Customer Reviews

Sharing the Joy of Nature: Nature Activities for All Ages

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is THE original tool for connecting kids with nature.

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, you will find that this simple, small but comprehensive book will be the dog-eared book on the shelf or the coffee table...or the one that gets loaned out to friends the most. In every place I have taught environmental ed, I have seen activities from this book being used. In fact, so many enviro ed books have borrowed and adapted activities from this book that they have become classics.

The best part of this book is that it is a comprehensive teaching tool called "Flow Learning" that works like a cookbook. What I mean by this is that you can pull out just one 'recipe' for an activity, or combine several into the educational equivalent of a full four-course meal. Cornell's book is more than just a nature book, it is a system of four stages called 'Flow Learning', which very simply and effectively models how to facilitate connecting children (yes- even inner city children) with nature.

If you don't find this book extremely invaluable, I would probably offer to buy it back from you. After all, I can't seem to get back that last copy I loaned out...

Thanks to this book, I have embarked on a new career in environmental education. I always dreamed about it but never realized that I could do it until I was introduced to this book. It is a must have for anyone who works with kids: teachers, parents, youth leaders, babysitters, etc. This book was so instrumental to me, that I gave a copy of it to two of my professors who were most influential in making my first year back in college to persue this new career a success. I know it has had an impact on one of these professors! Even after being introduced to some of the major environmental education programs (i.e.: Project Wild, etc) I still return to this simple book again and again.

Describes Cornell's philosophy of outdoor education and gives instructions for playing outdoor education games that work. This is an excellent guide for educators, camp counselors and scout leaders. Some games are designed to work in forested areas and are difficult to adapt to treeless areas.

I had no idea that Joseph Cornell had written a book for children. This is a rare find. (It ranks up there with Robert Walser's little-known treatise on horse-grooming, or Arthur Brand's book of stock quotes.) There are stories here of hope and joy. You really get a sense of Cornell's engagement with a visionary romanticism when he encourages the reader to "let the child see into the world of nature, for there they will find a balm for their sorrows, a calm for their heart, and a palm against time." Cornell filled his boxes with the doodads of youth, and it's wonderful to find him speaking to children without any form of mediation. A must.

This book is fabulous. My friend and I had our combined 4 kids up in a cabin for a week and I brought this book for activities we could do. I knew I didn't need to pack any "supplies" because of the wonderfully simple nature of the activities. I was amazed that in doing "meet a tree" where each child is blindfolded, is led to a tree, explores that tree, and then tries to find it again with the blindfold off, that the kids were overwhelmingly successful at locating their special tree amongst many others, touching and exploring each tree thoughtfully along the way.
Another favorite was the un-nature trail in which you hide man made objects along a trail to see how many the kids can locate. Even the kids who only found 1 out of 15 items(yes it's true) were thrilled to go back over the trail with me as I pointed out the glasses, the wooden spoon etc.
I would prepare more carefully for the "blind trail" than I did - setting out rules and perimeters before hand. I had two blindfolded, crying children who had accidentally been walked into a tree or led off of a fallen log by their inexperienced partner.
This book is one of my all time favorites despite any mishaps. I can't think of a better book to help you get children excited about being outside with the birds and the trees.

This book is filled wth great ideas on giving children memorable experiences in Nature. I myself am a nature docent and I know from experience that if you try to lecture to children out in nature you just have a lot of kids not listening. If you give them an experience you will give them something that they will always refer back to for the rest of their life. I highly recommend the methods used in this book.

I have worked in outdoor environmental education, so many of the activities suggested in this book were known to me prior to reading it. Therefore, I was a little disappointed in the book b/c I had hoped to get fresh ideas. I would reccommend this book to any and all parents/teachers who have not worked in EE. These activities are the standard in teaching kids/adults about nature. I look forward to reading Sharing Nature with Children II, which I have also purchased. I feel it will have new activities to inspire me and many others who love nature.

An essential book for any educator, but especially for environmental education. Also good for parents and others who work with children. A way to let them discover the wonders of nature, even in a city.

This is one of the best books that I ever bought when I was at college. The best part of this book is that it is simple and easy to use as a teaching tool. You can pull out one activity from this book and use it as a fun nature activity for children which is also educational.It gives children the chance to rediscocer the joy of playing in nature and it also encourges them to respect nature. It is truly amazing. It can be easily adapted to the climate that you are in. This book is truly a masterpiece.

From the author of FLOW learning comes the book "Sharing Nature with Children" and the sequel "Sharing Nature with Children II". These delightful books are a welcome tool in the bag of tricks for any outdoor education facilitator. Find out how the characters of the Otter, Crow, Bear and Dolphin help guide the mind's eye to the wonders of nature. Re-discover the joy of playing in the outdoors while helping the next generation to appreciate and respect nature. This book is more than a must have for any teacher, parent or naturalist. Don't miss out.