Beautiful Books That Connect Kids to Nature

EP178: This week on the podcast, we're exploring how the natural world can play a role in our homeschooling adventures. I'm sharing a treasure trove of resources to help you get outdoors more with beautiful books full of hands-on experiences and great read-aloud stories. Listen to Jean's favorites for each season of the year and then be sure to check out the show notes at artofhomeschooling.com/episode178 for a curated list of nature-inspired books and more tips to guide you through each season no matter where you live or what season you're in.

Find the Show Notes Here (www.artofhomeschooling.com/episode178)

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

You're listening to the Art of Homeschooling podcast, where we help parents cultivate creativity and connection at home. I'm your host, jean Miller, and here on this podcast you'll find stories and inspiration to bring you the confidence you need to make homeschooling work for your family. Let's begin. Springtime has finally arrived here in Ohio and with it thoughts of spending more and more time outdoors. I just love this time of year when everything starts greening up the tiny little green leaves barely showing on the trees like a green fuzz, the daffodils and flowering trees blooming like the weeping cherry tree in our front yard With our kiddos. It's always a great time to think about ways to weave nature into our homeschool lessons and homeschool days. This arrival of a new season has inspired me to share some beautiful books that connect kids to nature, so that you can explore the natural world in your neck of the woods. As I started gathering books from all the bookshelves around my house, I realized I have a lot of books about nature. After all, it's a favorite subject of mine and one that I've presented many times at the Taproot Teacher Training, an in-person homeschooling event I've been part of for the past 18 years, and now I host this every August at a nearby summer camp. Taproot is great fun, by the way, and you should check it out if you want to spend four days with other heart-centered homeschoolers who are looking for an immersive experience in the main lessons music, painting and drawing, inner work and, of course, nature study, plus so much more. I'll put a link to Taproot in the show notes or you can go directly to artofhomeschoolingcom slash taproot to find out more. Now, as my stack of beautiful books that connect kids to nature started to grow and grow, I decided what I'd do for this episode is tell you about a few of my favorites for each season and then invite you to go check out the show notes for the full list. So, before I forget, you can find the show notes for this episode at artofhomeschoolingcom slash, episode 178 for a list of all the books I mentioned today, plus many more. These books bring back so many memories when my boys were little and, mind you, they're 16 months apart and very active.

Speaker 1: 3:09

Going outside was at the top of my list of what to do when everything was falling apart. I literally had a list called what to do when all seems lost, and I had ideas all kinds of ideas, taped to the inside of a kitchen cabinet, and on days when my boys in particular would be wrestling on the floor and throwing beanbags at each other, instead of following my lead for, of course, a very well-planned out circle time, we'd head outdoors to save this mama's sanity. Somehow, digging in the mud pit in our backyard or climbing the pine tree in the woods behind the garage seemed to be exactly what was needed. And when I could grab binoculars or a tree book on the way out the door, we were golden. On warm sunny days, we'd do our read-alouds on a blanket in the sunshine in the backyard, with either a dog or a bunny by our side.

Speaker 1: 4:13

There are just so many benefits of getting outdoors with our kiddos and exploring nature. Here are just a few. According to Harvard Health, sunshine exercise, executive function, taking risks, appreciation of nature. I'll link to an article if you want to read more about that.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Now for my favorite books that connect kids to nature. I'm going to group them by season of the year, and then you can adjust how that applies to you and your family depending on where you live in the world. Let's start with spring, since that's the season we're in. As I'm recording this episode For each season, I'll share a few activity books as well as a great read aloud or two. So here we go Spring activity books.

Speaker 1: 5:06

We have so many wonderful books about gardening with children at my house. It was so hard to choose, but I have to say that Roots, shoots, buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy is an all-time favorite. This book is full of really fun activities. It's where the sunflower house idea comes from, and we got the idea for planting a pizza garden one year from this book. I highly recommend it. I have two spring read-alouds to recommend to you For younger children. The Gardener by Sarah Stewart is about a young girl who goes to live with an uncle during the Depression is about a young girl who goes to live with an uncle during the Depression. The illustrations in this book are just glorious and all ages will enjoy this sweet story. I love this book so much that my friend Allison and I created a book hearth guide about it to help you plan an entire month-long lesson block around just this one book for your whole family. I'll link to that in the show notes as well.

