Connecting Children to Nature: Ideas and Activities for Parents and Educators

Connecting children and youth to nature entails, first, fostering their love of nature and empathy with the natural world; second, helping them acquire, appropriate to their development, a grasp of how living things and systems work; and third, guiding them to make knowledgeable choices as they live out their lives at home and in community. This is a practical, how-to book. The premise is that we are in living in a critical time for a reality check on how our kids are growing up. The digital world and screen time have become pervasive. Some balance needs to be restored for healthful development, for the sake of both child and society. The chapters in this book, written by professionals from backgrounds in both school and informal education, offer examples and activities utilizing many outdoor settings, from backyard and neighborhood to study abroad. You will find fresh ideas and useful resources for parenting infants to teens and college students, or teaching pK-16, or even teaching teachers. It is all about the theory and practice of introducing children of all ages to the phenomena of nature and building upon their experiences to grow their naturalist intelligence and critical conscience.