Nature Study—Outdoor Challenge #1

We plan to start doing regular nature study this summer. We started with the Outdoor Hour Challenge #1 from the Handbook of Nature Study Blog.  I’ve had Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study on my shelf for years, but haven’t used it much. I hope to start a pattern of regular nature study with Emily, using this book, a journal, and the challenges from the “Handbook of Nature Study Blog.”

Our first assignment was to look for some things we found interesting and to pick two things to investigate further. This is what we found:

This tree has interesting peeling bark.

We found several trees with lichen on them and noticed that the lichen was most prolific on the north side of the tree.

We thought the spiky stems where the flowers had previously been on this tree were interesting.

We found this spider in the vinca. Emily drew this and wrote about it in her nature notebook.

We also observed some roly polies and listened to some birds calling to each other.

When we were finished, Emily went for a walk around the neighborhood to do some more nature observation on her own. She saw a raccoon and an yellow garden spider that  she was eager to tell me about when she arrived home.