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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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Nature Study
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56 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Botany & Mycology, 2nd grade (Ages 7-8)
Ancient Ones
by Barbara Bash
from Sierra Club Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning Knowledge Book of Backyard Trees
by Hanniford Rush; illustrated by Raul Mina Mora
from Rutledge Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Big Tree
by Mary Buff, Conrad Buff
1st Edition from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Botany Adventure!
by Kim Wright
for 1st-4th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$19.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$18.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Fall Walk
by Virginia Brimhall Snow
from Gibbs M. Smith
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
Favorite Perennials - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ilil Arbel
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
First Look at Leaves
by Millicent E. Selsam, Joyce Hunt
from Walker and Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Flower Grows
by Ken Robbins
from Dial Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
From Seed to Plant
by Gail Gibbons
from Holiday House
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
God's Miracle –a Seed
by Rebecca Newswanger, illustrated by Harold Weaver
from Christian Light Education
for 1st-3rd grade
in Christian Light Reading (Location: REA-CLE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Herbs - Coloring Book
by Stefen Bernath
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
$3.99
How a Seed Grows
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 1
by Helene J. Jordan
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
How a Seed Grows
by Helene J. Jordan
Revised from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
How Flowers Grow
Usborne Beginners
by Emma Helbrough
from Usborne
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$4.49 $2.70 (2 in stock)
Introduction to Wild Flowers
by John Kieran, illustrated by Tabea Hofmann
1st edition from Doubleday & Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Kate Greenaway's Marigold Garden
by Kate Greenaway
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Katya's Book of Mushrooms
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$12.99
Made By God: Poisonous, Smelly, and Amazing Plants
I Can Read Level 2
from Zonderkidz
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Miss Maple's Seeds
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Now I Know All About Seeds
by Susan Kuchalla, illustrated by Jane McBee
from Troll Associates
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Official Sassafras SciDat Logbook 3
Sassafras Science
by Johnny Congo & Paige Hudson
from Elemental Science
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Sassafras Science (Location: SCICUR-SAS)
Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America
by Karl B. McKnight, Joseph R. Rohrer, Kirsten McKnight Ward & Kent H. McKnight
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Peterson First Guide to Trees
by George A. Petrides
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$8.99
Plant Life in Field and Garden
Eyes and No Eyes #3
by Arabella Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Plant Life in Field and Garden
Eyes and No Eyes #3
by Arabella Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$8.99
Plants Grow!
by Mary Dodson Wade
from Enslow
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Reason for a Flower
by Ruth Heller
from PaperStar Books
Science non-fiction, illustrated for 1st-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$8.99
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
by Lois Ehlert
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Redoute Flowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Charlene Tarbox
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
$3.99
Redwoods
by Jason Chin
from Square Fish Publishing
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$9.99
Sassafras Guide to Botany
Sassafras Science
by Johnny Congo & Paige Hudson
from Elemental Science
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Sassafras Science (Location: SCICUR-SAS)
Sassafras Science Adventures Volume 3
Sassafras Science
by Johnny Congo & Paige Hudson
from Elemental Science
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Sassafras Science (Location: SCICUR-SAS)
Science with Plants
Usborne Science Activities
by Helen Edom
from Usborne
for 2nd-5th grade
in Usborne Science Activities (Location: SCI-EXP)
$5.39 $3.60 (3 in stock)
Secret Life of Trees
A DK Eyewitness Reader Level 2
by Chiara Chevallier
from DK Publishing
for 1st-2nd grade
in DK Readers (Location: EAR-DK)
$4.99
Seed Is Sleepy
by Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long
1st edition from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
Seed Is Sleepy
by Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$7.99
Seeds and More Seeds
by MIllicent E. Selsam
from HarperTrophy
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Shine-A-Light: Secrets of the Apple Tree
Shine-A-Light
by Carron Brown and Illustrated by Alyssa Nassner
from Kane Miller
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Shine-A-Light: Secrets of the Apple Tree
Shine-A-Light
by Carron Brown and Illustrated by Alyssa Nassner
from Quarto Knows
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Spring Walk
by Virginia Brimhall Snow
from Gibbs M. Smith
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
State Birds and Flowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Annika Bernhard
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$5.99
Sunflower House
by Eve Bunting
1st Voyager Books Ed from Sandpiper Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups
by Gina Ingoglia
from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$15.95
Tree Flowers
by Millicent Ellis Selsam
1st edition
for 1st-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Tree Is a Plant
Let's- Read - and -Find- Out Science
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
Tree Is a Plant
Let's- Read - and -Find- Out Science
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$3.50 (3 in stock)
Tree Life
by Theresa Greenaway
First American Edition from DK Children
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Trees and Shrubs
Eyes and No Eyes #5
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Trees and Shrubs
Eyes and No Eyes #5
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$8.99
Why Do Leaves Change Color?
Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science Stage 2
by Betsy Maestro & Loretta Krupinski
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Wildflowers, Blooms and Blossoms
by Diane Burns
from Northword Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$7.95
Wonder Book of Trees
by Cynthia Iliff Koehler, illustrated by Alvin Koehler
1974 printing from Wonder Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
World of Plants
Great Science Adventures
by Dinah Zike & Susan Simpson
from Common Sense Press
for 2nd-5th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$9.00 $9.00 (2 in stock)
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