Customer Reviews

I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately." Exactly the tone "I Love Dirt" resurects at a time when we, as parents, are eager to motivate our kids away from tv sets and video games to spend more time outside.

"I love dirt" could not be more timely in an age when it is impossible to escape the "Green" revolution. The book is overflowing with guidance/reminders on how to approach the world through the eyes of a child. I think the text might also be super for older children and pre-teens to inspire more scientifically complex thoughts about their environment. Each chapter is succinct and serves as a primer to prompt a nature expedition limited only by imagination.

I offer due respect to the other reviewers, who perhaps took too personally what is really and ultimately a child-geared set of suggestions and not an adult's how-to ala the "Idiots" or "Dummies" guides. I freely admit (as a card carrying PhD life scientist) that I have not been outside to scrutinize the texture of bark, questioned the density of a random rock, or made note of the time of day for a particular bird call in quite a long time (though I have paid some attention to the bird that sounds like my cell phone ring).

I think, if anything, the perceived simplicity of this book that bugged other reviewers IS EXACTLY THAT...IT IS SIMPLE. Well done Ms. Ward, you have succeeded in your obvious intent. Accolades to the nature-nuts who can quickly disappear into nature the minute they strap on their boots and throw granola into their backpacks. For most of us, it is actually something of a challenge to step outside and reduce the apparent complexity of the world into the actual (beautiful) modesty our surroundings offer. During a college Botany course, I recall taking nearly 3 hours of sitting alone in a forest preserve writing random thoughts in a nature journal before I really began to realize my surroundings and escape thoughts of what I had to accomplish during the rest of the day (which, as I look back, was relatively little). Honestly, with a full-time job, two children, and a dog, I suspect it might take me a little longer these days to escape my mental to-do list and allow myself to be consumed by nature in a way that will be most beneficial to my two-year-old. My sincere gratitude to the author for facilitating such. Indeed, children are more inclined to explore on a very primitive level. "Dirt" very casually assists us (the busy and distracted adults) to see and hear the world beyond our blackberries (unless you are growing some) and iPods.

If anything, the title of this book does not do justice to the wide variety of activities that consider all seasons, weather, time of day, and region. This is a fabulous book that will only complement the existing motivation the young generation will need to continue to find ways to live in a "Green" world.

I highly recommend this book.

Dirt, leaves, worms, bugs, stars, raindrops and watching trees grow...all that fills i love dirt to capacity with 52 activities for parents and kids to do together. If I read thorough a book and can't help but dog-ear the pages I know it is a great one. i love dirt by Jennifer Ward is a book about kids, and exposing them to the nature and outdoors while siultaneously leaning of the wonderful nature of earth science. From bugs, to leaves, from trees to snowmen this is a book to enjoy through all the seasons. i love dirt is divided up into activities that would work best in the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter so that children and adults can observe and enjoy every new stage as it comes and admire what is different and beautiful about them.

i love dirt is Jennifer Ward's antidote to the current situation of "nature deficit" that children are experiencing. The generations previous to this one relied on nature. Our schools were even let out and in during the communities harvest time, and daylight savings time was initially agreed upon because of the impact another hour of light could do in the farmer's life. It was not all working outside, but also the playing in nature and with nature that was important. Participating in such activities as picnics, mid-afternoon fishing trips, laying under the sky's blanket to see just one shooting star, and the amazing world of mud pie making! To go outside and play, to put on rain gear and jump in puddles, or camp outside in the backyard on a warm summer night, or to explore the woods and make a fort these need not be things of the past. Outdoor activities are a learning and teaching experience that if neglected will fill our nation with a bunch of kids who can learn through books, but not from the beauty that surrounds them. Weather in the city, or country there are opportunities in i love dirt to get down and dirty and feel the particles of nature on your skin.

I personally loved this book so much, seriously does it get any better than a book that discusses all the fun things you can do to learn about nature and the processes that engulf us humans? Each section of the book, each activity has a short (kid friendly) explanation of the activity and its importance and a Help Me Understand question and answer as well. Here are some Q and A examples:

Q: What is Dirt?
A: Dirt is a mixture of all kinds of things: broken rock and stones, minerals and organic matter such as broken down bits of plants. (p.44)

Q: What makes new plants sprout in the spring?
A: They get more sunlight than they were getting in the winter. In the spring, the days get longer, brighter and warmer. These things help new plants to grow. (p.4)

There are so many more tid-bit facts of things every child asks, or at least mine do! I have decided to use this book for our outdoor explorations. I am very impressed with Jennifer Ward and i love dirt, too! This would not just be a great book to use for parents, but also for grandparents, and teachers as well. I am going to use this book for our science course when we begin homeschooling next year. To be honest though, it is all but burning though my hands, and since it is spring right now, I really see no need to wait...we're going to dive into this one with rubber boots, or barefoot! For when nature calls, we listen!

This is a little book with reminders about ways to enjoy nature with your children. Most of the suggestions are common-sense, broad suggestions like watching clouds, smelling the rain, and observing wildlife. There were not specific activities. If your family already enjoys spending time in nature together and would like to learn new things to do or have a "deeper" experience, this book is not for you. If you would like to gain some inspiration for getting you and your family outdoors more often, then pick this up since it is a quick read. On this subject, I prefer "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv. The new addition has a large section in the back with many activities and resources for parents.

i love dirt is deceptively simple. its premise is a series of lessons to help parents introduce their children to what we once took for granted (and children, who largely spend their time in front of the latest nintendo venture, are widely oblivious of) -- NATURE!

beginning with simple activities sure to bring young children joy- finding shapes and similarities in nature, to more complex discussions, the book offers a wide series of tools for parents to foster discussion and outside learning. it seems to keep in mind that most people who love children still don't have tons of time on their hands, so the instructions are simple and clear, to get right to the point and get everyone outside.

beautifully illustrated and an easy, fun read.

