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Nature Study

Between global warming, holes in the ozone, and the pollution of our seas and rivers, maybe it is best to keep kids indoors and pacified in front of the television....but probably not. If these aren't real threats then there's nothing to protect our children (or ourselves) from, and if they are real threats—all the more reason to instill a love of nature in the younger generations.

Kids have an inclination toward exploration and learning. Allowing them to do so encourages not only active bodies and active minds, it fosters a healthy imagination and love of beauty. Charlotte Mason understood this over a century ago, and developed a system of education in which nature study played a prominent role. It is in nature, more than in the classroom or the rec room or even the library, that children best learn by observation, and this habit once formed will never disappear.

The often-referenced "childlike wonder" inherent in all of us from a young age (though modern society seems to be stamping it out quicker and more efficiently) isn't just some esoteric feeling of awe. It's literal wonder—kids wonder how birds fly, why their pet dog's fur falls out in summer, where ants go in the winter, why it gets colder and harder to breathe the higher you get. The less contact they have with the natural world, the less wonder they'll have; but the reverse is also true, and kids allowed to roam and explore the outdoors will develop a sense of inquisitiveness that can only help them in the so-called "real world."

Preparation for the Real World of modern myth often takes on peculiar guises. Children are snatched from the fields and streams and placed in front of computer screens or television sets. They are crowded into classrooms and made to feel good about the fact that they are learning nothing at the same rate as everyone around them. They are given plastic toys with supposed educational properties and made to "play" with them under close adult supervision.

Meanwhile, the real real world waits outside the walls and doors and windows with its fresh smells, its colors brighter and more unique than anything on HDTV or Blu-Ray, its real wind, and its endless mysteries. If you don't like answering questions, don't want your kids to grow or exercise, prefer fat and lazy to fit and intelligent offspring, by all means somberly prepare them for a life without questions, and consequently without answers. If you want children who will grown into thoughtful adults with a sense of the loveliness of Earth and their place in it, keeping them inside is possibly the most dangerous choice you can make on their behalf.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: Science Overviews
Animals do the Strangest Things
by Leonora & Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Animals Without Backbones: Invertebrates
Come Learn with Me
by Bridget Anderson
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
by Caroline Arnold
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$7.95
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Insects - Student Text
by Arabella Buckley & Julia McNair Wright
from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.90
Book of Insects - Student Text (old)
by Arabella Buckley & Julia McNair Wright
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$9.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.95
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$19.99
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$29.99
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by W.H. Southwick and George Sutton
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$20.99
Dinosaurs by Design
by Duane Gish
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$14.39
Dinosaurs for Kids
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Dinosaurs of Eden
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dinosaurs of Eden
by Ken Ham
2nd edition from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59 $10.00 (3 in stock)
Dragons of the Deep
by Carl Wieland
from Master Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Exotic Invaders
by Jeanne M. Lesinski
from Walker Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring the World Around You
by Gary Parker
from Master Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Exploring Science (Location: SCC-EXP)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Forests
Our Planet
by David Lambert
from Troll Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Fossil Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by Gary & Mary Parker
from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$15.19
How and Why Wonder Book of Deserts
by Felix Sutton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in How and Why Wonder Books (Location: VIN-H&W)
How Bodies Work: Animal Physiology
Come Learn With Me
by Bridget Anderson
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-8th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Insect Life
Eyes and No Eyes #6
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Insect Life
Eyes and No Eyes #6
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$8.99
Life and Times of the Honeybee
by Charles Micucci
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$8.99
Life Cycles of Butterflies
by Judy Burris, Wayne Richards
from Storey Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$16.95
Living Fossils
by Carl Werner
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Evolution: The Grand Experiment (Location: SCICUR-EVO)
$23.99
Living Fossils - DVD
by Dr. Carl Werner
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Evolution: The Grand Experiment (Location: SCICUR-EVO)
$15.99
Living Fossils - Presentation CD
by Carl Werner
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Evolution: The Grand Experiment (Location: SCICUR-EVO)
$11.99
Living Fossils - Teacher's Manual
by Carl Werner
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Evolution: The Grand Experiment (Location: SCICUR-EVO)
$13.59
Madam How and Lady Why
by Charles Kingsley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$14.95
Madam How and Lady Why
by Charles Kingsley
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.99
Marvels of Creation: Breathtaking Birds
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$10.39
Museum Guide (old)
by Answers In Genesis
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-7th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Noah's Ark and the Ararat Adventure
by John D. Morris
from Master Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
Pets in a Jar
by Seymour Simon
from Puffin Books
Non-fiction Science for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
Pocketful of Pinecones
by Karen Andreola
from Charlotte Mason Research and Supply Co.
for Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
School of the Woods
by William Long
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Sea Around Us
by Rachel Carlson
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Sea Around Us
by Rachel Carlson
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
1952 National Book Award (Non-fiction)
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Sharing Nature with Children
by Joseph Cornell
from Dawn Publications
for Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Sharing Nature with Children II
by Joseph Cornell
from Dawn Publications
for Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Silkworms
by Sylvia A. Johnson
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 4th-5th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Snake Scientist
by Sy Montgomery
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
2000 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
Story Book of Science
by Jean Henri Fabre, translated by Florence Constable Bicknell
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$16.95
Story Book of Science
by Jean Henri Fabre
from Living Book Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Those Other Animals
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Those Other Animals
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
To the Top of the World
by Jim Brandenburg
from Walker and Company
for 5th-9th grade
1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Trees and Shrubs
Eyes and No Eyes #5
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Trees and Shrubs
Eyes and No Eyes #5
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$8.99
Usborne Discovery: Birds
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Gillian Doherty
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?
by John Morris & Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
What's That Bird?
by Joseph Choiniere & Claire Mowbray Golding
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FG07)
Where They Go In Winter
by Margaret Waring Buck
from Abingdon Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
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