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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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59 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Reptiles & Amphibians, 2nd grade (Ages 7-8)
After the Sun Goes Down
Nature Study Library
by Glenn O. Blough, illustrated by Jeanne Bendick
from Purple House Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.99
Alligator at Saw Grass Hill
Smithsonian's Backyard
by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Lori Anzalone
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
Animal Lives: Snakes
by Sally Morgan
from Teacher Created Resources
for 2nd-4th grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Answers Book for Kids Volume 2
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Big Dinosaur Sticker Book
by Paul Nicholls
from Usborne
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle
Smithsonian's Backyard Collection
by Deborah Dennard, illustrated by Kristin Kest
from Soundprints
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Buzztail and Leaper
by Robert M. McClung
from Purple House Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.99
Charlotte's Bones
by Erin Rounds; illustrated by Allison Carver
from Tilbury House Publishing
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$8.49
Digging Up Dinosaurs
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Dinosaur - Coloring Book
by Anthony Rao
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$5.09
Dinosaur Bones
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$5.99
Dinosaurs
Usborne Beginners
by Stephanie Turnbull
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Dinosaurs by Design
by Duane Gish
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$14.39
Dinosaurs of Prey - Coloring Book
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-6th
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$3.36
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
DK Eyewitness Juniors: Amazing Frogs & Toads
by Barry Clarke, photography by Jerry Young
from DK Publishing
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dragons - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Christy Shaffer
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$4.24
First Look at Dinosaurs
from Walker and Company
in CLEARANCE BOOKS (Location: ZCLE)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Aliki
Revised from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Good and Beautiful Animal Guide: Turtles
Good and the Beautiful Library Level 2B
by Miranda Olexa & Jessica Parks, illustrated by Zoe Damoulakis
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 1st-2nd grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Growing Frogs
by Vivian French, illustrated by Alison Bartlett
from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
How and Why Wonder Book of Reptiles and Amphibians
by Robert Mathewson
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
How to Hide a Gray Treefrog
by Ruth Heller
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
Jeff Corwin: Snakes
All aboard Reading Level 3
by Jeff Corwin
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-3rd grade
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Little Glass Lake: Turtles
Book 2, Level 2B
by Jenny Phillips
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 1st-3rd grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Living Fossils
by Caroline Arnold, illustrated by Andrew Plant
from Charlesbridge
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lizards
National Geographic Kids Level 2
by Laura Marsh
from National Geographic
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Lizards - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Jan Sovak
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$4.24
Miles and Miles of Reptiles
by Tish Rabe
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Cat in the Hat's Learning Library (Location: EAR-CAT)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Mixed-Up Chameleon
by Eric Carle
from HarperTrophy
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Mixed-Up Chameleon
by Eric Carle
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur?
by Bonnie Worth, illustrated by Steve Haefele
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Cat in the Hat's Learning Library (Location: EAR-CAT)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Patrick's Dinosaurs
by Carol Carrick, illustrated by Donald Carrick
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Peterson First Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians
Peterson First Guide
by Joseph T. Collins, Robert C. Stebbins, Roger Conant
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-4th grade
in Field Guides: Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: NAT-FG06)
$9.99
Poisonous Snakes - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
Rain Forest River Life - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Water Life Coloring Books (Location: COL-WAT)
$3.36
Rain Forest Tree Life - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Habitat Coloring Books (Location: COL-HAB)
Rare Treasure
by Don Brown
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.80 (1 in stock)
Reptiles
Usborne Beginners
by Catriona Clarke
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Reptiles - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$3.36
Reptiles and Amphibians - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Samuel Gundy & Thomas C. Quirk, Jr.
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Reptiles do the Strangest Things
by Leonora & Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith
Reprint from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sea Turtle Journey
Smithsonian Oceanic Collection
by Lorraine A. Jay
1st edition from Soundprints
for 1st-4th grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
Slinky Scaly Snakes!
A DK Eyewitness Reader Level 2
by Jennifer Dussling
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$4.24
Snakes
by Herbert S. Zim, illustrated by James Gordon Irving
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Snakes
by Gail Gibbons
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Snakes of the World - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Jan Sovak
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$5.09
Sonoran Desert by Day and Night - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Dot Barlowe
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Animal Habitat Coloring Books (Location: COL-HAB)
$3.39
Tadpoles and Frogs
Usborne Beginners Level 1
by Anna Milbourne
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$3.00 (1 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)
True Book: Fossils
by Ann O. Squire
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Turtle Summer
by Mary Alice Monroe, Barbara J. Bergwerf
from Sylvan Dell
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Reptiles & Amphibians (Location: SCI-REPT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Turtles
by Bertie A. Stewart and Gordon E. Burks; illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Golden Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Under One Rock
by Anthony D. Fredericks
from Dawn Publications
for Preschool-5th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Who Lives at the Seashore?
by Glenn O. Blough, illustrated by Jeanne Bendick
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.99
Who Lives in This Meadow?
by Glenn O. Blough, illustrated by Jeanne Bendick
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$12.99
World of Turtles - Coloring Book
by Claude Thivierge
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Reptile Coloring Books (Location: COL-REP)
$3.39 $2.00 (1 in stock)
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