Step By Step Instructions for the Outdoor Hour Challenge
Starting September 1, 2013
- Receive the monthly newsletter on the 1st of the month (subscribers to the Handbook of Nature Study blog).
- In the newsletter, view the printable Challenge Grid for the four topics for the up-coming month. If the topic is from the archives, I provide the link to the challenge on my blog and the link to the ebook it is from if applicable.This way you can prepare for the challenges ahead of time if you wish.
- If you own the applicable ebooks, you can open those and print the coordinating notebook pages to use during the month. This is not required but would supplement the current month's work.
- Print and cut out the newsletter Study Grid or other printable for use during the month.
- Complete the challenges at your own pace and create your blog entries as you have time.
- Submit your blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog carnival. Become part of the global community of nature study families that participates in the monthly carnival of entries sharing how you spent time outdoors with your family.
Big Picture for the Outdoor Hour Challenge
Seasonal Studies: Each month from September 2013 to August 2014 - I am going to be recycling challenges from the archives, pulling them from older nature study series and ebooks. Each month will not be topical but have a variety of nature study ideas that fit the season (Northern Hemisphere). I will also give you ideas from the Getting Started Ebook if you already own that and would like to use it instead or in addition to the seasonal ebooks.
Resources Needed for 2013 - 2014:
- Monthly Newsletter so you have the topic, the challenge ideas ahead of time, and the newsletter printables. The newsletter is free to all who subscribe to my Handbook of Nature Study blog.
- Handbook of Nature Study
book by Anna Botsford Comstock – I recommend the edition linked on the sidebar of my blog.
- Optional but recommended: The seasonal series or ebook that coordinates with the season we are currently experiencing (see schedule below). All of the challenges are available for free here on the blog (see the seasonal tabs at the top of the blog) but each ebook gathers the challenges and includes coordinating printable notebook pages.
- Optional: A copy of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Getting Started ebook. Of course, the challenges in the ebook are available on the Handbook of Nature Study blog for free but if you want the notebook pages you will need to purchase the ebook.
- Highly recommend: Nature journal or nature notebook.
Schedule of Ebooks to Be Used Sept. 2013 - Aug. 2014
- Fall 2013 - Autumn Series from 2009 (no ebook, free notebooking pages)
- Winter 2014 - Winter Wednesday Series
- Spring 2014 - Spring Series 2010
- Summer 2014 - Summer Series 2010
Special Offer:
Purchase all three ebooks for this year's nature study for $16.95 (regular price $24.85)
2013-2014 Ebook Bundle
Please note that I send the ebook download links personally and I always deliver within 24 hours.
This bundle will be offered at this price all year long.
Postponing the new Mega Nature Study Ebook:
The
plan was to release a new Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook gathering each of
the 12 topical studies (Sept 2012 to Aug 2013) from the newsletters,
the Friday post's printables, and many additional activities and
notebook pages that will only appear in the new ebook. This Mega Nature
Study ebook will allow you to work by nature study topic using the Handbook of Nature Study
and the Outdoor Hour Challenges. This ebook has become a huge project
and I will not be able to release it as planned because I have not come
close to finishing it with all the changes going on around my house. I
apologize for any inconvenience this has caused in your nature study
planning. I assure you it will be worth the wait!
New Release Date: June 1, 2014
Sounds great Barb! I am looking forward to having our OHC time follow the seasons once again. I have missed that! Thanks for all your hard work, it is so appreciated!
ReplyDeletethanks for pulling this all together!
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather and Shirley...looking forward to revisiting a lot of the older challenges myself!
ReplyDeleteYour work and efforts are such a blessing to us all! Thank you, Barb, for so graciously sharing your time and talents!
ReplyDeleteYour work and efforts are such a blessing to us all! Thank you, Barb, for so graciously sharing your time and talents!
ReplyDeleteYour work and efforts are such a huge blessing to us all! Thank you, Barb, for so graciously sharing your time and talents!
ReplyDeleteHi, our seasons are out of sync with yours...can southern hemisphere families use your ohc successfully?
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to choose from challenges that fit your needs by clicking the seasonal tabs at the top of the blog.
Or, if you want to follow along with us on each Friday's challenge, follow the Getting Started challenge suggestion at the bottom of the week's challenge. These are more general challenges that can be done at any time of the year.
Hi, My name is Linda, and my computer hard drive was recently wiped. I had all my newsletters downloaded on it. Is there a way to get those again, at least the grids?
ReplyDeleteAt this time there is no way to access any of the archived newsletters. Stay tuned for some changes here on the HNS.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that in all your posts you refer to the Handbook of Nature Study, pages ...... What is that? I am new here and trying to figure out what that book is and where it is.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot,
Julia
Julz=
ReplyDeleteIf you look in this post, you will see the cover of the Handbook of Nature Study which is a guide written by Anna Botsford Comstock. Here on my blog we work through the book with weekly assignments we call Outdoor Hour Challenges.
Look on Amazon for the edition with the black cover with orange butterflies on it.... paperback.
ok... Yes I saw the name of your blog and then got all confused because it is identical to the name of the book. Thank you very much for making it clear for me...I am REALLY new... my kids are just 4 now, the other is still 2. I just found this and it sounds really, really good. What would you recommend I do with just a 4 year old? He is very intelligent in the way he thinks but you know, he doesn't draw, or write besides his name..I noticed most of these require writing and drawing. Does the nature study replace an actual subject in school? Or is this something science class related? I am just reading all the science things and they all seem to be just terms and words to know...this actually seems like...well...fun and not even something he would have to sit down and learn and later forget! Do you do anything in addition to this when it comes to science?
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU
Julz=
ReplyDeleteYou probably would like to read some of the entries on this page:
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2011/01/nature-study-helps-and-hints.html
Thanks so much, you are a blessings
ReplyDelete