumn paintings by great artists, and autumn inspired music to listen to on YouTube. I have also updated the lens since last year with additional links for easy autumn nature study projects.

Handbook of Nature Study - August Newsletter: Pond Edition

The August edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter is ready to be downloaded! The theme for the newsletter is Ponds and Pond Creatures....one of our family's favorite topics to explore this time of year. I have included some new features in the newsletter and hope you find it useful.

Please note that you are encouraged to try to use the topics suggested in the monthly newsletter but if your family finds another topic of interest...always follow your interest. You can still submit the entry to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. You can submit more than one entry to the carnival. The deadline for the next Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival will be August 30, 2011.

Here is the August 2011 Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter. 

Exciting Features:

• Summer Pond Study Notebook Page


• New Nature Journal Idea


• Pond Links


• Newsletter Specials - Autumn Series - Outdoor Hour Challenges


• Pond Nature Study Grid


• Marsh Pastels Tutorial


• Interviews with Outdoor Hour Challenge Families


• Guest Post Opportunities

I also have put together a new Pond Study page on Squidoo:  
Pond Study Using the Handbook of Nature Study.
I hope you find it helpful!

(If you have trouble downloading the newsletter and you have Mozilla Firefox, right click the link, save it, then try to open it from your desktop.)

I drew a random name from those that participated in the July Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival and Susan from Learning All The Time is the winner of A Kid's Summer EcoJournal. I want to thank all of the participants in yesterday's blog carnival....what a great bunch of entries! Congrats to Susan!

Outdoor Hour Challenges - Getting Started With Nature Study

Price $8.95.

Getting Started Challenges 1-10 - also available in a convenient ebook with custom notebook pages.
#1 Let's Get Started
#2 Using Your Words
#3 Now Is The Time To Draw
#4 It Is Coming Into Focus
#5 Keeping a List
#6 Collections
#7 Your Own Field Guide
#8 Magnifying Lens
#9 One Small Square
#10 Picnic

For more information, click the Getting Started tab at the top of the blog.

Autumn 2010 OHC #1: Nature Journals

Welcome to the New Series of Challenges!

Autumn Series #1
Nature Journal-How To Get Started

“A field notebook may be made a joy to the pupil and a help to the teacher.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 13

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read in the Handbook of Nature Study pages 13-15 (The Field Notebook). In this section Anna Botsford Comstock helps us with a detailed description of her idea of a field notebook or nature journal. She also states that if done properly “they represent what cannot be bought or sold, personal experience in the happy world of out-of-doors”. Make note of any suggestions you want to implement with your children.

• Read page 17 in the Handbook of Nature Study (The Correlation of Nature Study and Drawing). Highlight the points that will help you with your nature journals. “Too much have we emphasized drawing as an art; it may be an art, if the one who draws is an artist; but if he is not an artist, he still has a right to draw if it pleases him to do so.”

• Decide what kind of nature journal or nature notebook you will be keeping for this series of challenges. Some families prefer a blank journal to record sketches, words, and images. With this series of challenges there are notebook pages provided for each challenge and these can be inserted into a three ring binder. Some families combine blank pages with notebook pages to give variety to their nature journals and keep it in three ring binder as well. If you would like more ideas about nature journals, examples of pages, and links to more resources, you can visit my Squidoo Lens Webpage for more information: Nature Journals-Tips for Simple Journals.

Outdoor Hour Time:
For this challenge you are going to spend 15 minutes outdoors with your children in your own yard. Take a walk around your yard or down your own street. Enjoy being outdoors. Look up at the sky, look under rocks, listen carefully for sounds, touch some leaves, sit in the grass, stand under a tree, smell a flower, collect some acorns, and just see what happens. Remember you are building your child’s powers of observation and trying to stir up some interest. Keep your words and attitude positive. If you have younger children you may need start off with just 5 minutes of outdoor time for nature study but you can gradually build up to 15 minutes or more.

