These books and resources are the best of the best for learning all their is to know about Nature! They are perfect to accomodate any Nature related unit study, homeschool group or homeschool co-op lessons, or whatever Nature related learning you are doing at home with your kids. These books and resources will work for any homeschool family, classroom, or for the Nature loving child in your family! Some of the books are resource books and guides, some are story books, some are activity books, and some are picture books. Don't bypass or discount the picture books for your older children though, almost all the picture books in this list all have very good educational information in them. Many times picture books contain information that is a bit over the comprehension level of the younger children they are intended for. So next time you come across a picture book, check out the content inside. You may be surprised to find very valuable educational facts and information in them! In this invaluable collection below, I also included Professor Noggin's educational trivia card games and a few Fandex family field guides. They are a fantastic resource. Professor Noggin's card games are a fantastic and fun way to learn about various subjects of study. They are a perfect pairing to any lesson or unit study. I have two blog posts that show you different ways to use Professor Noggin's card games. Stay tuned for more posts about how to incorporate Professor Noggin's card games into your homeschool or classroom day! You can find them here: Why all Homeschoolers should own Professor Noggin's Card Games How I use Professor Noggins card games with Echo Dot for Homeschool I hope that you will find this list of books and resources to be of great help for your homeschool or classroom! I have been homeschooling my twins since they were tiny tots and I have three grown up children all in their 20's. I give each one of these books and resources my seal of approval. My kids and I have first hand experience with every item on this list. We either own them, have checked them out of the local library multiple times, or have borrowed them from another local homeschool family. In the books and resources below, you will find excellent information that is presented in a great format with tons of gorgeous illustrations and photos. A great number of the books are considered living books. They are perfect for those who are Montessori, Waldorf, or Charlotte Mason Homeschoolers. Many of these books should be available at your local library. If you are looking to purchase the books, I have provided an Amazon.com link to each book in the photos below. If you are looking to buy these books used, I suggest checking your local library used book stores, goodwill, yard sales, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook used curriculum groups, and Ebay. I do not recommend the thriftbooks website or the brightlight books store because in my experience each book I looked for on thrift books or brightlight books cost significantly more or about the same price as they do on Amazon. What I like about Amazon is that if the book shows up damaged you can get it replaced right away for no additional cost. If you just decide the book is not going to work for you, you can always return it within the time limits of their return policy. I would also like to advise that you take note when searching on Ebay for books. Check the price at Amazon and if you have free shipping for Amazon, it may be more cost efficient. Oh and don't forget to check if the version of the book you are looking at is newer or older. Sometimes you may find a cheaper price on Ebay, but then you find out that the cheaper priced book on ebay is a much older version. You can also check out the stores I have listed in this blog post. Some of them may have discounts, deals, and better prices than other places you have checked. Where to buy Homeschool Supplies and Toys I have also included several really great nature related games and activities at the bottom of the list as well. It's a long list, but worth the time to check out everything on the list! These books are such excellent resources. They are some of our very favorites. Excellent and beautiful books in this section as well. Professor Noggins are a must! I highly recommend them all! More HERE! Bees are a very important subject! Excellent resource books! I love the Animals and Ocean Visual encyclopedia books These books are super cute and beautifully illustrated Fandex family guides are amazing! They are so cute, the way they are made too! Each one is a shaped cut out at the top with a beautiful illustration. They fan out to see each one together in each Fandex. There are few other great activity gooks and guides in this section too. These books are excellent resource books. I especially love the Smithsonian guide books. I included some nature related poetry books in this section. The one small square books are great little resources for animal and nature related unit studies. They are not packed full of a lot of information, but still have some great content. These take along guides are the separated version of two books up there at the top of the list. The Fun with Nature and More Fun with nature books. I love love love the Nature Company Guides! They are such beautiful books packed with information! I also wanted to recommend these nature related games, toys, and accessories OK so this makes 151 items on the list. This product is not sold on Amazon. Think of this as your bonus recommendation! This is another excellent Nature related item that is great for any kid to have. They are called stick-lets and they are reusable and flexible rubber connector pieces that are for building forts with sticks in nature. You can find them at https://stick-lets.com/ They would be excellent with some playsilks or recycled fabric.

