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Home » Blog » Homeschool Nature Study: Winter Weather and Tree Silhouettes

in HomeSchooling· Nature Studies

Homeschool Nature Study: Winter Weather and Tree Silhouettes

For your winter homeschool nature study you will find it surprisingly fun to study winter weather and tree silhouettes! We used some great nature study resources in our homeschool that we will share with you!

For your winter homeschool nature study you will find it surprisingly fun to study winter weather and tree silhouettes! We used some great nature study resources in our homeschool that we will share with you!

Snow? Snow! Yes, we awoke to white. Hodgepodgedad and I had seen the big, fat flakes falling right at bedtime last night. So I knew that the next morning would be a great time for a winter weather nature study. And so, even before math, we bundled up and made tracks in the soft blanket of snow in the backyard. Because, here in the south, we don’t know how long snow will last. We have to run out and enjoy it first thing!

Homeschool Nature Study: Winter Weather and Tree Silhouettes

Making snowballs - nature study winter weather

We noted, before we went outside, that the temperature was 26 degrees.

sledding - nature study winter weather

It was a soft, wet snow. Good for testing the new sled! Eldest boy made plans to use the sled on a hill of fall leaves later this year.

The cold pushed us back inside. After we warmed by the fire, we clicked over to the Tree Silhouette activity in our Homeschool Nature Study membership. We chose the Blind Contour activity because we were up for giggling at what we might draw when we weren’t looking  🙂

sketching tree silhouettes

Youngest girl picked our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the front yard. She moved her chair close to the front door.

sketching tree silhouettes in homeschool nature study

The chair also works well as a desk.

sketching tree silhouettes with snow

The boys picked the red bud tree in the front yard. The snow highlighted its silhouette beautifully!

For your winter homeschool nature study you will find it surprisingly fun to study winter weather and tree silhouettes!

Youngest thought it was fun to use the window as a desk. (I love this picture of the two of them!)

We all paused to laugh at how the blind contours turned out. The children also thought it was a challenge to not pick up the pencil to sketch the tree in the modified contour activity below the first.

sketching in homeschool nature journal page

Eldest girl took her shot at the blind contour with her choice, the backyard mimosa.

blind contour winter homeschool nature study

Hers turned out so well we all cheered! We noted that the little evergreen and the red bud were harder to draw with the way their branches form the crown of the tree. The mimosa tree curves and branches almost from the ground. An interesting difference in the type of tree silhouettes.

Homeschool Nature Study winter weather and tree silhouettes

Then we took a few minutes to spot birds in the backyard tree. Since we came inside, many were perched on the branches waiting their turn at the bird feeder. The puffed up male cardinal looks so majestic with his red standing out against the snow.

Carolina chickadee. For your winter homeschool nature study you will find it surprisingly fun to study winter weather and tree silhouettes!

We also saw our hermit thrush was back, as well as a carolina chickadee, sparrows and titmice. This morning we didn’t see our red-bellied woodpecker. Great practice for the Great Backyard Bird Count. (We can’t wait for the Outdoor Hour homeschool nature winter bird study because we got lots of great photos of birds last snow fall!)

Overall, our weather has been cold this February. There was one, warm, sunshiny Saturday we enjoyed outdoors. And though we have really enjoyed all there is to notice of winter, we are hopeful because of General Beauregard Lee. Gen. Lee is the resident groundhog of the south who did not see his shadow last week  🙂

keep track of the weather for your winter homeschool nature study

Youngest girl has been tracking our weather for us with her page. We were excited to put snowflakes on the 10th!

Bringing the Handbook of Nature Study to Life - homeschool nature study

This post was updated from the February 2011 archives because we are hopeful for snow this year!

Related

Filed Under: HomeSchooling, Nature Studies Tagged With: nature, outdoor hour challenge, Winter Wednesday

About Hodgepodgemom

Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. The biggest lesson she’s learned? At the end of the day – when the dishes are put away and the children are tucked in bed – truly what matters is each child’s relationship with the Lord. Raising children is a God-given privilege and, folks, the time is short.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Barb-Harmony Art Mom says

    February 10, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    What a great cardinal visitor to sit right there for such an awesome photo! We don’t have cardinals here in the California so what a treat to see yours.

    Blind contours are a great brain stretching activity and the skill is one that translates over to anything you draw. It forces you to really look at what you are drawing. We haven’t done any blind contours in a long time. Putting it on the list.

    Thank you for sharing your snowy world…we are sunny, warm, and spring-like. They are predicting rain and perhaps a snow shower next week so we are keeping the winter gear out just in case.

    Thanks for sharing your link with the OHC.

    Reply
  2. Hodgepodgemom says

    February 11, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    Barb – that’s just what my husband said when he first saw a cardinal. Being from the west, he’d never seen one! We really enjoyed the ‘drawing on the right side of the brain’ activity (as Nana says it is called). You are right, it does make you focus right in on your subject. The snow was mostly gone by afternoon here. Though I’m about to run out and get a picture of the jonquils poking their green up through one last little spot of snow. But I hear that you are sending warm weather our way for the weekend.

    Thanks for inspiring us!

    Reply
  3. All Things Beautiful says

    February 11, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    I can’t believe how much snow you are getting this year. You have more than we do!

    PS: I love your new blogsite. I can leave comments! Yeah!

    Reply

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