“She should say frankly, ‘I do not know; let us see if we cannot together find out this mysterious thing.’ She thus conveys the right impression, that only a little about the intricate life of plants and animals is yet know; and at the same time she makes her pupils feel the thrill and zest of investigation. Nor will she lose their respect if she does it in the right spirit.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 4

Follow-Up Activity:
After you come inside, take a few minutes to follow up on any interest your child has from his observations outdoors. Listen and take note of any future nature study subjects you can cultivate from their comments. Offer to help them sketch something they observed into their nature journal and help them find a few words to describe their outdoor time. Start small and as time passes your child will have more and more to record in their journals. You can use the general notebook page provided in the Autumn 2010 ebook or your own blank nature journal to record your outdoor time. There are also a variety of free notebook pages available here from previous Outdoor Hour Challenges.

If you would like, pull out your Handbook of Nature Study and see if the item your child is interested in is listed in the index. If it is, look up the information for yourself and then relate interesting facts to the children sometime during the next week. You can also look up information at the public library and share some books on their topic of interest. Remember it is okay to say that you don’t know the answer to a question they have but you can model how to find the answer as you gain confidence in your own nature study knowledge.

If you would like to see more examples of nature journals, please click over to view the two Flickr groups associated with the Outdoor Hour Challenges:

Ages 8 and Under Nature Journal Samples
Ages 9 and Above Nature Journal Samples (includes some adult examples as well)

Everyone is welcome to join the Flickr groups....please feel officially invited to join.

If you would like to have all the Autumn 2010 Outdoor Hour Challenges gathered into a convenient ebook, please see this entry for more information:
Autumn 2010 Nature Study with the Outdoor Hour Challenges

Searching My Heart: Nature Study

The last few years with the Outdoor Hour Challenge have been a wonderful way to intensify nature study in our family. I know for a fact that if I had not been writing and sharing so much on this blog that our nature study might not have been so enriching and consistent. The community that has developed surrounding the Outdoor Hour Challenges has encouraged our family tremendously in our attempts to keep a love of nature study alive...I could not have done what I have done without many, many faithful readers and contributors to the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

On the personal side, Friday is always looming for me with another challenge to post and then there is the need for me to post our results. After much thought and reflection, I see our family skipping many opportunities for nature study that come up each week because it is not the assignment for the week. I feel more and more like nature study is a job and not the joy I want it to be.


I have two years left with my sons at home. Two years for them to have me as their nature study companion and me to have them as a captive audience. I don't want to miss the chance to make nature study a meaningful part of their lives, not just another school assignment.


I also realize that I am miss the balancing part of my personality, the artistic side. I look at my art supplies sitting so near but I know my hands are busy with the computer and my heart is divided. I have one son who has a creative soul and I need some time to spend with him not only in developing his love of beauty through nature study but lots of free time and play with paints and other art supplies.


So after much thought, reflection, and prayer I have decided a few things will change, if not in practice at least in my attitude. I am wise enough to know when I need to shift gears and make a few changes. I think that comes with turning 48 years old this year....yes, I am really close to the half century mark.

The blog will not look much different for you dear readers until perhaps January once the Autumn Challenges are completed. I have some amazing ideas to work on in the meantime and I will share my list of things that I brainstormed regarding the blog and the Outdoor Hour Challenges below. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com.

To Summarize My Thoughts and Intentions

• I will still be here this season with the Autumn Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges, posting on Fridays and sharing lots of great stuff with you and reading what your families are up to as you complete the Autumn Challenges. You will still have my complete support and attention.
  
• I will be posting the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival on the first of the month. There is nothing but joy associated with this project.
  
• There will not be a new 2011 Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges ebook. There are already two complete series of challenges available both in ebook format and listed on the blog as the Winter Wednesday series. I am still contemplating whether to write a new Winter 2011 Art and Music Appreciation ebook.
  
• I will still be sharing what our family does with the Handbook of Nature Study as the opportunities arise and our nature study takes shape again.
• Rest assured my brain is still formulating a new idea. The idea has been simmering for quite some time and I may be ready next spring to actually share with you some exciting new ways to more creative nature study and journals.
• I have two new products to review and a giveaway in the works. Stay tuned for that in the next month or so....you will not want to miss them.

There is plenty to do around this blog to keep any family busy for a very long time. I just took an inventory of what is available on the blog sidebar for you to use with your family.