If I had planted a tree every time I heard adults lecture children for disturbing or hurting nature, I would be well on my way to growing a forest by now.

My quest this year was to create a more organised environment in my classroom. A space that allowed for natural expression through various forms of play as well as a space that was organised and wa…

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills for students of all ages, even preschoolers! Here are eight strategies for developing budding reading comprehension skills in even the youngest learners.

Childhood Reimagined DISCOVER A FRESH & EMPOWERING APPROACH to enhance the way you nurture, guide & Inspire children Parents Get monthly inspirations to help you raise well-nurtured children.Each month we share . . .✔️ fresh perspectives✔️ a nurturing philosophy✔️ a heart-driven approach✔️ a childhood reimagined Inspire me Professional Development, Mentoring & consulting and Speaking Align

“Have you ever noticed that if you leave old junk lying around, kids will almost inevitably play with it? Whether it be old cardboard boxes, wooden pallets, pieces of wood, old tires [sic], bits of rope or string, kids will use their imagination and ingenuity to make something. This may make your garden look like a junkyard sometimes, but the experience for the kids is invaluable and it will keep them occupied for hours. Don't try and direct the kids in their play, just let them get on with it.” Nicholson, S, "How Not To Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts", Landscape Architecture 1971. My children love using loose parts. We use very few actual "toys" in our play, as the majority of them have quite limited uses and once they've exhausted those uses, my children generally lose interest. Instead, I prefer to buy and collect open-ended materials that can have a variety of uses, only limited by my children's creativity. Children's desires to use loose parts are often demonstrated through the classic example of them being more interested in the cardboard box that a toy came in, than the toy itself. It allows us to see a child's need to be creative, to think "outside the box," to experiment and to control their play and learning while adapting it to their own interests. Little fingers also love little things. Bits and bobs and trinkets and treasures. Usually with younger children, people assume that anything they can fit in their mouth is too small, a choking hazard and should not be played with. However, I think that so long as there is adequate supervision, this is not always the case. Aside from the development of physical skills, such as fine-motor, hand-eye coordination, etc., children can learn so much from these real life objects that they are able to manipulate and use in a large variety of ways. Of course loose parts don't need to be small items. They include any item that can be used in many different ways. From items in nature such as sticks, sand, rocks, shells, leaves, to junk items, sports equipment, recycled goods and so much more. The way that my children play and interact with loose parts outside and inside differs due to the different materials and space available. Below are some examples of the loose parts that we are currently using for our inside play. From top-bottom, left to right we have pictured: Large plastic buttons perler beads shape blocks (S) wooden cubes glass stones pattern blocks (S) mini erasers matchsticks felt shapes foam numbers river rocks different sizes sticks (S) seed pods small white pebbles coloured glass jellybeans marbles shells wooden numbers pom-poms circles and semi-circles (S) small coloured wooden disks (S) recycled bottle tops Q-tips/cotton buds pony beads Most of these items can be purchased from $2 shops, found around the house or collected from nature. The items with an (S) next to them are part of our Spielgaben set. You can read my review and thoughts on Spielgaben and good quality educational toys here. There aren't any rules about what you can and can't use and it is good to keep adding new materials and mixing things up. The same materials can be used in so many different ways by combining them with various other materials to produce different results each time. I tend to store most of these items in cheap or recycled plastic container that are stackable. I also use things like recycled coffee jars and even vases to keep our loose parts out of the way but easily accessible. Below you can see just a few of the many ways that my children use these loose parts for play and learning. Many of the pictures come from our Instagram account where I often share our loose parts play as it's happening. Some of the pictures I have written posts about and have provided the links for you to check them out in more detail. Muffin tray, divided paint pallet, spoon, tongs, glass stones, shells and seedpods. Shape sort and count with 3D shapes, paper and pen. Marbles and an ice-cube tray Recycled bottle tops and coloured cupcake liners Pom-poms, glass beads, tongs and plastic glasses. Colour match, sort, count and number writing with 3D shapes, coloured paper, plain paper and markers Miniature erasers Playdough, pipcleaners, craft sticks, animals and plastic cups. Invitation to play. Threading patterns with playdough, skewers, 3D shape beads. Glass beads, water, medicine syringe, tongs, plastic containers. Designs using pattern blocks, curved lines, straight lines etc. Make your own playset using loose parts from around your house Enticing literacy. Making and writing words. Straight lines, curved lines, nature flash cards, paper, markers. An invitation to play and learn with numbers and natural materials. Construction building with blocks and tape. Matchsticks, plastic bears and playdough (in the other side of a divided water table). Coloured wooden pegs, bowl, spoon. Which loose parts are favourites with your kids? Happy playing, Debs :) {Disclosure: I have provided the link to the Spielgaben site for your convenience as part of a paid ambassadorship with Spielgaben. All opinions in this article, as always are my own} Look where else we are. Do you play with us here? :) New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Here are a few of the new light table worksheets I have made recently. You can see others ones I have made HERE and HERE small, medium, large sorting which one doesn't belong match letter to item that starts with the letter match letter bead to letter match large to small of the same item shape plates, this is a preview of an upcoming post! Some random playing and learning recently. plastic ice cubes magna tiles stepping domes and shape mats magnet patterns lauri pegs clothespin match and fine motor magnetic paint can matching magnetic garden sensory bin montessori stamp game golf ball water drop

