pageta Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Anyone use this? What is it like? How do you use it? I see it recommended all the time in regards to Charlotte Mason, but no one ever talks about how they use it (i.e. schedule?) and I can't seem to find any sample pages online that tell me what it is or how I would use it. Just curious... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnia Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Barb, aka Harmony Art Mom, does a great job of breaking this down into easily doable lessons with her Outdoor Hour Challenges. See her blog here: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ There are links to the challenges and how to approach them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osaubi Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 The book doesn't have any lesson plans. If you want to learn how to use the book check out Harmony Art Mom's e-book. You will not be disappointed! :001_smile: Not only has it helped me learn how to use the book, but I love the notebooking pages that are included with it. http://www.lulu.com/content/6059459 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Anyone use this? What is it like? How do you use it? I see it recommended all the time in regards to Charlotte Mason, but no one ever talks about how they use it (i.e. schedule?) and I can't seem to find any sample pages online that tell me what it is or how I would use it. What it's like is a VERY thick book filled with tiny print, all about different things in nature (plants, animals, birds, rocks, etc): a description + questions. You can see some sample pages on Google Books and Amazon, from the commonly sold edition. By the way, it's about $15 on Amazon (new) right now. I have no idea why. Wish I'd bought it new -- mine has a cracked spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonyartmom Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I just finished writing a complete review of the book on the Curriculum Choice website. http://thecurriculumchoice.com/2009/10/handbook-of-nature-study/ Hope something there helps or you can pop over to my Handbook of Nature Study blog and read how we use it in our family. I have lots of "how to" sorts of posts listed in the right sidebar. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hscherger Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 What it's like is a VERY thick book filled with tiny print, all about different things in nature (plants, animals, birds, rocks, etc): a description + questions. You can see some sample pages on Google Books and Amazon, from the commonly sold edition. By the way, it's about $15 on Amazon (new) right now. I have no idea why. Wish I'd bought it new -- mine has a cracked spine. The Handbook is very thourough. I love the questions it asks at the end of each section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Barb, aka Harmony Art Mom, does a great job of breaking this down into easily doable lessons with her Outdoor Hour Challenges. See her blog here: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ There are links to the challenges and how to approach them. I agree! Barb's blog is a must if you want to use the Handbook of Nature Study. She will help you be successful with it, and you will love it! Check out our nature blog--link in my signature. It will give you an idea of others are using her blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 :iagree: with everyone else that Barb's blog is a must when beginning to use Handbook of Nature Study. Her e-books are also great and well worth the money. She's done a fantastic job at making HNS accessible to everyone, plus she gives you the tools and the confidence to create your own nature study using HNS. Sorry this sounds a bit like a shameless plug :), but seriously Barb has done a fantastic job and you won't find better out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I have the book and started using Barb's blog BUT what do you do when the thing being studied does not exist where you live, and/or you spend 8 months of your year with snow. For example, a couple weeks ago the study was on goldenrod. We have that here, but the season for it ended back in AUgust, it has been too cold for it and any other plants to be growing past september. Or the acorn, we don't get those here etc. Do you just read the section and answer the questions without studying the actual item? Or study something else. The stuff beings tudied right now for th autumn study looks awesome, but we have pretty much moved onto winter weather already including snow, so I am finding it hard to use as Barb has laid out each week. ANy hints to make this work better for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoSylvia Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 We have long winters as well so I went to Barb's website and printed out a list of all her previous challenges, chose the ones that I was interested in and were applicable to our area, and then plugged them in the proper place on my calendar. This also helped me because I like everything planned out ahead of time, it didn't work for me to receive her challenge on the Friday before the upcoming week. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 There are things like rocks that could be studied at any time of year, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I have the book and started using Barb's blog BUT what do you do when the thing being studied does not exist where you live, and/or you spend 8 months of your year with snow. For example, a couple weeks ago the study was on goldenrod. We have that here, but the season for it ended back in AUgust, it has been too cold for it and any other plants to be growing past september. Or the acorn, we don't get those here etc. Do you just read the section and answer the questions without studying the actual item? Or study something else. The stuff beings tudied right now for th autumn study looks awesome, but we have pretty much moved onto winter weather already including snow, so I am finding it hard to use as Barb has laid out each week. ANy hints to make this work better for us? I am starting with her first 10 challenges. They aren't specific to what you must study. They are helping us to find our own way with nature study. I also search through the challenges she has listed and see if any will fit with something we would like and can do. For instance, I know she just posted a pumpkin study. We aren't ready to do that quite yet, but it will be easy for us to do when we are ready. I just make a note of it, and we will go back to that challenge when the time is right for us--that challenge can be indoors with a store bought pumpkin! I think if you pick and choose challenges that you CAN do in your area, you will start to learn how to make the Handbook of Nature Study as well as nature study in general work for you. You could get a bird feeder and put it outside a window in your home, and watch birds all winter! The possibilities are endless and by going through Barb's blog a little, I am starting to see that. We have a nature blog listed in my signature that will give you some idea of how we've been doing nature studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonyartmom Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 If you are already experiencing winter weather, you could try some of the Winter Wednesday challenges from earlier this year. They are based on the book Discover Nature in Winter and work through the book systematically. You could pick and choose from any or all that would apply to your area or weather. Here is a link to all the posts labeled Winter Wednesday. Some of the regular OH Challenges can be done anywhere, anytime but you are welcome to pick and choose those that you are interested in going in any order you want. :) The first ten can pretty much be done at any time in any place except for perhaps the Challenge 10 which is a picnic. :) I also wanted to add that for every challenge in the Autumn Series, I am trying to include an alternate activity during the Outdoor Time. For instance in the Oaks and Acorns I added: "There is no reason to be concerned if you do not find an oak. See if you can spot a tree that is turning colors or any other tree that captures your child's interest. Make sure to look for creatures that can be found around trees this time of year like squirrels or blue jays." The preparation work can be done for future nature study if you wish or you can skip to the Outdoor Time, find something that tickles your child's fancy, and then come back in and look it up either on my blog list of challenges or in the HNS or a field guide. The main point of every challenge is to spend time outdoors with your children enjoying some aspect of whatever comes your way with a bit of a focus if it works out on the challenge topic. Hope that helps you with some more ideas and ways to use the HNS and/or the OH Challenges. I wanted to thank everyone who responded in such a kind way about the OH Challenges....it means a lot. :) Sincerely-Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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