Outdoor Hour Challenge Plans for the Spring

As the last few challenges in the Winter Series are posted over the next few weeks, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that we made it through the worst of the winter with our heads held high and lots of nature study under our belts. (Although it did actually SNOW here today!)

So what now?

For those that have been emailing me and asking if I plan on putting together a new series for the spring in the format of the winter series, my answer is YES! I have been busy working on a new set of nature study challenges, art appreciation, and music appreciation plans for us all to work through this spring.

The Spring Series Nature Study Ebook will be ready in a few weeks for you to purchase and start using with your family. I will be posting all of the challenges here on the blog as well starting on Friday, April 2nd and ending on Friday, June 4th.

The new Spring Series Nature Study Ebook includes:

• 10 Outdoor Hour Challenges-6 completely new challenges and 4 continuing studies (Seasonal Tree, Weather, Cattail, and Bird). All the Outdoor Hour Challenges in this ebook are based on the Handbook of Nature Study and include page numbers and suggested learning observations. The four on-going studies are totally revamped with a new spring focus and they will inspire you to continue in your year-long studies that you started in Autumn or Winter.
• 10 Outdoor Hour Challenge notebook pages and nature journal suggestions.
  
• 3 months' worth of art and music appreciation- 3 composers and 3 artists with links, prints to view, coordinating projects, a coloring pages, and notebook pages. Also included in two of the months are additional ideas for studying several instruments in the orchestra along with your listening time.
• Ideas for field trips other than your normal Outdoor Hour Challenge backyard adventures.
• Links for further enrichment for each Outdoor Hour Challenge, artist study, and composer study.
• Complete list of resources and instructions to get started with this ebook.
  

I also would like to remind my readers that there are many spring related challenges already on the right sidebar of my blog if you would like to use them instead of the new Ebook and Spring Series of Outdoor Hour Challenges.

Suggested Challenges For Spring Already Posted on My Sidebar
#10 Picnic
#12-#19 Garden Flowers (This series of challenges is available as an ebook with notebook pages from Lulu.com)
Bird Challenges-22 birds listed on my sidebar in 8 different challenges.
Crop Plants-7 challenges listed on my sidebar. (Notebook pages available as a download from Lulu.com.)

As always, I want to emphasize that my focus for any nature study plan is to encourage families to take a few minutes each week to go outdoors with their children and enjoy their own backyard and neighborhood. I write each challenge on this blog in such a way that the focus should be on just that few minutes a week you can spare to learn about the world right outside your own back door. The simple suggestions in the Handbook of Nature Study are used as a guide and a way to give your family some new things to observe and think about in nature.

I will be posting as soon as I have the new Spring Series Nature Study Ebook ready for you to download!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at any time.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom