Nature Study Anyone?

That coming from a recent hurricane evacuee, I'm sure you're all reading this post with much apprehension and suspicion, huh?  :)

As a recent hurricane evacuee, I am beyond excited about our nature study this month. It's simply good to "be home"! Even if our property had been damaged more than just broken branches, we would be spending lots of time outdoors with clean-up. A home educator's mantra is "Discover Learning in Everything." Please keep the rest of Louisiana in their prayers because some of our family and friends still are not home and/or have lots of property clean-up to contend with.

The media has shown us how awesome and beguiling and HUGE and brutally destructive nature can be.

Daily life in the great outdoors isn't always kind either, as my youngest daughter found out recently when, as a new September dawned, she was stung by this here little critter on a morning that found us without electricity (lights/air conditioning/and other necessities you usually need when you are awakened in the middle of the night by nature's sting). Nature at its most wickedness.

But our tour guide for September, Jim Arnosky, shows us the more friendly apporach to nature, the gentler side, the smaller details, the up-close and personal treasures of nature. Because it isn't all bad. There's always a good side and a bad side to everything under the sun. The sun alone is good but is also dangerously HUGE and brutal in its essence.

The autumn months swell with the possibilities and promises of exploring nature.

It's so simple.

Find your local public library's website. Then do a search for books by Jim Arnosky.

Here is what my local library search turned up: 3 pages worth!

Not all these books are available at that one library. But they are available parish wide (county for those outside Louisiana). With a simple click (and my library card # in front of me) I am able to reserve as many of these books as I'd like. I am also able to request they all be sent to the library down the road and around the corner from my house so I can jump out of my car on the way to dance class or the store, produce my library card to the kind librarian and walk out of the library will my arms full...all in less than 5 minutes.  Pretty good, huh?

Joann is kindly helping with the Author Fiesta. Her talented daughter Amy has created a coloring sheet for all your children. This sheet introduces your child to his nature guide "Crinkleroot" for the month of September.

Mary M. has conveniently loaded a pdf version of the Crinkleroot coloring sheet on the Author Fiesta blog. 

Stay tuned to that blog site for the remainder of September and please share your nature study with us. We'd love to hear about the good...and the bad.

[ETA: Seems we visited Jim Arnosky about 3 1/2 years ago.  Time to revisit.]

Comments

[Trish]

Thanks so much for introducing me to this author. I didn't know anything about him. I can't wait to read his books. Have a blessed day! Trish A

[Alice C]

Yes, it is SO good to be home! I am ready for nature study also. (And AUTUMN!!)

[Jennifer]

I've been thinking about you alot as all of my in laws live in Baton Rouge (my husband grew up there). They are still without power, and now the water pump went. The fire ants are coming up because of the flooding, and still no AC! I'm glad you are home and safe. Please know you are in our prayers as well. If you visit my blog too, I'm sure you'll recognize the picture in the header! :-)