momee Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Okay ladies. Like you, I don't want to spend more money on stuff I won't use. This, however, was worth the $9 just for me to read about getting started on nature study. We haven't even done them yet but I have absolutely no excuse not to now. I do have the Handbook of Nature Study but if I didn't, that's free online. The references to a child friendly field guide, which ones I need and even the LINKS to amazon for them was worth it alone, that's a big confusing market. Her choices intrigued me, and I don't really like nature :) You may have read my whining about the old nature pages in a previous thread. No need to have doubted you, Barb. Sorry. These are just as wonderful. They aren't green, but I could print them in green ink if I really cared to. The pages are very detailed, geared toward the children filling in the info from the challenges, and will look very nice gathered into a notebook file for remembering our times outdoors. I didn't think I would want to read about Barb's personal experience with each one (no offense Barb) but I was WRONG. They helped me realize it's the getting outside that's the key, seeing what's around. EASY. All that to say, Barb and Tina. You gals have put an incredible amount of work into this project and I am very proud of you!!!! Well done. I hope you are bombarded with orders because you ladies have provided exactly what we homeschoolers whine about all the time. One resource that puts everything together for my children without a huge output of my time. Yaahoooo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emilylou Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I totally agree! I downloaded this last night and can't wait to get started. Great resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Can i ask is it specific to the US or could i use it over here in Australia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 This is an excellent resource for actually STUDYing nature and is so cool that we can do it right outside our doors. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/where-to-start-with-outdoor-hour.html Even in Australia, from what I've seen so far it doesn't matter in the least where you are. The above link is for a site that lists all of the outdoor challenges and includes notebooking pages and what not for free. Here is the link for the downloadable document book I bought for $8.95 telling you exactly what to do first, what field guides you can buy and notebooking pages and coloring pages if you want to pursure the topic more. Everything nature study in one place. It's the first ten challenges, the rest are on the sidebar of her blog numbered in order. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2009/02/announcing-outdoor-hour-challenge-ebook.html Totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjcmehl Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Thanks for the review, I was just going to use Barb's blog. However, after reading your glowing review, I'm buying one!;) Google to see if there are coupon codes for Lulu.com....I believe there is a 10% off code that works right now. :D I don't think it lessens the actual price that Barb would get? Would it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 what ages is the best for? My kids are going into 7th and 8th but love nature and we did nature journals in early elementary which we all enjoyed but can I use something like this with them now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HFClassicalAcademy Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I'm getting the ebook right now! I had been debating about it for a month already! Liz in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonyartmom Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 momee, Thank you so much for your review of the book and the notebooking pages in the Outdoor Hour Challenge ebook. I was a little worried when I saw that you were going to reluctantly purchase the book. The ebook is sort of like my baby. I know that many of you have worked through at least a few of the OH Challenges and so when we decided to gather them up into a book, we wanted to make sure you were happy with the purchase and did not feel like you were just getting a repeat of the blog entries. I wanted to include our family's experiences along with each challenge so you could see that this was not rocket science. We are normal people with an average kind of yard and we could complete the challenges in a way that was meaningful to us. The notebook pages are totally Tina's baby. She absolutely considered it a labor of love and she will be thrilled to hear that you approve of what she came up with. You are very right. They are detailed enough that you could probably complete each challenge just by using the notebook pages. They are beautiful and I will have to post on my nature blog how they turned out in our family. When I get caught up....lol. I also am really happy to hear that the field guide suggestions were helpful too. It is sometimes hard to come up with a general idea for field guides since we all live in different parts of the world. I wanted to talk about that too. The Outdoor Hour Challenges have participants from all over the world. Just a few that I can think of off the top of my head: Brazil, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Peru, UK, Hawaii, Japan, Belguim, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and more. If you go through the links on Mr. Linky on my blog you can see how they have used the challenges in their local environment. In the ebook I link each challenge to my blog so you can easily find Mr. Linky for each challenge. Thanks again for posting back about your experiences. It made me have a good kind of cry this morning. It is encouraging to me to hear kind words about a project that I am so passionate about. I hope it continues to inspire and encourage more families to embark on a great way of life. Email me anytime. I try to keep up with posts over here on the WTM board but sometimes life just gets busy. :) We start school on Monday here so we will have a few weeks of being a little chaotic until we get a new routine under our belts. Sincerely, Barb-Harmony Art Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Thanks for reminding me of this resource. I keep trying to do a systematic nature study on my own and I am just not consistent enough. I think a blank notebooking page just waiting for us to fill in is just what we need! