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Nature Study & Journaling

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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Nature Study & Journaling
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46 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Science Facts & General Interest, 6th grade (Ages 11-12)
Album of Dinosaurs
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Animal Atlas
by Barbara Taylor
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Berries, Nuts and Seeds
Take-Along Guide
by Diane Burns
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$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)
Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study - Complete Set with Introductions Book
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$117.37
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Birds
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$16.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Earth and Sky
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$15.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Invertebrates
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$16.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Insects
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$18.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Introduction
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$11.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Mammals, Flowerless Plants
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Trees, Garden Flowers
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study – Wildflowers, Weeds, Crops
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
$17.99
Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs
by Jim Arnosky
from Putnam Juvenile
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Deepest Lake
by Kris Hirschmann
1st edition from KidHaven Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in River, Pond & Swamp (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Mammal
DK Eyewitness Series
by Steve Parker
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Seashore
DK Eyewitness Books
by Steve Parker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Sience Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Seashore & Tidepools (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dragons
by Bill Looney
from Master Books
for 4th-6th grades
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$15.99
Dry Bones and Other Fossils
by Gary & Mary Parker
2nd edition from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$11.19 $6.50 (3 in stock)
Golden Guide: Reptiles and Amphibians
by Herbert S. Zim, Hobart M. Smith
from St. Martin's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
Golden Guide: Stars
by Herbert S. Zim, Robert H. Baker
1st edition from St. Martin's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Stars & Constellations (Location: SCI-AST)
Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
from Comstock Publishing
for 6th-9th grade
$20.00 (2 in stock)
How Nature Works
by David Burnie
from Reader's Digest
for 4th-7th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Life in the Deserts
by Lucy Baker
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (2 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)
Magnificent Mammals
Marvels of Creation
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$11.19
Nature Day and Night
by Richard Adams & Max Hooper, illustrated by David Goddard
from Penguin Books
for 4th-Adult
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Nature Through the Seasons
by Richard Adams & Max Hooper, illustrated by David Goddard
from Penguin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$9.99
Planets, Moons and Stars
Take-Along Guide
by Laura Evert, Illustrated by Linda Garrow
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides: Weather & Astronomy (Location: NAT-FG10)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Practical Naturalist
by Chris Packham, ed.
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Reptile
DK Eyewitness Series
by Colin McCarthy
1st edition from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Secrets of Animal Flight
by Nic Bishop
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sensational Sea Creatures
Marvels of Creation
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$11.19
Special Wonders of the Wild Kingdom
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Tracks, Scats and Signs
Take-Along Guide
by Leslie Dendy
from Northword Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Field Guides: Animals (general) (Location: NAT-FG03)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Trees, Leaves and Bark
Take-Along Guide
by Diane Burns
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Mysteries and Marvels of Nature
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Elizabeth Dalby
from Usborne
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne World of Animals
by Mike Unwin & Susanna Davidson
from Usborne
for 4th-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
Walk in the Desert
by Rebecca L. Johnson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Walk in the Prairie
by Rebecca L. Johnson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Walk in the Tundra
by Rebecca L. Johnson
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.50 (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)
$14.95
Wild Cats and Other Dangerous Predators
by Clare Oliver
from Parragon Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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