Book Review: "Nature Study For The Whole Family" by Laurel M. Dodge

Nature Study For The Whole Family by Laurel M. Dodge is not normally a book I would ever pick up. I grew up thinking of myself as a person who isn't all that interested in nature, so I'd never have thought to find a book about teaching my kids about nature. But I agreed to review it because my friend (who I like very much) is married to the author, so I figured it would be at least well-written (because of the way his mind works and because of the way he talks about his wife). So I started reading.

And was impressed, and perplexed, and impressed some more. I had to slow down, because this isn't a normal how-to manual written for parents. This is a chronicle of love and loyalty and patience. Laurel (who I've still never met, but really want to now) loves nature--from the beautiful flowers and trees to the creepy wiggly bugs--with an instinctual love. Her parents facilitated that love and supported her as she followed it in school (she has a Master's in Environmental Studies). So she has an unending urge to go toward nature, to be still and walk up to it, to photograph it and sketch it and look at it from all sides. To pay careful attention to life cycles and the seasons and what happens when, with animals, with plants, with insects, with frogs. What I would swat away, she creeps up to and sketches, and shows her children what makes the wings or carapace special.

This book is a love letter to nature, but it's also a love letter to her children, who she's sharing her experience of nature with, and it's a love letter to the reader--ordinary parents like her, who love something and want to share it with their children. Her love is nature, and she knows so much about it and how to start studying it. But as I read I couldn't help but think that her process is a lot like the process I used to let my older son find books, and like I imagine people who love other things (art, music, baseball) used to start their children off with a process of deep knowing.

Her writing is absolutely lovely. It's slightly formal and old-fashioned, and she uses all the accurate words to describe plants and animals, so you may find yourself looking up words as you read, as I did. It's part description, part memoir. Her "how-to"s are more like case studies that you draw your own conclusions from, which makes it even more thoughtful and respectful of the reader. She shares stories of successes and missteps in nature study with her own children (takeaway: little kids don't always care about what you think they should care about), and with other children she's taught as a naturalist. By the end of it you feel you know Laurel, and would let her lure you out to the edge of the pond with her to collect frog eggs, but that you'd also allow her to come into your messy house just to talk about life and parenting and what really matters to you.

Laurel's full-color sketches and photos are scattered throughout the book. I now know what a Blue Vervain looks like, and a Polyphemus Moth. She talks about keeping a record of species you've seen, and how that can be useful for children, as well as how to use field guides with children.

The best thing: I never felt bad about not being a Nature Person. She draws a strong case for becoming interested in nature *as you find it where you live* and entering nature study at a level that's comfortable for you. For me, that means that when I pick up my kids from their dad's and walk home, instead of walking on the sidewalk we'll take the "shortcut" (actually a longcut) through the park and look at the plants along the path. It'll take 5 or 10 more minutes, but that's what Laurel is showing us--that love begins in 5 or 10 minutes of just letting things happen.

Maybe there's something you love,that you thought was too big or complicated to share with your own kids. Or maybe you see your kids getting into something you don't understand, and you'd like to encourage them. Or maybe you miss stopping and looking at nature, and you want to make sure your children have the same memories of lightning bugs on a summer night that you do. I'd recommend, for all of us, reading Laurel's delightful, quiet, thoughtful book.

And now I'm going to go buy some sketch pads and colored pencils for my kids for when we walk home from their dad's.

Comments

[T.]

Wow, that sounds like a great book. Probably a useful addition to the bag of parental bag of tricks for surviving the summer with a six and nine year old. Living very much out in the country, access to nature is no problem, but it sounds like this book might give me some ideas for engaging the kids a bit more than by simply saying, "Go catch frogs!" and booting them out the back door.

I recently bought a really interesting collection of curriculum materials for teaching fiber arts to children. It's called WoolWorks: Teaching to the Standards with Fiber Arts. (http://www.harrisville.com/woolworks.htm ) It's from Harrisville Designs. They also sell lots of great kits for teaching weaving and knitting to children. My son loves the peg loom I got him and my daughter is very into the pot holder loom. We even engaged in a family fiber project one vacation week using a giant bag of their cotton pot holder loops (http://gotitma.blogspot.com/2010/07/humility-thy-name-is-motherhood-or-when.html ). Fiber arts are a big interest for me, and lucky for me my kids are interested, too. I'm hoping the WoolWorks guide will help me tie some fiber arts lessons into the things they've done in school this year.

Really excited to check out this Nature Study book. Thanks for sharing.

[the milliner]

The book sounds very interesting. I'm trying to remind myself to incorporate more 'nature study' into our everyday lives in the city. Especially because we have to work a little bit harder than those who have a backyard or live in the country. This mostly amounts to being more aware in our walks in the park 5 mins from us, as we walk the dog, or make our way to the kiddie playground.

Your review and the book remind me of a documentary I heard on the radio the other day about how important nature is for our health and wellbeing...all of us, not just the kids. The amazing thing is it doesn't take much for our brains to get the benefit of some interaction with nature/green. Good news for us in the city.

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/shift/2011/05/04/urban-by-nature/

[SarcastiCarrie]

I've been using our backyard garden (not very big but packed full) to teach the kids about nature, vegetables, life cycles, where food comes from, money, and most importantly: delayed gratification.

They just don't understand why I keep running my hand over the top of a pot of little tiny future lettuce leaves (really just peppery micro-greens right now...they need to be thinned). I tried explaining about the calming effect of the velvety texture and what the wavelength of green light does to the human mood. I settled on: growing my own food makes mommy happy because it's a job well done and so tasty.

So, for kids and parents alike, I recommend container gardening of lettuce. It's so easy. Really easy (like "no skill" easy). But so tasty. Microgreens retail for $30 a pound and if you plant regular greens way too thick, you'll need to thin them after 2 weeks. Win-win.

