Outdoor Hour Challenge #5 Keeping a List

If you can't view the slideshow on my blog, here is the link to Flickr.
Outdoor Hour Slideshow #1

Can you believe we are on challenge number five? The weeks are flying by and as I see all that we are accomplishing with our children, I am proud to be a part of this project. I want to thank all who have been participating and sharing your nature study with everyone here on my blog. Each entry is precious to me and if you have not been taking the time to be encouraged by the other entries, I highly recommend that you do. We can learn so much from each other.

If you are just joining us, you can find all the links to each challenge on my side bar under "Outdoor Hour Challenges".

I want to say at this point in our challenges that for those families that are starting to feel overwhelmed or "behind" in their nature study....please just work at a pace that fits your family. The challenges will be here when you are ready. If you have found a rhythm that works for you and you want to just enjoy your 10-15 minutes of outdoor time without being tied to any assignment, please take the time and enjoy your children. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is the consistent outdoor time each week that will help you to start to see a difference in your children and their attitude towards their natural surroundings. The challenges and the readings in the Handbook of Nature Study are more for the parent's benefit so we have some aim and direction. I am trying to keep it simple for everyone to complete the challenges each week and not feel burdened by them.

So are you ready for challenge number 5? Here you go.

Outdoor Hour Challenge #5
Making a List

1. Have you decided on a focus area yet?
If you have a focus already, turn to the table of contents in the Handbook of Nature Study and skim down to your area of focus. Look down the list of subjects covered in your area. Highlight or underline those items listed that you think you will encounter during the next five to seven weeks. For example if your area of focus is garden flowers, skim down the list and see if you recognize any flower names that you have in your backyard or area. I actually see ten flowers that our family may come in contact with in our region. Pick one item in your focus area to study, turn to those pages, and read to your child about that subject. At the end of each section, there are observation ideas for each subject and these observation suggestions will be the parent’s reading assignment this week.(see below) As you find things in your focus area, keep a running list in the front or back of your nature journal of those items.

If you still haven’t come up with a nature study focus,
Read: “Pets as Nature Study Subjects” pg 15-16
Why not begin a study of your pet? You could try dogs, cats, goldfish, a canary, or how about a duck?
“Little attention has been given to making the child understand what would be the lives of his pets if they were in their native environment, or to relating their habits and lives as wild animals.”
This is a perfectly good alternative to an outdoor study if you are still experiencing cold winter weather.

Reading Assignment for parents: Read the observation suggestions in the Handbook of Nature Study for the item you chose to read about with your child. Keep these ideas in mind as you have your outdoor time this week. For example, if you are focusing on garden flowers and you are going to read to your child about tulips, turn to the end of the section on tulips and read Lesson 151 which includes eight suggestions for observation. Keep these ideas in mind as you head out for your nature walk.

2. During your 10-15 minute walk, use your senses to not only observe but to hear the sounds of your surroundings.

“ …the mother must not miss this opportunity of being outdoors to train the children to have seeing eyes, hearing ears and seeds of truth deposited into their minds to grow and blossom on their own in the secret chambers of their imaginations”
“No reading aloud or storytelling--in fact, there should be as little talking from her (mother) as possible, and what little there is should have a definite purpose.” Charlotte Mason volume one, page 45

3. Follow up with a discussion. Did you see anything new to add to your list of focus items? Did you complete any of the suggested observations? Do you need to do any further research to answer questions?

4. Give an opportunity for a nature journal entry. Try to encourage a simple drawing, a label, and a date. Pull out the previous challenges and review the alternatives for younger children.

5. Post an entry on your blog sharing your experiences and then come back to the Outdoor Hour Challenge post and add your blog link to Mr. Linky. All the challenges are listed in a drop-down list on the sidebar of my blog.

The main idea of this challenge is to start a list of things you find within your focus area. You can use paper clips to fasten a list into the front of your nature journal. The list can be removed when you change your focus and it can be taped or glued into your nature journal on any page you choose.

The list can be simply the names of the items or you can add the dates you observed them and the location if you want to be more thorough. Sometimes my whole nature journal entry is just a list of things that I see on a particular outing.

The beauty of a nature journal is that it is yours to do with as you want to. I hope to give you a lot of ideas that you can choose from over the coming challenges.


If you would like to have the first ten challenges in eBook format, they are now available for purchase at Lulu.com.


Until next week,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom








Tina at Jetihoja Academy has put together notebook pages to go along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges that she would love to share with you all.
Outdoor Hour Assignment Notebook Pages (Lulu.com)