Summary: Parables From Nature is a collection of short stories which were originally published as 4 separate volumes. They are inspired from Nature and written for children. Nevertheless, Gatty uses children’s literature because she knows that in doing so, she can reach a wider group of readers and point out problems from the Victorian Age. (Summary by sailormoon for Librivox)
Did you ever wish you knew how to explain natural phenomena such as earthquakes and volcanoes to your children? Search no more, this book has all the answers (at least all the ones that were known in 1869) and gives them in a pedagogical way. Listed on the Ambleside homeschooling list. (Summary by Nadine)
Learn the most fundamental skill for identifying birds: recognizing them by size and shape.
Chris and Jessie show you how to compare different birds and employ your observations to make a confident ID. Join them in the field to practice these techniques on common birds and learn how to distinguish similar species such as Hairy and Downy woodpeckers.
Click here for more links from All About Birds. Page down to Explore More to read about sharpening your ID skills with silhouettes, a video about the American Robin, and honing your ability to ID birds with beak size and shape.
If you’re relying solely on your field guide to make an ID, you might be missing out on easy opportunities to identify the birds you see.
Join Jessie and Chris as they demonstrate the importance of observing a bird’s overall color pattern. Learn to recognize specific features and patterns to identify birds with confidence.
To learn more, go to the All About Birds Site and page down to the Explore More section. You’ll find links to information about dark and light plumage patterns, key field marks to watch for, the different parts of a bird, and birding the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Florida, an episode location.
Besides being fun, observing the way a bird behaves can provide critical clues to its identity. With stunning footage from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, Chris and Jessie show you different types of behaviors to watch for and how to interpret them.
Here is a summary about Episode Four: Habitat from the All About Birds Website:
Inside this Episode
Join Jessie and Chris as they bird the marshes, cypress swamps, and nearby mangroves of Florida’s Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in pursuit of the elusive Limpkin.
You’ll learn how to employ your observations of habitat to help you determine the probability of finding birds in certain locations and to confirm the identity of the birds you see.
For links and more information, click here. Page down to Explore More to check out the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge, great birding opportunities in Southern Florida, or to visit eBird for dynamic information on when and where to find birds.
Summary: Peter Rabbit goes to school, with Mother Nature as his teacher. In this zoology book for children, Thornton W. Burgess describes the mammals of North America in the form of an entertaining story, including plenty of detail but omitting long scientific names. There is an emphasis on conservation. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden for Librivox)
To hear this book, click play in the box below, or click on the chapter titles.
Note: I have not previewed this book for evolutionary content. Glancing through, I did see one reference to “millions of years” in chapter one. If this is a concern for you, please click “read this book yourself” to peruse its contents. This book does appear on some popular booklists, such as Ambleside Online.
Summary: I have promised to introduce you today to the fairy-land of science; a somewhat bold promise, seeing that most of you probably look upon science as a bundle of dry facts, while fairy-land is all that is beautiful, and full of poetry and imagination. But I thoroughly believe myself, and hope to prove to you, that science is full of beautiful pictures, of real poetry, and of wonder-working fairies.
(From the Introduction to The Fairyland of Science)
Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. His words, “One small step for man, a giant leap for mankind” became legendary.
Parents, pleasedo not allow your children to peruse YouTube (or any other video sharing site) alone, and preview all video content before sharing with your children.
Parents, please do not allow your children to peruse YouTube (or any other video sharing site) alone, and preview all video content before sharing with your children.