[hush]

Sounds like a very cool, non-judgy book. We happen to live around a ton of nature and general outdoorsy-ness; so thank you for the reminder to be grateful for our podunk surroundings (even if the trade-off is we can't find any decent take-out.) ;)

[Charisse]

Sounds like a great recommendation! By the way, I'm a recent convert to sketchbooks going everywhere. I'm no artist myself and I've always wished I were more of one...but had no idea how to encourage it in my daughter. So last month, we were at a museum with friends who also have a 7-year-old and the mom, who *is* an artist, brought out sketchbooks and pencils for both our girls and suggested they sketch the things they were interested in. They spent 2 hours in the MOMA, happily and intently, drawing things. It would never have occurred to me, but I think it's awesome. I put a sketchbook in Mouse's hiking camp backpack this morning in fact. :)

[the milliner]

Totally OT, but, @hush, we live in a city and still complain about the lack of good take out (at least for delivery in our neighbourhood) ;). Great restaurants, but crappy take out. We're almost always disappointed those few times we actually want to order in.

@Charisse, oooh, such a good idea. Despite the fact that I like to make things with my hands, I'm not great at sketching. But this is such a good idea...to roll it into outings of all kinds.

[Elizabeth]

@themilliner: I heard that CBC broadcast too! It was very thought-provoking. I think we all sort of know that being around some green is a good thing but this really uncovered the various benefits and the science behind them. Highly recommended.

This book sounds great. Another reminder to me to just get out and pause and appreciate the ants with my 2 and 4 year olds...at this age they are naturally very interested and curious.

[Cat in Palma]

Ahhh. As someone who grew up running wild in the forest around our rural Canadian town, I can totally identify with Laurel and the concept of her beautiful book. Possibly some of my best memories ever were of collecting frogs' eggs from frigid ponds and watching them morph through their fascinating development in an aquarium in our garage.

I now live in another part of the world with completely different flora and fauna and wonder how to create this kind of experience for my daughter who is as keen on creatures of all stripes at three as I ever was. I am grateful for the timely reminder to put on my thinking cap and get us some sketch pads and magnifying bug boxes because everything is new here for me, too! :o)

[Karyn]

I just bought the book and will now be buying (or digging up since I have some kind of pathological need to buy paper, pens, and pencils) a set for all of us to use on our upcoming camping (what was I thinking agreeing to this) trip. Plus, maybe it will get us to the woodsy park this weekend... Thanks for the recommendation.

[small business startup funding]

This book sounds great. I think its highly recommended. Thanks for sharing.

[Cheap P90X]

Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or

something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but

other than that, this is great blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.

[bespoke conservatories]

This looks like a great read. Very nice review as well.

[Deledruro]

Oczywiscie nie przetwarzaja biezacego sposrod protekcji o nasz forma majatkowy.
Debet bez BIK - opcji
ZAs w srodku zaoszczedzone finanse wolno na przyklad skonfiskowac szkole na tygodniowy, obcy odjazd…
Chociazby z nieniniejszego wzgledu, w odniesieniu do namowy, powinno sie dac zobaczyc, w kto procedura instytucji pozyczkowe balamuca swoich klientow.
Choc, gdyby przyjrzec sie podazy osobnych bankow, nietrudno ujrzec, iz np. kredyty gotowkowe sa oprocentowane na autorytecie 30 – 50% na rok (rata RRSO).

http://www.health-review.ru/node/14936
http://www.uowanimemanga.com/content/online-payday-loans-cash-loan-pay-period-quick-cash-loans

[Deledruro]

ZAs to w samej rzeczy bardzo absorbujaca oferta.
Termin skretu moze znajdowac sie dokladny lub nieoznaczony. Pozyczka istnieje najczestsza moda fundowania rozwijajacych sie przedsiebiorstw.
Przedtem inwestor byc moze wszelako zazadac wyznaczania zabezpieczenia wierzytelnosci.
Co gorsza, aczkolwiek saper ludzi sie na odwrot trafienie, osobnicy firm pozyczkowych balamuca sie wysoko czesciej oraz – kiedy akcentuja podejscie - nie wyciagaja niemiernych moralow ze swego usposobienia.
Nastepstwo marnej raty osiaga sie skoro na skros dekompozycja zadluzenia na wieksza liczbe stopy, inaczej w poprzek wydluzenie czasu splaty.

http://tzmblog.federicopistono.org/en/node/11404
http://svvalumni.com/65911/bbc-thing-blank-fast-cash-advances-sucking-money-provided-poor-proclaim-putting-your-unit-toge

[NeefBlise]

Tutaj zadnej debacie znajdowac sie nie przypadkiem – debet gotowkowy jest tansza jakoscia wierzytelnosci, natomiast roznica w panszczyznie istnieje wrecz gigantyczna.
Niemniej jednak, jezeli przyjrzec sie propozycji poszczegolnych bankow, nietrudno ujrzec, iz np. kredyty gotowkowe sa oprocentowane na pulapie 30 – 50% rocznie (stawka RRSO).
Wierzytelnosci pozabankowe sa wobec tego nawet kilkunastokrotnie drozsze niz sztampowy pozyczka w banku…
Roznosc w oplaty byc implikowanym bedzie sposrod dymisji z zaplat wewnatrz obsluge domowa natomiast z obnizenia oprocentowania. W sumie zaoszczedzic mozna kilkaset zlociutkich.
TUDZIEz toz fortel jest linie – dosyc tego zredukowac ustawowo oprocentowanie niniejsze dlugow pozabankowych, a „kanada” jednostek pozyczkowych niezwykle ekspresowo sie skonczy.

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