Winter Nature Study FREE Printables

We've had some bitterly cold weather here in the Ozarks.

Though my Indiana born and raised husband is complaining about our lack of snow.

I am resisting the urge to smack him...or at least rebuking that spirit of the cold stuff.

I love him. And he bought me a huge jug of olive oil.

You gotta keep a man like that.

Josiah and I have been keeping busy. At least, I am keeping busy. I have a feeling that Josiah is just pretending. I did find a pile of clean shirts in the dirty laundry basket.

I really need to throw him outside and let him run off some of his excess energy. We had to take both December and January off from swim team....and his PE class doesn't start for another 10 days. However, we live in a 2nd floor apartment in the middle of our town. Which is bigger than most, but not as big as some.

It doesn't mean we still can't enjoy the beauty of a winter day. This year I've created some printables that will, at least, focus our studies.

And I am going to share them with you. I apologize for any strange links, un-centered borders and misspelled words. I am only a girl with too much laundry to do and too many books to read.
Before I get to the nature-themed printables, I encourage you to check out THIS set of winter-themed writing prompts I made last week. There are a few that could be used with a nature study.


Here are some Observation pages for trees. There are separate files. Click here for the Deciduous Observation sheet. I kept spelling deciduous incorrectly. It could have all gone terribly wrong. The Evergreen Observation sheet can be found here. 

If you click on the picture you will get the Evergreen Page. I got tired of taking snapshots of my PDF's so I clumped pictures together.

This next printable is actually a little booklet. I found a really nice (and old) publication by W.S. Blatchley. It is titled "How Animals Spend the Winter." I didn't use the entire piece. I picked out a few animals (or groups) to focus on. I love writing older publications and the fact that they are now in the Public Domain is just terrific. I made this little booklet to take to our reading club. I chose a font that is easier for kiddos with reading issues (like Josiah) to read. The kiddos can also underline and highlight (or make notes) to their hearts content. I have also included a list of possible activities.

Here are some Winter-themed notebooking pages. I've used vintage images. There are a few that would be appropriate for a Nature Study.

This file has two printables. The first is a Winter Bird Watching sheet. I've used birds that are commonly found at my Mom and Dad's farm. But you can cross out or add birds that are common in your neck of the woods. The second is a generic Winter Animal Research sheet. I find that Josiah does better with graphic organizers. They allow him to clearly record and report.

This Winter Weather Report one of my favorites. Not because it is the cutest, but because it is the most practical right now for us. We are recording the weather. I have a budding weatherman at my house. He knows the forecast before we do. It's been fun to look up all the information on our favorite weather stations website everyday. Plus, he has been able to make his own observations.

Using another old publication (Bird Neighbors, 1897) I created this little booklet about Woodpeckers. Specifically, the Red-Headed Woodpecker. Don't let this page fool you. I have 2 pages of reading from Bird Neighbors, a notebooking page, a page with a few woodpecker poems and a few links for some fun. There is also this newspaper style report page. I made this up for our little reading club as well.

Finally, this Bird Observation page is another one you can use all year round. I love birds. They are so cheerful. Much like myself when my husband buys me large jugs of olive oil.

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Go forth, my friends. Enjoy those chilly days.

I am joining my friends from the Schoolhouse Review Crew for a Winter Nature Study Round-Up. The post goes live Wednesday, January 14. Go check it out!

Take a Hike! (a nature hike)

 There is something about the adventure of a nature hike. I think in our fast paced world we have lost the art of the explorer. I know my son is far more interested in battling evil empires on his video game than discovering nature. It is up to me to provide those experiences for him.

It was different in my day (here I go again!) I lived in the country...surrounded by hills and woods and creeks. We had a few rules. Don't go wading in the creek by the road. Don't hurt anything. If you chose to bring home objects for a special "collection" make sure you keep them in your special "collection" box.

So now I live in a 2nd floor apartment. We are surrounded by the sites and sounds of a busy city. Any exploration of nature has to be deliberate on my part. Thankfully, we have some terrific locations here in our town for nature hikes/walks and my parents live on a farm.

How does this nature hike stuff happen?


Think about where. It can be as simple as exploring the backyard. However, I suggest picking some locations that allow true adventure.

They might see things that they would never run into at a local playground or backyard.

You can see Josiah investigating a hole.

Who lives there?  Are there any signs that can tell us?

