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.
Did you find this review helpful?
74 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
100 Things You Should Know about Mammals
by Jinny Johnson
from Barnes & Noble
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
All About Bible Animals
by Simona Piscioneri
from Good Book Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
All About Dinosaurs
All About Books #1
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Strange Beasts of the Past
All About Books #17
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Whales
All About Books #8
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Behavior
Life Nature Library
by Niko Tinbergen
from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Behavior
Life Nature Library
by Niko Tinbergen
1970 printing from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, illustrated by Katie Scott
UK Edition from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Apes and Monkeys
by Deborah Dennard, illustrated by John F. McGee
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Small Mammals
by Ted S. Pettit, illustrated by G. Don Ray
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bug Dictionary
from Tangerine Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Careless Animal
by Ada & Frank Graham Jr.
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Disguises and Surprises
Supersmarts
by Claire Llewellyn
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eye Wonder: Plant
by Fleur Star
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Cat
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cat Books (Location: SCI-MAMCAT)
$6.00 (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)
DK Smithsonian Trees, Leaves, Flowers & Seeds
by Dr. Sarah Jose, consultant Dr. Chris Clennett
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Exotic Invaders
by Jeanne M. Lesinski
from Walker Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Botany
Young Explorer Series
by Jeannie Fulbright
2nd edition from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Young Explorer (Location: SCICUR-AEM)
$44.00 $28.00 (4 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Botany (old)
Young Explorer Series
by Jeannie Fulbright
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Science (Old Versions only) (Location: OSCI-AEM)
$9.00 (3 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Zoology 1 (old)
Young Explorer Series
by Jeannie Fulbright
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Science (Old Versions only) (Location: OSCI-AEM)
$18.00 $12.00 (3 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Zoology 3
by Jeannie Fulbright
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 3rd-6th grade
in Apologia Science (Old Versions only) (Location: OSCI-AEM)
$36.40 $28.00 (1 in stock)
Eyewitness: Arctic & Antarctic
by Barbara Taylor
for 3rd-6th grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Fantastic Flying Journey
by Gerald Durrell, illustrated by Graham Percy
from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$8.00 (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 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Freshwater Life
Science Nature Guides
by Susan McKeever
from Silver Dolphin
for 4th-6th grade
in River, Pond & Swamp (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$11.20 (2 in stock)
Great Animal Search
by Caroline Young
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures
by Claire Llewellyn
from Kingfisher
for 4th-8th grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hand That Paints the Sky
from New Leaf Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Have You Ever Heard of a Kangaroo Bird?
by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by Irene Brady
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
Illustrated Book About Reptiles and Amphibians of the World
by Hans Hvass (original Dutch), English text by Robert Bly, illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Journey Into Africa
by Tim Knight
from Oxford University
for 4th-6th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animals
by Michael Chinery, ed.
from Kingfisher
for 4th-8th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Kolea: The Story of the Pacific Golden Plover
by Marion Coste, illustrated by Fred E. Salmon, Jr.
from University of Hawaii Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Learn to Draw: Insects
by Diana Fisher
from Walter Foster
for 1st-6th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lone Muskrat
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Meadows in the Sea
by Alida Sims Malkus, illustrated by Margaret Cosgrove
from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
My Hobby is Bird Watching
by Mary P. Pettit
1958 Printing from Hart Publishing Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society Birdfeeder Handbook
by Robert Burton
from Covent Garden Books
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Trees
by Brian Cassie
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Field Guides: Plants & Fungi (Location: NAT-FG08)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Nature Around the Year
by Henri Leclercq, translated by Maureen Hornsey, illustrated by Pierre Probst
from Golden Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Nature's Champions
by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein, Illustrated by Jean Zallinger
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Nature's Clean-Up Crew: The Burying Beetles
by Lorus J. Milne and Margery Milne
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Nature's Treasures
DK Treasures
by Ben Hoare, illustrated by Kaley McKean
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Ospreys
by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, photos by William Munoz
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Our Historic Desert
by Diana Elaine Lindsay
First Edition from Copley Books
for 5th-Adult
in U.S. Monuments & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Raptor!
by Christyna M. and Rene Laubach and Charles W.G. Smith
from Storey Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Real Book About Amazing Animals
by Alec Dickinson, edited by Helen Hoke and illustrated by Fred Collins
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Real Book About Mountain Climbing
by William B. McMorris, illustrated by Alert Orbaan
from Garden City Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Real Book About Prehistoric Life
by Dorothy Shuttlesworth, illustrated by Matthew Kalmenoff
from Garden City Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
$6.00 (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)
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)
Strange Birds and Their Stories
Strange Stories From Nature #4
by A. Hyatt Verrill
from L. C. Page & Company
for 5th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$8.00 (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)
$9.50 (2 in stock)
The Birds
Life Nature Library
by Roger Tory Peterson
from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
The Birds
Life Young Readers Library
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Travels of Monarch X
by Ross E. Hutchins, illustrated by Jerome P. Connolly
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Walt Disney's Odyssey of an Otter
Walt Disney's Animal Adventures
by Rutherford Montgomery, Illustrated by Hamilton Greene
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.80 (1 in stock)
Whales: Friendly Dolphins and Mighty Giants of the Sea
by Jane Werner Watson
from Golden Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Wild Animals I Have Known
by Ernest Thompson Seton
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Wildlife Portfolio of the Western National Parks
by Joseph S. Dixon
from United States Government Printing Office
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Wolves: Life in the Pack
from Barnes & Noble
for 5th-Adult
in Dog Books (Location: SCI-MAMDOG)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Wonders of Nature
from Parents Magazine Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Work of Thy Fingers
by Pablo Yoder, photography by Jacinto Yoder
from Christian Light Education
for 3rd-6th grade
in Latin American & Hispanic Culture (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$14.50 (1 in stock)