I gave a challenge on Wednesday to find something extraordinary in the ordinary. I am going to leave that challenge out there this week as I prepare a new series of Outdoor Hour Challenges to begin on September 18th. Please feel free to comment on this entry or the original entry if you would like to share what your family is finding extraordinary in your area.
The new series of challenges to start on September 18th will be more theme oriented and will cover nature study topics pertinent to the autumn season. Some of the challenges will be new and some will be challenges we have covered in the past. My overall idea will be to help new families get started with some of the older challenges but still provide fresh ideas for families that have perhaps completed some of the challenges in the past.
I promise that every challenge will be a great opportunity to get outdoors in your own backyard and enjoy a personalized nature study. As usual, the challenge will be flexible and you can adapt them to your own area. They will encourage you to keep the outdoor time as the highest priority each week.
My plans for these challenges as of today include three trees, one bird, one mammal, one garden flower, one mushroom, and a totally brand new idea for a year-long nature study. There are also going to be a few exciting new elements to our nature study challenges that will freshen things up a bit.
If you are looking for more art, nature study, and handicraft ideas, please check out my daughter's Hearts and Trees Summer/Fall Art Kit that she has available on her blog. There is so much packed into this kit and for families that have limited time for pulling together art projects, handicrafts, and nature study ideas, these kits are invaluable. Please pop over and check out the list of things you get with each kit.
Now for the Give-Away Details: One Hearts and Trees Summer/Fall Kit!
Okay, I am feeling generous. How about you pop over, read the blog entry, and then you can email me the name of the featured artist and also the name of one of the projects listed and I will enter you into a give-away for one kit? Please email your two answers to harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com by Wednesday, September 9th at 8:00 AM PST and I will pick a winner and announce them on Wednesday afternoon. If you have any questions, please email me. :) Please feel free to spread the word about the give-away on your blog or any groups you are in...the more the merrier.
We are going to be spending a day at this nature center over the weekend: Turtle Bay. My boys are looking forward to this: Art of the Brick. I am looking forward to this: Birds and Butterflies. My husband is looking forward to this: T-Rex. It will be a day with something for everyone. I hope to bring home some good memories and some really good photos. :)
See you next week.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
I am looking forward to your new series. I love fall.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't been able to keep up with the Outdoor hour challenges of late. Having a baby does that I guess. We haven't tried one of the kits but they sure look fun. Maybe a fun kit would get me motivated to do more Nature Study. My daughter would really like to make the little felt bird and she is always asking me to break out the paints. Paul Gauguin isn't one of my favorite artists but his work is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoyed learning more about the five critters in our backyard. Thank you for giving the challenge. I am looking forward to more!
ReplyDeletehere is our post:
http://canadianhomelearning.blogspot.com/2009/09/outdoor-hour-challenge-finding.html
Here is our post. I am looking forward to participating in more of the Outdoor Hour challenges, after our long pause. As always, thanks so much for all you do.
ReplyDelete-Phyllis
http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/finding-extraordinary-in-ordinary.html
I'm so glad for this challenge. We are ready again for some good nature study, and the weather has been calling us outdoors! We began our study with worms today. Here's our link: http://crazymaizeworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/apple-trees-and-wriggly-worms.html
ReplyDelete