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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549 Items found Print
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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)
1000 Hours Outside
by Ginny Yurich
First Printing from Sunflower House Books
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
A Closer Look at Plant Life
Closer Look books
by Bernard Stonehouse, illustrated by Richard Orr, Philip Weare, Gary Hincks
from Gloucester Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$6.00 (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 Monkeys
All About Books #26
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
for 4th-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)
All the Year Round
by Alice Gall, illustrated by Fleming Crew
Second Printing from Oxford University
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Birds
by Dorling Kindersley Ltd
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
America's Deserts
by Marianne D. Wallace
1st edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Eagle: A Photographic Portrait
by John Pezzenti
from Viking Studio Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Prairie Chicken
by Mary Adrian, illustrated by Genevieve Vaughan-Jackson
from Hastings House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific States
by Gayle Pickwell
from Stanford University Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Ones
by Barbara Bash
from Sierra Club Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Architects
by W. Wright Robinson
from Blackbirch Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Babies in Grasslands
from Kingfisher
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (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)
Animal Lives - 8 Book Set
by Sally Morgan
from QEB Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Animal Travels
by Bertha Morris Parker, Thomas Park, illustrated by Olive Earle, cover by James Teason
1960 printing from Row, Peterson and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal-Go-Round
by Johnny Morris
from DK Publishing
for Nursery-1st grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$4.00 (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 and Their Travels - Deluxe Edition
by Richard A. Martin, series editor Herbert S. Zim
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Born Alive and Well
by Ruth Heller
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Animals in Winter
by Henrietta Bancroft
Revised from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Animals Nobody Knows
by Ivan Sanderson
from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Animals on the Move
by Ann and Myron Sutton, illustrated by Paula Hutchison
1968 First Cadmus Edition from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Up Close
by Igor Siwanowicz
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$5.00 (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)
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: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Antarctica
by Helen Cowcher
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$3.00 (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)
Aquarium Guide
from Answers in Genesis
for 4th-6th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Attack and Defense
by Robert Coupe
from Mason Crest Publishers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Awesome Facts About Animals
by Leanne Sarkisian and Karina Altman
from Answers in Genesis
for 1st-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Baby Animals
Extraordinary Animals
by Andrew Brown
from Crabtree Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Birds
by Dr. Janann V. Jenner
from MetroBooks
for Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Wilderness
National Geographic My First Pocket Guide
by Catherine Herbert Howell
from National Geographic
for 2nd-4th grade
in Field Guides: Animals (general) (Location: NAT-FG03)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Balto and the Great Race
Totally True Adventures
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
1st Printing from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.94 $2.80 (1 in stock)
Bambi's Forest
by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by David Pacheco and Jesse Clay
1st edition from Disney Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Barn Owls
by Wolfgang Epple, photographs by Manfred Rogl
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bats
by Lily Wood
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$2.00 (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)
Big and Small, Short and Tall
by Ron Roy, illustrated by Lynne Cherry
from Clarion Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Big Book
by Kathleen Ruckman
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Big Red Kangaroo
by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Graham Byrne
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of a Rhino
by Alice L. Hopf; illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$44.00 (1 in stock)
Biome Explorers: Destination Desert
by Laura Perdew, illustrated by Lex Cornell
from Nomad Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Families of the World
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bird's Eye View: The Natural World
by John Farndon and Paul Boston
from Words & Pictures
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Birds
The Good and the Beautiful Board Books
by Maggie Taylor, illustrated by Robin Fight
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Birds Do the Strangest Things
by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Birds In Your Backyard
by Barbara Herkert
from Dawn Publications
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of the Pacific Northwest
by John Shewey & Tim Blount, edited by Hendrik Herlyn
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of the Puget Sound Region
by Dennis Paulson
from R. W. Morse Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Birds, Nests and Eggs
Take-Along Guide
by Mel Boring
from Northword Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Birdwatching Notebook - Grades 3-8
by Jenny Phillips
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 3rd-8th grade
in GATB Science & Health (Location: CUR-GABSc)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Bombus Finds a Friend
by Elsie Larson, illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Book of Birds Volumes I & II
by Gilbert Grosvenor & Alexander Wetmore (editors), illustrated by Major Allan Brooks
from National Geographic
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$9.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Insects - Teacher Key
by Laura Bateman
from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$20.05 $13.00 (2 in stock)
Book of Insects - Workbook
by Laura Bateman
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.90 $11.50 (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)
Born To Be Wild
by Hattie Garlick
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Botanical Painting in Watercolor
by Billy Showell
from Search Press
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Botany Coloring Book
by Paul Young
1st edition from Harper Perennial
for 5th-9th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$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)
Bugs
by Rosie Dickins
from Usborne
for 4th-6th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bugs for Lunch
by Margery Facklam, illustrated by Sylvia Long
from Charlesbridge
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Bugs!
National Geographic Kids Pre-reader
by Shira Evans
from National Geographic
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bugs, Beetles, and Butterflies
Puffin Science Easy-to-Read Level 1
by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Lisa Flather
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
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)
Butterfly Is Patient
by Dianna Hutts Aston
from Chronicle Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Butterfly! A Story of Magic
Whitman Tell-A-Tale #2559
by Eileen Daly, illustrated by Florence Sarah Winship
from Western Publishing
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Buzz, Bee!
National Geographic Kids Pre-reader
by Jennifer Szymanski
from National Geographic
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in National Geographic Early Readers (Location: EAR-NGR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
By Pond and River
Eyes and No Eyes #2
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Cassell
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Cactus Hotel
by Brenda Z. Guiberson
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
California Plant & Animal Communities
by Barbara J. Collins
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$6.40 (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)
Caterpillars and Butterflies
Usborne Beginners
by Stephanie Turnbull
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1 (old)
by Florence Bass
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 1st grade
in Old Edition Reading (Location: OREAD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 3
by Julie McNair Wright
3rd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 3rd grade
in CLP Phonics & Reading (Location: REA-CLP)
$13.35 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 4 (old)
by Paul Lindstrom & Edward Shewan
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 4th grade
in Old Edition Reading (Location: OREAD)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5
by Wendy Kramer
4th edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 5th grade
in CLP Phonics & Reading (Location: REA-CLP)
$13.35 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5 (old)
by Worthington Hooker
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 5th grade
in Old Edition Reading (Location: OREAD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book K (old)
by Florence Lindstrom
from Christian Liberty Press
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Old Edition Reading (Location: OREAD)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards: Ecology, Astronomy, and Physics
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Classical Acts & Facts Cards (Location: HISCUR-CC)
$28.20 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Collins Children's Encyclopedia of Nature
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Collins Guide to Bird Watching
2nd edition from William Collins
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Compact Guide to Wildflowers of the Rockies
by C. Dana Bush
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides: Plants & Fungi (Location: NAT-FG08)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Guide to North American Trees
by Carlton C. Curtis and S.C. Bausor
1971 printing from Collier Books
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Continents: Antarctica
by Leila Merrell Foster
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-3rd grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Coral Reefs
by Laurence Pringle
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Seashore & Tidepools (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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