We explore the many ecotherapy activities used to heal the mind, body, or soul. From therapeutic gardens to adventure therapy, there is something for everyone.

MIRRORING THE WORLD Our world is calling out to us in such a fragile state. More and more, human beings seem to mirror the Earth’s needs for care, empathy, love, and respect. Everyday, we find ourselves face-to-face with somewhat of a new reality emerging right before our eyes.

What are the skills children learn from nature and how does gardening help a child's development? Learn more here.

My Twins really enjoy playing with shapes that they can create scenes with. I started by laminating cello sheets and cutting some shapes from them. I cut ones that would look like ponds or water, trees, grass, a sun and it's rays, and I cut some clouds from some plain vibrant white printer paper. Then I cut the birds from sold IKEA place mats that I had on hand. They came in a pack of 4 and I have two of them in our rainbow window. The other two have been used at various times on the light table, but I thought it would be really fun to cut them away from the place mats. They love having the birds free to create scenes with! I don't know if IKEA has these place mats anymore. but you could do this with any translucent place mat. The boys added some frogs and shamrocks to the scene, as well as some butterflies I drew free-hand from overhead projector transparencies. I colored them with sharpie markers. Find them here Visit Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s profile on Pinterest. Follow Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s board Light Tables, Light Boxes, Light Panels & Light Play on Pinterest. Visit The Ultimate Light Table Guide's profile on Pinterest.

What is nature deficit disorder? Studies have shown that not spending enough time in nature creates many negative side effects.

This group of children had a clever idea to determine if an object's shadow shifts with the moving sun. "Let's build the CN Tower outside and see where the shadow goes!" When they were finished building the tower, the teacher posed an interesting question. "How will you know if the shadow moves from now until this afternoon." "Let's fill it in," replied one of the young girls. Using loose materials, the children filled in the shadow of the tower as it fell at noon. They returned to the playground at 3:00 p.m. and found that the shadow had indeed moved! The children looked and noticed that the shadow had indeed shifted.

Wiggly Worm Sensory Play is a fun preschool messy play for spring or letter W activities. You only need three materials to set it up!