52 original Outdoor Hour Challenges
8 Bird Challenges
7 Crop Plant Challenges
Autumn 2009 Challenges =10
Winter 2010 Challenges =10
Spring 2010 Challenges =10
Summer 2010 Challenges =12
Autumn 2010 Challenges =10 (not listed yet but they will be over the next few months)
Winter Wednesday Challenges =9

That is a total of 128 challenges you can complete with your family!

So, there you have my thoughts for the week, month, and rest of the year. :)

I love what I do here on this blog and I am not going anywhere, just taking a different approach.

Sincerely,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges-Ebook Now Available!

I am really excited to announce that I have finished writing a completely new ebook for the Winter Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges. This ebook is a unique product that includes not only ten nature study challenges but three months' worth of art and music appreciation with a winter theme! This is the first time I have combined all three elements into a full length ebook and I am anxious to share it with all of my readers and their families.

I have worked hard to produce an exciting ebook to help you with simple winter nature study and give you some help and direction in providing art and music appreciation.

Here is an overview!

• 10 Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenges
• 13 custom notebook pages to complement those challenges
• 3 different artists to study-one per month (Caspar David Friedrich, Gilbert Stuart, and Claude Monet)
  
• 3 different composers to study-one per month (Vivaldi, Waldteufel, and Dvorak)
  
• 11 custom notebook pages to use in following up your art and music study
• 3 paintings included for you to print or view
  
• Ideas for art projects to complete your art appreciation with common art supplies you probably have on hand
• Resource list
• Clickable links 
• View a sample HERE.

In total, this new Winter Nature Study ebook is 56 pages long. You will have a complete plan at your fingertips for your winter nature study, art appreciation, and music study. All of the art prints are included in the ebook and there are links to viewing them online as well. All of the music planned is available to listen to online. You will need to have the Handbook of Nature Study in order to complete the nature study challenges. I have aimed to keep these challenges and studies as simple as possible with very few additional resources needed.

Please realize that the challenges are listed on the winter tab at the top of my blog but the ebook gathers the challenges all into one easy to use resource along with the custom notebook pages. If you purchase the book now, you will have the complete ten week plan all at one time for you to use as you find time. The notebook pages will *not* be offered on the blog for free this time.

To recap how this all works-

Winter Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation Ebook: Contains all the challenges, custom notebook pages for nature study as well as art and music appreciation, and three months' worth of art and music appreciation. 56 pages for $8.95.
(This is the complete project and includes all the items listed above in one ebook.)
Note: There might be a delay in you receiving the ebook in your inbox. I am emailing each book out myself and the delay can be up to 24 hours. Also, I will be emailing the book to the email address on your Paypal.com account.

Edit to add 1/11/11:
I would like to announce that you can now purchase all four seasonal ebooks for the Outdoor Hour Challenge in a bundle for a discounted price of $29.99. Click the button above to order the Four Seasons Bundle.

You will receive all four of the current seasonal ebooks.
If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Outdoor Hour Challenges Downloads

I just finished putting together the PDF plans for the Outdoor Hour Challenges on Trees and Flowerless Plants. These two files gather the challenges all into easy to download documents.

Trees included: Oak, Pine, Spruce, Maple, Apple, Hemlock, Hickory, and Chestnut. (Challenges 31-35 and 37-38)
Flowerless Plant Challenges include: Ferns, Mushrooms, Moss, Lichen, Mold, Puffballs, and Morels. (Challenges 41-43)


I realize that SaveFile is not working right now and that is why I took time today to upload a lot of the challenges to Lulu.com

I now have two places that you can check for downloads, either free downloads or for my ebooks.

Lulu.com or Lulu.com

You will have to bear with me as I sort the two storefronts out. Eventually, one will be for the Outdoor Hour Challenge downloads and one will be for Harmony Fine Arts downloads. Tina is working on getting a file set up for the free Outdoor Hour Challenge notebook pages for everyone to have access to since SaveFile is not working right now. In the meantime, please check the two Lulu.com sites for challenges you need or please work directly from the blog by skimming down the right sidebar and finding the topic you need and clicking it directly. I would love to be able to email everyone that asks for the files they need but it has been a little overwhelming today. :)

I know all the information you need to get started is right here in this blog so just do your best to use what is here for now.

If you absolutely need some nature study notebook pages, I highly recommend NotebookingPages.com's pages. Debra is still running a fantastic sale price until 8/31/09.


Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom