Connecting Children to Nature: Ideas and Activities for Parents and Educators
MICHAEL L. BENTLEY, MICHAEL P. MUELLER & BRUCE MARTIN
 
ISBN: 978-1-939019-12-7
SIZE: 6 x 9
PAGE COUNT: 320
PRICE $29.95
“Implementing the ideas in Connecting Children to Nature: Ideas and Activities for Parents and Educators will go a long way toward creating a nature-rich future.”  —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, Chairman Emeritus of the Children & Nature Network
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, and 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.
 
____________________________________________
 
Table of Contents
Foreword: Cheryl Charles, President and CEO, Children & Nature Network
Part One: Why It Matters
Chapter One ~ Introduction: Preparing the Next Generations to Face the Future ~Michael Bentley
Chapter Two ~ Ages and Stages: Building Relationships With Nature as Children Grow ~Teresa Shume
Part Two: Developing Empathy
Chapter Three ~ “Come on Baby, Take a Walk With Me:” Fostering a Baby's Love for Nature and Parent ~Paula K. Kleintjes Neff
Chapter Four ~ Go Outside and Play! ~Darlene Maxwell 
Chapter Five ~ “Kid-Scaping” Your Backyard for Nature Play ~Ken Finch
Chapter Six ~ Overcoming Critter Aversion ~Teresa Auldridge
Part Three: Exploring the Local Natural Environment
Chapter Seven ~ A Life-Shaping Week: The Outdoor Education Experience ~Nick Boutis
Chapter Eight ~ Young Naturalists at Night ~Catherine Pangan
Chapter Nine ~ Practical Strategies for Connecting Children With Nature ~Julie Simon
Chapter Ten ~ Using Guided Awareness Meditation to Connect Children With Nature ~Stephanie Frigon
Chapter Eleven ~ After School Nature Clubs: Calling Children Toward Nature ~Ryan Brock and David Crowther
Part Four: Working for Change Through Social Action
Chapter Twelve ~ The Possibilities of Today, the Promises of Tomorrow: New Directions for Citizen Science ~Michael Mueller, Deborah Tippins, and Lynn Bryan
Chapter Thirteen ~ Chocolate Choices ~Katie Brkich and Christopher Brkich
Chapter Fourteen ~ Learning From a Multicultural School Garden ~Sally Scholle 
Chapter Fifteen ~ Expeditionary Learning: From Watershed to Water Faucets ~Bruce Martin and Andy Szolosi
Chapter Sixteen ~ Engaging Teens in Outdoor Learning ~George Ambrose
Chapter Seventeen ~ Nurturing a Global Citizenry Through Study Abroad ~Michael Tarrant
Chapter Eighteen ~ Fostering Environmental Stewardship in Youth of Color Through the Urban Environment: Earth Tomorrow® ~Na’Taki Osborne Jelks
Chapter Nineteen ~ Engaging Children With Nature Through Historical Reenacting ~Kimberly Haverkos
Part Five: Resources
Chapter Twenty ~ Get Up, Get Out, Find Out: Exploring Nature With Field Guides ~Cindi Smith-Walters, Karen Hargrove, and Hilary Hargrove
A List of Simple, Practical Activities
Nature Connection Pyramid
Index
About the Editors/Authors