Taking children back to nature.Inspirational quotes of great people on nature. "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished"

Or, easy homeschool nature study I do believe Charlotte Mason’s plan for nature study is the best method for elementary science, but making it out of the

Science lessons don't have to be difficult, as a matter of fact, they can be as simple as how to identify the leaves you found on your neighborhood walk. This simple science lesson will get your kids excited about science and botany.

What better way to explore the changing environment than a fall nature hunt?! Your kids will love investigating the natural world around them!.

A Montessori inspired botany tree exploration unit, with 10 kid friendly educational activities for the 12 Months of Montessori Learning series.

Embark on a thrilling journey to the land of the rising sun with our Japan study project! This exciting package is jam-packed with fascinating facts and engaging activities that will captivate your students' imaginations. Important Note: This country, along with all of our 192 other UN official countries, has been freshly updated in 2023 to ensure all the information included is as relevant and up-to-date as possible. We refresh our products often, and upon purchase, you hold lifetime access to any future updates we do for free! We currently hold the widest range of country study options available here on TPT. Due to the high demand for our wide range of countries, you can now purchase this country as part of our Mega Money Saving Bundle HERE. This gives you access to all 193 countries to use as and when you please for the very best price possible! With our comprehensive reading comprehension sheets, complete with multi-choice questions, your students can test their comprehension of the fun facts they have learned about Japan. But that's not all - we've also included differentiated booklet options to cater to all learning styles, as well as boarding passes and postcards to add an extra layer of fun to the experience. And for those who love a good challenge, our country-themed fun worksheet activities are sure to keep them entertained for hours on end. So why wait? Let's explore the wonders of Japan together and give your students an unforgettable learning experience that they'll cherish for years to come! The Country Study 11-page PDF includes the following: the flag of Japan a map of Japan seven super fun country-specific facts local currency information local sayings The Reading Comprehension 11-Page PDF includes: 11 pages of reading comprehension country-themed recap questions with 2-4 multiple choice answers per page The Differentiated Booklets include: blank no text lines with no text no images The Bonus Pages Include: duplicated three per page boarding passes 3 x country themed postcards (fold in half and glue) The Activity 12-Page PDFs Includes: 12 pages of super fun country-themed activities: includes drawing prompts, writing prompts, letter matching, writing practice, reading challenge, ABC word sort, fun fact recapping, acrostic poem, letter find, and the country name written in individual letters to cut out and mess up to then have your little learner put in the correct order Perfectly suited for a range of educational settings, from social studies units to geography projects and multicultural events, this product is a must-have for any curious and adventurous learner. With its endless possibilities, this product is the perfect addition to any around-the-world unit, allowing students to explore and discover our planet's rich and diverse cultures. Celebrate international days and festivals with ease, or embark on a cultural school project that will leave students with a newfound appreciation for the world around them. Whether you're a teacher looking to inspire your students or a parent eager to encourage your child's love of learning, this product is the perfect choice. So why wait? Unlock the potential of your classroom or home today with our innovative and exciting product! Product Info:  Instant digital download  Compressed file  Formatted to letter paper- 8.5 x 11  US English  ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── Explore our two options for this Country Study Product:  Option #1 - USD 3.50  Japan Country Study Original: 11-page PDF filled with country-specific fun facts  11 pages of reading comprehension country-themed recap questions Option #2 - USD 5  Japan Country Study Differentiated + Bonus Pages (what you are currently viewing):  11-page PDF filled with country-specific fun facts  11 pages of reading comprehension country-themed recap questions PLUS three additional versions of the original booklet: blank no text, lines with no text, and no images not for sale country-specific bonus pages- boarding passes and postcards 12 pages of super fun country-themed activities ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── Like what you see? Follow us on our socials! Our Official Website | TikTok | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook | ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── Insider Tip: get 50% off our new products for the first 24 hours - follow our store

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In today's digital age, it's increasingly challenging to motivate children to stay active.

