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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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62 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Trade Paperback
All the Water Birds - Pacific Coast
by Jack Griggs
1st edition
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Watching Answer Book
by Laura Erickson, Illustrated by Pedro Fernandes
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Birds' Eggs
by Michael Walters
1st edition
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Book of Trees
by Sean Brooks
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.35
Botany Coloring Book
by Paul Young
1st edition from Harper Perennial
for 5th-9th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Creative Haven Beautiful Birds - Coloring Book
Creative Haven
by Dot Barlowe
First Edition, Fir from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$6.99
Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Double Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Draw 50 Baby Animals
by Lee J. Ames, Murray Zak
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Birds
by Lee Ames & Tony D'Adamo
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Cats
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Creepy Crawlies
by Lee Ames
Reprint from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
Draw 50 Dinosaurs
by Lee J. Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Dogs
by Lee Ames
from Broadway Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw 50 Sharks, Whales, and Other Sea Creatures
by Lee Ames
from Broadway Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Farm Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.99
Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Comstock Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
How to be an Explorer of the World
by Keri Smith
from Perigee Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Book of Trees
by Eric A. Bourdo Jr., consultant editor
from Salamander Books Lmt.
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Insects of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Judy Haggard, Peter Haggard
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Life of the Spider
by J. H. Fabre
from Purple House Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Marine Biology Coloring Book
2nd edition from Collins
for 4th-9th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$24.99 $13.00 (1 in stock)
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Moby-Dick (retold)
by Herman Melville, presented by Jane Needle, illustrated by Patrick Benson
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
2nd edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$23.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes
2nd ed. from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders
by Lorus and Margery Milne
Later Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$25.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mammals
by John O. Whitaker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Shells
Reprint from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Western Region
by Elbert L. Little
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$26.00
Nature Anatomy
Science Nature Guides
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.95
Nature Anatomy Notebook
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$19.99
Nature Study Idea Book
by Mary E. Woodis
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Nature's Beautiful Order
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$21.95
Nature's Beautiful Order - Teacher Key (old)
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ocean Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$18.99
Of Skies and Seas
My Father's World
by Joanne E. De Jonge
from Eerdmans
for 7th-9th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pacific Northwest Insects
Timber Press Field Guides
by Judy Haggard, Peter Haggard
from Seattle Audubon Society
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$34.95
Pagoo
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Penguins: Flightless Birds of the Southern Hemisphere
from Sea World
for 6th-12th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson Field Guide to Insects
Peterson Field Guides
by Donald J. Borror, Richard E. White
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson First Guide to Butterflies and Moths
by Paul A. Opler
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Peterson First Guide to Insects
Peterson First Guide
by Christopher Leahy
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.99
Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals
by Frederick H. Pough
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.95
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
by Jim Pojar, Andy MacKinnon
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Scat and Tracks of the Rocky Mountains
by James Halfpenny
1st edition from Falcon Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Squirrels of the West
Lone Pine Field Guide
by Tamara Hartson
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Tales From a Northwest Naturalist
by Jim Anderson
1st edition from Caxton Press
for 5th-Adult
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
The Defender
by Nicholas Kalashnikoff
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Those Other Animals
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Tree in the Trail
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by Ellen Kuhlmann, Mark Turner
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.95
Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Usborne Mysteries and Marvels of Nature
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Elizabeth Dalby
from Usborne
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$15.29 $10.80 (1 in stock)
Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge
by Russ Jolley
from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 8th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Wildlife Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$18.99
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by David Moskowitz
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.99
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