This book does NOT provide activities. It's a list of conversational pieces one could have with their children about nature -- mostly just questions. I gave it 2 stars, since some of the questions were good ones. However, I was expecting actual activities I could do with my kids. I judged this book by the cover... and was disappointed.

I was lucky enough to borrow this from the library before I decided to not buy it as a gift for a friend who loves to venture into the outdoors with her children. This has to be one of the most simplistic nature books for children that I have ever seen. All of it is common sense and things that most parents would already do with their children unless you have never been outside before and live in front of the TV. I can't believe this got published. Any parent who goes outside with their children could come up with these activities in an instant without needing this book.

While some think it is so obvious to teach your kids the things in this book, we as a culture forget about a lot of it and this is a nice, cute, compact little reminder to get outside. There are a lot of basic concepts with this like look for colors in nature, look for birds in the sky, but this book does go beyond that and how to help your kids do more than look for birds. It ask, do you see a flying bird, what about a bright bird, a dull bird, that sort of thing. Things that people don't always do.
I think this is an inexpensive, innocent reminder to parents and grandparents to do more than say, "go outside and play", but to go play too. And to do more than play, to learn life lessons by what is going on around you.

I LOVE DIRT!, with its enticing cover photograph of a small child headed down a dirt path into the woods, will call to the very audience for which it is intended--adults (parents, grandparents, and teachers alike) who love children and who want to feed their spirits in the best way possible, with time together outdoors in nature. With a foreward by none other than Richard Louv, author of the acclaimed LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, this book is a compendium of ways to spend that time together in every season. No adult who wants to take a child outdoors need ever again be at a loss for ideas.

Rather than just a book of games or crafts, this book, by an award-winning children's author and elementary school teacher, focuses on meaningful experiential learning experiences. The timeless activity of gathering leaves in the fall grows to become a lesson on gravity. Rather than just watching birds, Ward invites children to keep a journal as Audubon did, sharpening their observation skills as they do.

The trim size invites adults to tuck the book into a pocket, purse or backpack. And you'll want to read it with a small stash of post-it flags at hand, to mark each of the appealing activities you'll want to try out with the children in your life!

I love the outdoors and sharing it with my kids, and I loved Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods. So I was eager to read this new paperback that contains 52 easy ways to experience nature with one's kids and educate them about it.

I was really impressed by this book: short chapters divided into four seasons, with suggested activities to experience and concurrent teaching points about biology, physics, and the environment to help the little ones understand what they are seeing and doing.

Over and over again I caught myself thinking, "What a great idea... yea, that's a good one... gee, I didn't know that... I'm going to have to try that one out!"

A great book to read for any parent, grandparent, or anyone else involved in young people's lives. Go get a copy!

The book is organized around the seasons. It is designed to provide one nature experience per week of the year, that is, a focused, narrow-topic nature activity is laid out for the family to do.

In my opinion this is for use with children under ten years old. The reason why is it not good for children over ten is that some of the activities are too babyish for older kids (go play in a puddle etc.). The shallow/introductory information is suitable for preschoolers and elementary grade kids. Kids aged possibly nine and ten may ask more questions than this book supplies.

The book basically gives activities to do with young children outside. If the adult knows not much about nature, this book provides talking points and ideas of what to do. Encourage the child to touch the water, swish in the water and see what happens and so forth. There are suggestions to have children do things and then to discuss what happens. Factual information is provided that is good if the adult doesn't know a lot about nature.

The educational talking point claims to fulfill a learning objective. Each objective is at the end of each chapter, such as "stimulates awareness of one's surroundings" and "stimulates caring and stewardship for all living things". I'm not quite sure why the author felt that the parents needed those learning objectives spelled out. Perhaps she intended that public school teachers would use this book and would need that information so they could fit it into their curriculum or into the No Child Left Behind's objectives?

Conversely if the parent or grandparent already knows this basic information then the book's information could be too simplistic and not very useful; it could be considered dumbed down and unnecessary for some adults.

Some of these things end up feeling staged to me. For example if the parent intends to discuss where animals go during the day, but the child doesn't take that bait and run with that topic, you are out of luck with your plans (and this book is all about planning). I sure hope the parent doesn't come down hard on the child for 'not following the plans'. Also if the parent prepares to do X with the child but they want to spontaneously explore other things (which is good in my opinion) the adult may feel frustrated that they prepared or ill-equipped to answer questions about Y.

The people who are more spontaneous in general may feel this book is too limiting, but those people may not feel the need to buy a book of ideas! For me, this book is too limiting and unnecessary, but everyone is different, so perhaps this book is just what you desire.

This is a unique book. If this helps some parents get outdoors with their kids and have the children spend more time in nature then this book will have done its job (even ithe parent doesn't fully use the book as intended or if they don't get to do everything outlined in the book).

It is a very good idea to get kids outside more and outside exploring nature with their children. Hooray for that!! I applaud the author for writing this book which seems to be trying hard to give parents some tools and ideas about how to explore nature with their children (and throw in some education in the process).