Subitizing is an important math skill. Elementary school students practice it all the time, but it is a skill that we can introduce in preschool as well. When you play a game with dice, and roll a 5, you don't have to count the dots to know how many there are, right? It's the same when someone holds up 3 fingers. You don't count them; you can just glance at the fingers and know that there are 3. That is subitizing. Subitizing is the ability to visualize a number. Another way to subitize is to use a tens frame.

Keep these simple memory tray games in your back pocket for a simple to set up, easy-to-play, meaningful learning activity!

In this easy science experiment, young scientists learn about density & buoyancy. Video demo, a supply list & printable instructions included

Montessori & Waldorf Inspired Homeschool Room full of natural materials to explore and discover all day. THE BEST WAY TO LEARN & PLAY, Natural Beach Living

These turned out so cute, they have wonderful texture and layering! First I started off having them watch a short movie that showed various bodies of water such as lakes, streams, ponds, rivers, rain puddles, waterfalls, and oceans. While they were watching, I set up the table with all of the supplies and some starter pieces cut from the nature print paper. Then I asked them to create something based on what they just had watched! It was a really awesome and fun project! They had a lot of fun designing their collages! We used Nature print craft paper from Lakeshore, glue sticks, and stickers Paper from Lakeshore. You can find it HERE! Visit Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s profile on Pinterest. Follow Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s board Light Tables, Light Boxes, Light Panels & Light Play on Pinterest. Visit The Ultimate Light Table Guide's profile on Pinterest.

Does your child seem distracted, have trouble listening, and appear irritable? Science says it could be linked to something called nature decifit disorder.

Here are a few fun arrangements that have been on the light table recently! I cut out these birds from Ikea place mats, and cut some shapes from laminated cello sheets. The butterflies were hand drawn with sharpie markers on overhead projector transparency. Some little animals from a game we have. Some free acrylic samples, they came on a key ring. We love using the magnifying glass to look more closely at what is on the light table! These are from a Lakeshore light table kit. More acrylic samples! I love the textures. Some fun collage designs with various light table manipulates, acrylic samples, and Alex brand lego platforms. Mixing two colors of home made silly putty on the light table Wedgits and transparent really big buttons by Roylco. Bird city I made some flowers and butterflies from cello paper and transparent sparkly cord. More awesome designs Be sure to join the awesome and super friendly Light Table Play discussion group on Facebook!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/UltimateLightTableGuide/ The Ultimate Light Table Guide!! http://www.pinterest.com/LightTableGuide/ Visit Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s profile on Pinterest. Follow Kristen (Caution! Twins at Play)'s board Light Tables, Light Boxes, Light Panels & Light Play on Pinterest. Visit The Ultimate Light Table Guide's profile on Pinterest.

Human Body 3-Part Cards: These #Montessori nomenclature cards help children learn to identify 27 different body parts from head to toe.

Turn Violet water made from freshly-picked flowers into Violet lemonade in this fun color-changing science experiment for kids. It's tasty too!

Benefits of Lacing Activities for Preschoolers. Fun with Lacing Cards for Kids. Ideas featured here are combinations of lacing with art, craft, math, science, literacy.

Today, I thought I would share one of the biggest resources that has ever been created for you. This post contains enough arts and crafts ideas to get you through the summer, fall, winter, spring... and many more rounds after that! I decided to have this resource include both art ideas AND craft ideas. The

It’s the first day of spring, but Bergen and I just ticked one last thing off of our winter bucket list: A Conifer Cone Search! It ended up being quite spontaneous. We were out on one of our usual walks as a family through the Washington Park Arboretum. Along the way, Bergen was paying particular attention to all the conifer cones (aka: pine cones) on the ground and under trees. His attention reminded me of our goal of collecting and sorting various conifer cones and comparing and contrasting, so I started to encourage him to search for as many different cones as he could find. Lucky for us, we happened to be walking through the Pinetum, a section of the arboretum dedicated to pine and conifer trees, so it didn’t take us long to gather 10 or so varieties of cones! To add even more fun and seasonality, I remarked […]