Green Hour Challenges

This is something I'm pretty passionate about and am really pushing myself to do with Alex this summer.
I'm hoping to post our "green hour" experiences here and if you're also doing one, I'd LOVE Read/See your adventures too :) Please note that the date when looking at this page will not change, it'll always say last update 6/4- I'm just adding to this page and will add the date in bold before each review.
More information on the topic can be found at the links below.

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HarmonyArtMom/480223/
http://www.greenhour.org

Week of 7/27

We've been  in the pool just about everyday. Granted we've done other "nature" stuff....and technically I'm not even sure if this man-made chlorine filled pool even counts- I will say that I've made a conscious effort to use the outdoor pool more vs. the air conditioned yet heated YMCA pool...just to reinforce the feel of "summer".

 

Oh, I found a GREAT book that I'm hoping to start using for Green Hour. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in encouraging a love of science and all things natural.

Week of 7/20
We were out in nature spying GODS creatures, those in water, on land, and in the air :)
(FYI- the bear was contained, we're not THAT brave)

Week of 7/13

Nature art. Here is a bunch of natural materials that were gathered in baskets and the idea was for the kids to use it to create something...anything! Alex made a flute/instrument case from the inside of a stick. I didn't get a pic. of the final product. Not sure where that idea came from :)

 

Week of 7/6:
Our trip to Colonial Williamsburg. We were pretty much outdoors the entire time, but here's our official pic. for the Green Hour Challenge. Alex & Daddy mashing mud for the brickmaker. I can still fondly remember my childhood days and the feeling of cool mud/clay in-between your toes :)

Week of 6/29
"Rivah" day....need I say more?

Week of 6/22: A visit to the Botanical Garden: We read stories on the lawn, and searched for Sun Flowers using our home-made binoculars. Alex is in the back w/her green frog shirt on :)

Week of 6/15th: Pics from our nature class.The children had a nature scavenger hunt and placed their items on the sticky. (Alex has on the hat). They read nature books and created a bird feeder using a pinecone, shortening and bird seed. We also took a hike to the waterfall/pond area.

 

Week of 6/1: Flower Garden:Here's our first informal attempt, this is Alex's flower garden. She laid out where she wanted the plants, I dug the holes and she put them each in, covered then watered. This has since become one of her daily responsibilities- tending to her flower garden :)

Comments

[nina]

I love the Green Hour idea. I'm calling mine "The Outdoor Hour." Really it takes all I have to get them outside for an hour a day. Sometimes we are just at home, sometimes a park or local garden.

Your blog looks great. It seems that you have figured out a lot already. I'm not sure how to create a page for just one topic like the Green Hour. I have posts like that where I'm trying to add but want it to look fresh each time.

Have you seen the 100 Speices Challenge? I think it would be a fun way to get outside and learn at the same time. My friend Sara is doing it at The Learning Umbrella. Here is a link to her most recent post.

http://learningumbrella.homeschooljournal.net/2008/07/14/4-more-plants-for-the-100-species-challenge/

[The Wonder Years]

Such pretty pictures. How fun to go to a nature class. I wonder if there's anything like that over by us.

The Green Hour is such a great site, isn't it? I really hope this year to work on planting more things outdoors with the girls.

Casey