Connecting Children to Nature - Softcover

Michael L. Bentley; Michael P. Mueller; Bruce Martin

9781939019127: Connecting Children to Nature

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1939019125 ISBN 13: 9781939019127

Publisher: Wood N Barnes, 2014

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. 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.

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About the Author:

Michael Bentley is Education Associate at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and directs the Science Institute for Teachers at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Since 2007 he has served on the national Expert Panel for Education.com. He is retired from the science and environmental education faculty of the University of Tennessee and held a similar position at Virginia Tech and National-Louis University in Chicago. Among his two-dozen books are An Educator s Field Guide (2011) and Teaching Constructivist Science (2007).

Michael Mueller is a professor of secondary education with expertise in environmental and science education in the College of Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage. His philosophy focuses on how privileged cultural thinking frames our relationships with others, including nonhuman species and physical environments. He works with teachers to understand the significance of cultural diversity, biodiversity, and nature s harmony.

Bruce Martin is an associate professor in the Department of Recreation and Sport Pedagogy at Ohio University. His teaching and research interests are focused on the practice of outdoor leadership and adventure programming. His BA in history is from Virginia Commonwealth University, and he holds MS degrees in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University and in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from Colorado State University. His PhD in Social Foundations of Education is from the University of Virginia.

Review:

This wide-ranging book is packed with antidotes for nature-deficit disorder. A variety of parents, classroom teachers, and informal educators share successful strategies for getting young people out of the building, away from the video screen, and into engagement with the natural world age-appropriate experiences that can awaken the senses, improve physical and mental health, and foster a commitment to preserving natural places. The most memorable learning often comes not from lessons about far-off places and endangered species, but from regular immersion in local environments. Connecting Children to Nature is an inspiring, practical guide by people who are making it happen. --Michael K. Stone, Senior Editor at the Center for Ecoliteracy, Berkeley, CA, author of Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability and Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World

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

Overall, I love the idea, flavor and nature of this resource. It is well written and filled with practical advice and ideas for the parent, educator (formal and non-formal), and even the administrator. It motivated me to want to get outdoors (even more so than I already do as an outdoor educator!) and continue to find ways to connect the natural world to my students, and my children, family and friends. It was a refreshing read on such an important subject, and enjoyable to hear so many different respected authors share a similar voice and perspective. --Laurie MacLaughlin, Instructor and Program Director, Shaver s Creek Environmental Center, Penn State University

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