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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109 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Trade Paperback
1001 Animals to Spot
by Ruth Brocklehurst
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
7 Continents: Antarctica
by Jo Ellen Moore
from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Evan-Moor Geography (Location: GEO-CUREM)
America's Deserts
by Marianne D. Wallace
1st edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.00 (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)
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (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: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
by Caroline Arnold
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$7.95
Bluebirds and Their Neighbors
by Wayne Northey
from Pacific Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Birds
by Sarah Jo Davis & Kalee Miller
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$20.50
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)
$17.35
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)
$10.50 $6.00 (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)
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Dover Publications
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.95
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)
Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya
by Jane Kelly
from Square Fish Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dinosaur Bone War
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
Dinosaurs on the Move
by Cathy Diez-Luckie
1st edition from Figures in Motion
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
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
Ereth's Birthday
Poppy Stories #4
by Avi
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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
Fall
by Dianne Hayley, Pat Wishart, Will Husby
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Farm Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.99
Forests
Our Planet
by David Lambert
from Troll Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Guide: Skyguide
Golden Guides
by Mark Chartrand
from Golden Books
for 2nd-7th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Comstock Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
History's Mysteries! Animals
by George Toufexis
from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Life Coloring Books (Location: COL-ANI)
$3.00
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)
Hunting for Whales
by Michael McHugh
from Great Light Publications
for 6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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)
Janice VanCleave's Play and Find Out About Bugs
by Janice VanCleave
from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Journey with Jonah
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Life Cycles of Butterflies
by Judy Burris, Wayne Richards
from Storey Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$16.95
Life in the Deserts
by Lucy Baker
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Life in the Polar Lands
by Monica Byles
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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 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 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 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
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Birds
by Scott Weindensaul
from Scholastic Inc.
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Shells
by Brian Cassie
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
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 Connection
by Clare Walker Leslie
from Storey Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
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
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 Field Guide: Butterflies - Coloring Book
by Robert Michael Pyle, Roger Tory Peterson
Subsequent from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-7th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
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 Mammals of North America
by Peter Alden
3rd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$8.99
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
Planets, Moons and Stars
Take-Along Guide
by Laura Evert, Illustrated by Linda Garrow
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Plant Life
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Practical Naturalist
by Chris Packham, ed.
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo
Scientists in the Field Series
by Sy Montgomery
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
2007 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, 2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Rock is Lively
by Dianna Hutts Aston
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.99
Scrub Dog of Alaska
by Walt Morey
New edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Seed Is Sleepy
by Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$7.99
Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, illustrated by Herbert Buel
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00
Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, illustrated by Herbert Buel
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Shy Stegosaurus of Indian Springs
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, illustrated by Herbert Buel
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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)
Snow Baby
by Katherine Kirkpatrick
from Holiday House
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
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)
Talk, Talk, Squawk!
by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Neal Layton
from Walker Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Tapir Scientist
by Nic Bishop, Sy Montgomery
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$9.99
Tarantula Scientist
by Sy Montgomery
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
2005 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
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)
Tikta'Liktak
by James Houston
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (4 in stock)
Tommysaurus Rex
by Doug TenNapel, with color by Katherine Garner
from Graphix
for 2nd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
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
Tropical Birds - Coloring Book
by Lucia de Leiris
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bird Coloring Books (Location: COL-BIRD)
$4.99
Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Usborne Animal World
Usborne Internet-Linked Library of Science
by Henderson Corinne
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Book of Bird Facts
from EDC Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Usborne Discovery: Birds
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Gillian Doherty
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$4.05 (1 in stock)
Usborne Living World Encyclopedia
by Leslie Colvin & Emma Speare
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$6.75 (2 in stock)
Usborne Living World Encyclopedia
by Emma Speare, Lesley Colvin
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$13.49 $8.10 (3 in stock)
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)
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