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 We are planning on focusing on weekly nature study this year. Can these challenges be done by a 5 and 2.5 year old? They don't write or read yet, but love exploring nature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2denj Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I have recently received my copy of Handbook of Nature Study and I just downloaded the first 10 challanges. I am very excited to start this with my girls!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 This is very cool! I can't wait to use it. :D Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth Angel_79 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Tempted, tempted....I just found Barb's website a couple of days ago (through a thread on one of these forums, no less) and it looks wonderful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulaneMama Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 this looks sooo cool! my kiddos would love to do something like this. would somepne please walk me through more indepth how it all works? 1)download the book 2)print book (I am a visual and hands on learner) 3)use the challenges on-line????? 4)print sheets out on-line or are they inthe book? HELP :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonyartmom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 We are planning on focusing on weekly nature study this year. Can these challenges be done by a 5 and 2.5 year old? They don't write or read yet, but love exploring nature! The main idea behind the Outdoor Hour Challenges is to spend time outdoors together as a family in your own backyard or neighborhood. This can be done with all ages of children. The challenge information for each topic is for you as the parent to read and as a way to encourage investigation in your children. Example: You read a little bit about leaves in the Handbook of Nature Study and then your family goes outside to find different kinds of leaves. You spend your time investigating your backyard and your particular leaves. If your child is ready to make a record of the nature study then you can offer time to sketch a nature journal entry together- a simple sketch, a label, and a date are all that are needed at first. I give lots of alternatives to a traditional nature journal as well like making leaf rubbings, pressing flowers in a simple handmade press, photos, etc. All that to say that the Outdoor Hour Challenges were designed for families with children of all ages to complete in their own backyard in fifteen minutes a week. You can always try the challenges from my blog where all of them are listed on the right sidebar. I always suggest completing at least the first five challenges before you venture off on other topics. The first five challenges help you read through the introductory pages in the Handbook of Nature Study and give you a better idea of how to conduct a nature study investigation. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonyartmom Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 this looks sooo cool! my kiddos would love to do something like this. would somepne please walk me through more indepth how it all works? 1)download the book 2)print book (I am a visual and hands on learner) 3)use the challenges on-line????? 4)print sheets out on-line or are they inthe book? HELP :lol: If you purchase the ebook: After you download the book, you might want to print out the table of contents, the Getting Started section, perhaps the first challenge, and the materials and resources page. This will give you an idea of how to get going with the challenges. Note: If you are like me and you need the book on paper, go ahead and print the whole thing in black and white. You can always go back to the computer if you want to view the book in color. I have put my printed book into a three ring binder for reference. Read your first challenge and set a time to get started. Print out the journal page for the challenge you are completing if you think your children are going to use the pre-printed pages. Alternately, you can have them work in a blank journal and make their own entries up if you just want to have them make a sketch, a label, and a date. It is not necessary to complete the nature journal pages that come with the book if they are too much for your family. Keep it simple. Remember the most important part of the OH Challenge is the time you spend outdoors as a family. The nature journal is great but not necessary. I talk about that on my blog a lot. I do suggest that you print out the extra blank nature journal pages to use at any time and not just with the Outdoor Hour Challenges. Everything you need to get started should be in the ebook. If you don't have the ebook, you can view the challenges on line at any time by clicking over to my blog and skimming down the right sidebar and finding the particular challenge you want to complete. Many people subscribe to my blog and then save the Outdoor Hour Challenges in a separate file in your email account until you are ready to work on them. This way you have the challenge to print out. Hope that helps with the process a little. Please pop over to my blog and read a little if you need more info. Here is my how to get started blog entry: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/where-to-start-with-outdoor-hour.html If you go to my blog and scan down the right sidebar you will find a section titled, "How To Get Started with the HNS". You can read these entries as well to get an idea of how the book works. There is also a whole section on nature journals. Have fun reading through these as well. Keep it simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkgumby Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 There is also a whole section on nature journals. Have fun reading through these as well. Thanks! I had not noticed the links lower down on your blog - those were very helpful! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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