Another important part of a Nature Hike is the stuff you bring with you. We pack along drawing materials as well as a digital camera. Our little nature journals are simply scrapbooking books my mom picked up at the Dollar Tree. Josiah can sketch, make observations and glue in pictures he takes.

A magnifying glass is an important part of a nature explorers tool kit. The explorer is allowed to investigate, make deductions and see all items of interest up close and personal.

How about a field guide? I like the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock, but I have dozens of smaller field guides on hand. I've gotten them from our local conservation department as well as used bookstores. They simply help the user identify what they are looking at. For example, Josiah knew from reading in his field guide that this fella is, in fact, a toad.
 

The field guide will also help us learn about the habitat or even the proper name of a critter. This guy is a Red Eared Slider and lives in the glorious pond accommodations on my parents' farm. 

Sometimes I like to create scavenger hunts. This one was one we did for Cousin Camp. You can see that some of the items collected were not necessarily of the nature kind. Having a scavenger hunt allows the hikers to have specific things to keep a look out for.

Think about additional items to carry along in a backpack.  Do you have a water bottle? How about sunscreen and bug repellant? How about a hat for those truly serious hikers. Make sure everyone has sturdy shoes. Flip Flops (though usually my footwear of choice) is just not practical for romping through the woods.

Other items you might consider are small bags or containers to bring home treasurers. We have a small journal that we can use to press wildflowers into. The Dollar Tree always has bug collector boxes and butterfly nets available in the spring and summer. This is also a good time to talk about plants of the poisonous kind. Leaves of 3! Let it be!

And what's a Nature Hike without a picnic? A quilt and an easy lunch makes for a special treat. It doesn't have to be complicated. There is something about enjoying a PB&J in the middle of nature. It makes memories.

Happy Hiking!

I'm linking up this post to The Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog Hop. Check it out...I know you will find some wonderful resources.

Just a walk in the park...

Today was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Won't you be my neighbor?

Josiah's Daddy. Aka The Studly Muffin. Troy (as his mother likes to call him) is out on a boat somewhere with my Little Bro.

Josiah and I needed to do some errands so we grabbed some frozen custard (don't judge) and swung by one of our local parks for a nature study.

I brought the usual. Water. Camera. Sketch Stuff (always supplied by my Mama) and our Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. 

The park we visited isn't one I generally use for this purpose. It is a beautiful park, but I prefer some of the other parks in our neck of the woods are just more conducive to the study of nature.

When Josiah and I got to the park there were peoples. And more peoples. In fact, too many peoples for me. Josiah loves the peoples. He spent more time watching people than he did nature.

I think I need a hammock to carry with me where ever I might go. I'm browsing pinterest for some do-it-yourself inspiration.  Stay tuned.

 The Dogwoods are out in full force. And just plain gorgeous. This one is looking a little sparse, but I won't hold that it against it.

Josiah kept inching closer and closer to the peoples. He's a fan. He did more people watching than nature watching.

More beautiful dogwoods.

A Dogwood closeup. Did you know that the official state tree of Missouri is the flowering Dogwood?  Or Cornus Florida. Though why Florida had to get involved....

This park has some old trees. I could imagine little fairy creatures making their homes in the base of this tree. Josiah told me it just looked dead. Fine. Just suck all the joy out of my life!

This photo is Josiah's contribution to our pictures here. He told me he liked it because it looks like a Christmas tree. Well, of course!

Just Darlin' ...though I probably need to disclose that this isn't the first time I have seen this shirt on Josiah Bevan this week. It must have been handy. Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday...and Friday.

For our sketch today, we decided to draw the persistent Dandelion.
 

Very intense work here.

Here is my sketch.

Josiah tried to talk me into letting him color his dandelion red. Normally I am all for artistic impression. However, this is a sketch of what we are observing in nature. When I explained this to Josiah he said, "But I could create some sort of new dandelion never seen before." Then we had a little discussion of Creation and the term "observing in nature." Then we had to talk about an episode of Clone Wars he just saw on Netflix. Rabbit Trails!

Before we left the park I wanted to get a picture of us together. This is our attempt at a selfie. I told you I'm horrible at them.

Josiah is certainly of his generation. I was going through some old pictures and found this gem of a selfie.

 

Isn't it precious? There are many more where this came from.  It had to be from a few years ago. He's lost some of those caps he's so proudly displaying. 

Have a great weekend!