This Nature Bundle includes four handy
resources.
ALL for only $65.00
Handbook of Nature Study
By Anna Botsford Comstock
Only $26.00
Paperback, 887 pages
I have a large collection of
science and nature books. Yet I often open The Handbook of Nature Study as a first resort. It is the most unique because of
the sheer volume of information in a sort of encyclopedia of nature. And it reads as a personal
conversation, not as a dry boring text.
The author has a
contagious awe for the world around us, from caddis fly larvae to little brown
bats. Curious about what to feed a
cricket? Ever wonder why a lightening
bug lights up? You’ll find this
and much more all delivered in the most personal and readable writing style.
The section on the
dandelion is priceless! We finally
found out how the dandelion got its name, from the French “dent-de-lion” which
means teeth of the lion. The edges
of the leaf are notched in a way they resemble the profile of lions’
teeth. I read portions of this
section out loud to my children during our morning read aloud time. Then I took a break and they all ran
outside to pick their own dandelion flowers and leaves.
When they brought their
dandelions back to the table I continued reading about the dandelion and the
kids got out their Beinfang Notesketch books and carefully sketched the details of both the flowers and leaves
and colored them with our Faber-Castell Water Color Pencils. There
is even a charming poem in the Handbook of Nature Study about the dandelion that we copied into our
notebooks after we made our drawing.
All day long I would see my kids outside admiring the fastidious
qualities of the dandelion. We had
a dandelion salad for lunch and two of my boys even transplanted some into
their own garden! How sweet!
For more information on
the nutritional properties of the dandelion visit:
http://www.edibleweeds.com/generic.html?pid=6
Comstock brings us into the
world of nature, and helps us see that we don't have to go far to find it,
after all. Her anecdotes about her personal experiences and her study questions
that end each section keep this book from becoming just another field guide.
The poems taken from great
literature about many plants and animals are worth the price of the book
alone. We often follow a color
pencil drawing with a beautiful poem about our subject.
The Oak
Virgil
Full in the midst of his own strength he stands
Stretching his brawny arms and leafy hands,
His shade protects the plains, his head the hills
commands.
A Pocketful of Pinecones-
Nature Study With the Gentle Art of Learning
By Karen Andreola
Only $17.00
Pocketful of Pinecones
is the fictional account of Carol, a mother living in the 1930s, and using
Charlotte Mason's methods, particularly her nature study methods. I really
enjoy the fact that the story is based on Karen Andreola's experiences with her
own children. It reads as a real life homeschooling experience. The trials and temptations are there,
but Carol thinks before speaking so as not to be harsh to her family.
In all our educating
we should remember as Carol (Karen) tells us,
"...that not all
of what they will learn about God's creation will conveniently fit into my
lessons. My students have a lifetime ahead of them in which to observe and
discover - to become self educated in their leisure, so to speak. My job is to
allow their feet to walk the paths of wonder, to see that they form relations
to various things, so that when the habit is formed, they will carry an
appreciation for nature with them throughout their lives."
When I first started Nature
Journaling I was sometimes a bit “frozen” and not sure what to do next. This book gave me direction on nature
study ideas and a whole new mindset towards observing God’s creation with love
and care. I am grateful that Karen
gives us 100 examples of what to look for on a nature walk, along with Latin
names for the items observed, study questions and nature poems and verses.
Karen also makes many references to Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study in this work and you will be happy to
have these resources to use side by side.
Beinfang Notesketch
Large 11 X 8 ½
Only $10.00
As the Learning Log for SWR
is to the study of our language, so is the Beinfang Notesketch to the study of our natural world. As our children learn to draw what
they see, they truly learn to see the natural world. I’ve always loved tulips, but the first time I
drew one from looking at it, was the first time I really saw a tulip. No more half circles with three points
on top tulip drawings for me! Tee
hee! J
My husband is an art
professor and teaches many college students who have not drawn since 3rd
grade. He believes that one simple
drawing from an observed object each day will set any student up for success in
art and/or science. You don’t need
a professional art teacher sitting there saying: “do this, now this!”
But your children will self teach themselves to draw as they become
regular at this practice. If they
should choose art as a profession they can refine their skills to a much higher
degree with the help of a qualified teacher in later years. But if you omit drawing on a regular
basis, they will not have the skills in later years should they choose art as a
career path. Plus drawing together
as a family is just so much fun!
This spiral-bound, paperback
book combines the best of a notebook and a sketchbook. The paper is durable
with a fine “tooth” (or texture) to it that will pick up the color pencils
nicely. With the top half blank for drawing and lines on the bottom for a poem or description of the natural object the Beinfang
NoteSketch makes a great nature
journal. It is sized at 11
½ by 8 ½ with plenty of room to record natural beauty and write a
poem or description at the bottom lined portion. With sturdy cardboard backing it is made to last for years
to come. Now you won’t loose all
those precious drawings your kids are making!
We use this largest Beinfang
NoteSketch as our morning inside
nature sketch book and copy book. We use the Beinfang NoteSketch which is small-- 8 ½ X 5 ½ -- to carry out in the field for
sketching. Keep shopping for
additional Beinfang NoteSketch for your other children and/or for that easy to carry smaller outdoor
sketch book.
24 WaterColor Pencils in a Metal Tube
Includes a paint brush
Faber-Castell
Only $12.00
Your children can both draw
and paint with these pencils. When
brushed with water, the bright saturated colors wash evenly over the paper and
drawings come alive as beautiful watercolors. These long-lasting pencils have strong thick leads that
resist cracking. They come in a
handy metal tube with a brush, and a plastic top cover and separate plastic
bottom cup which can serve as a water dish, should you want to turn your pencil
drawing into a water color. Hint: When creating a watercolor in your note
book, place a piece of cardboard in between the pages to pick up the extra
water that may come through.
You will not want to be
without these pencils. Ours came
on a stormy spring afternoon. We
broke them out of the boxes and got right to work on some drawings that soon
became paintings. As the lightning
got progressively closer the kids decided to turn off all the lights and
draw/paint by candle-light. This
cozy day of creating artwork by candle-light will be forever etched in their
memories.
Bundle of all four of the above for only
$65.00!
Now take a peek in your back
yard (my children found grasshoppers hatching out of their eggs in our yard) or
a tromp through the forest with your kids --- combining the love of nature with
the study of art and literature!
Some days we draw and write “out in the field.”
But other times we draw when
we get home. If you find your
children being too distracted by the wonders around them to draw, simply bring
back a few favorite specimens and draw them during your read aloud time. This
works great for my energetic crew!
In only ten to fifteen minutes at the kitchen table they can create such
lovely drawings.
Note: There is a book called
Watercolor Pencil Magic by C. Johnson which shows the most impressive
array of creations made with watercolor pencils. Perhaps you can find the book at your library or amazon.com.
Many of the world’s greatest
naturalists and scientists kept nature journals. Our children so enjoyed the story of Carl Linnaeus Beloved
Botanist by A. Stoutenburg.
Carl Linnaeus is the father of taxonomy (classifying plants and animals
with Latin names) and our children loved hearing the first hand account of how
he loved to walk in the woods of Sweden and draw his observations. They were
amused that his mother and father were worried about his attachment to nature—and
where this would lead him. Our first girl, Linnea, is named after the beautiful
and dainty twinflower, that Carl Linneaus named “Linnea borealis.” Each time we walk in these northern
forests we try to spot a “Linnea Borelis” as according to our sources they grow
well in these climates.
I try to draw with my
children as much as possible. One
day I sat next to my 9 year-old son on a sandy island on the Mississippi
River. We were both drawing the
same green and yellow caterpillar that my son had found. After our drawings were complete, I had
to chuckle. My caterpillar was “flat”
looking and had absolutely no perspective to it at all. (I tried!) But my son’s caterpillar was drawn with great perspective and
looked so much more like the real caterpillar we were both looking at! He was so proud as I praised him and
exclaimed that he was a much better artist than I am. This happens again and again as I draw with my
children. They are not hampered by
a life time of inactivity -- in regards to drawing-- as I am. They
look at the world in a fresh way and can still see things as they are. I know
that you will find the same as you make time to draw real objects with your
children on a regular basis.
Keep shopping to
purchase an additional notebook and pencils for another child and have fun
discovering the wonder of God’s creations as a family.
Truly,
Britta McColl
Mother to 7 exuberant
children
Endorsed SWR Trainer
©Morning Star Learning
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