Speaker 1: 6:11

For older children, echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk is a moving story of family and resilience, with so much nature, animals, bees herbs in it. That is just not to be missed. We also have a book hearth guide on this one, so check the show notes for links. All right on to summer. For summer, I want to suggest Summer Nature Activities for Children by Irmgard Kutch and Bridget Walden.

Speaker 1: 6:43

The ideas in this book are so lovely and nourishing, like growing herbs and breeding butterflies. There's actually one of these books for each season of the year and I recommend you get them all. These books have so many wonderful activities with thorough instructions and beautiful photographs so many photos of children participating in the activities described. For a summer read aloud, I recommend the classic Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom. The story tells of a summer of fun for a group of children who camp out on an island, have all kinds of adventures, like they go sailing together all without their adults. Really, really beautiful story. Okay, fall For a fall activity book again. I recommend Autumn Nature Activities for Children by Kutch and Walden. It has songs, stories, recipes and activities such as basket weaving, paper making, all with fantastic photographs and instructions For a fall read aloud. Here are two that I suggest For younger children. Leaf man by Lois Ehler is so magical celebrating colorful leaves, blowing in the wind and traveling with the wind all with a sense of imagination, all rolled into one and for all ages.

Speaker 1: 8:22

Check out Heartwood Hotel, a True Home by Callie George. This is part of a series of four books. The first book in this series has a fall focus, so there's one for each season of the year. Mona the Mouse is such a sweet little character and she finds a home in the hollow of an old tree. It's a grand hotel in Fernwood Forest where so many delightful characters come and go. We also have a book hearth guide on this to go with this book, so you can create a whole month of learning experiences around just this one book for your family.

Speaker 1: 8:59

Winter If you live where it gets cold in the winter, like we do, it can be more challenging to get outdoors during this season. But I really try to live by the adage there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear and bundle everyone up to get out there. The Winter Activities for Children book by Kutch and Walden can really help with such wonderful hands-on activities like weaving and woodworking. My favorite winter read aloud is Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. This book is full of the magic of night. This book is full of the magic of night, quiet, anticipation, as well as the bond between parent and child and, of course, the beauty of the natural world.

Speaker 1: 9:52

I want to add one more category here, which is books for all year round. There are so many of these, but I will just mention a few. The first nature activities book we ever owned was Earthways Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children by Carol Petrash. She was a Waldorf early childhood educator. I love that. This book has simple activities for children as young as two years old. So many handwork projects and little crafts for all ages through each of the seasons of the year.

Speaker 1: 10:27

And the read aloud I want to mention is the Other Way to Listen by Bird Baylor. In this story, a young boy learns from an elder how to listen to the songs, the sounds of the natural world. It's beautiful and touching for all ages with such a profound message. There you have it. I hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I've enjoyed preparing it for you. Don't forget to go to the show notes for a full list of beautiful books that connect kids to nature over at artofhomeschoolingcom, slash episode 178. In those show notes I'll also link to a few other episodes you might be interested in listening to how to Set Up a Nature Table.

Speaker 1: 11:17

Episode 175, is all about how to bring the outdoors inside and in Nature Study. The Foundation of Science episode 171, I share why and how encounters in nature really form the foundation for the later study of science. And the last one I want to mention is how can we restore connections through nature study episode 91, where I share how nature study helps us foster connections with ourselves, each other and the world, along with tips for engaging in nature study with children. Don't forget to check out the show notes, where I have links to everything I've mentioned here. You can find it at artofhomeschoolingcom slash, episode 178. Thanks for tuning in today and I'll be back next week with another episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast. Happy adventuring with those beautiful books that connect kids to nature, with those beautiful books that connect kids to nature. That's all for today, my friend, but here's what I want you to remember Rather than perfection, let's focus on connection. Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling Podcast.