Glorious Fall Day and a new Fish Study

We had a glorious day trip yesterday. Our annual fall color drive took us through some of the most picture postcard perfect landscapes in the world. I thought you might like to see a little of our day. I could fill a whole blog with the photos, but I will restrain myself.


I told you....it was a postcard perfect day. You can click the photo to make it larger.


The aspens were like explosions of fire and it was as if everywhere you looked there was a photo to be framed.


A little family shadow portrait on the bridge over the salmon creek....just me and the men on this day.


The salmon were still busy spawning and dying. What a sad ending to a fish story! My boys and I sat on the bench watching the salmon activity and talking over their life cycle. Their glorious ending of life, in blazing reds and greens, in such a beautiful place , made us a little reflective about our lives.


Here is another view of the creek on this autumn day. Can't you just hear the water babbling?

Our discussion of the salmon life cycle reminded me that I have been holding onto something that I can now offer here on my blog. Originally, these plans were a part of NotebookingPages.com's Back to School event. I am now pleased to offer it here on my Handbook of Nature Study blog for my readers.

Looking for something a little different? I know not everyone has salmon close-by to observe but many of you may have a goldfish in a bowl in your home. These new plans combine an Outdoor Hour Challenge featuring a study of your goldfish (or really any other aquarium fish you may have) with art and music study....my favorite combination.

These sampler plans include instructions for completing a nature study unit using the Handbook of Nature Study focusing on the goldfish along with complete instructions for following up with an art activity featuring a Henri Matisse painting and listening to a classical music selection by Claude Debussy. Three notebook pages are also included to round our your unit. This is a complete study and will take at least four days to finish.

Goldfish Nature Study on Lulu.com
Plans available as an immediate download from Lulu.com.

Guess what? We have never completed a study of our goldfish. What a great idea for a cold day's nature study! The next time we have a day where we can't go outside during our Outdoor Hour time I will be starting this unit with my boys.

Let me know if you like these mini unit studies that include art, classical music, and nature study. I know they are a little different from the normal Outdoor Hour Challenges, but sometimes my love of art and music creeps into our nature study.

Enjoy the photos in this entry and hopefully you can use the Goldfish Study plans with your family soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom