leann_in_tx Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I was reading a sample of this online and it was interesting, but I'm concerned the book won't be all that relevant for us, and on a limited budget, I'm trying to decide if it's worth an investment. We live on the Texas Gulf coast, where there are plenty of palm trees, pelicans, crabs, and other cool nature stuff, but no acorns, squirrels, robins, and all the ordinary things a lot of early science programs seem to focus on. I like Ambleside Online a lot and will likely be using a lot of their recommendations, but I'm not sure about this one. My son is a real nature lover, and I would love to have a single purchase to answer some of his questions about flowers, bugs, etc. but I'm afraid to get a book that doesn't apply to what's actually around us. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Can you instead buy nature guides that are more specific to your climate? Natural History Guides from Front Street Books Or, if you have any museums with a good natural history program/display, they may offer books that would work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 You can also get The Handbook of Nature Study for free. There are several places it is available--here is one link. http://www.archive.org/details/handbookofnature002506mbp Download it--see if it works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Thanks for the download Miss Moe. :) I have been meaning to read this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I was reading a sample of this online and it was interesting, but I'm concerned the book won't be all that relevant for us, and on a limited budget, I'm trying to decide if it's worth an investment. We live on the Texas Gulf coast, where there are plenty of palm trees, pelicans, crabs, and other cool nature stuff, but no acorns, squirrels, robins, and all the ordinary things a lot of early science programs seem to focus on. I like Ambleside Online a lot and will likely be using a lot of their recommendations, but I'm not sure about this one. My son is a real nature lover, and I would love to have a single purchase to answer some of his questions about flowers, bugs, etc. but I'm afraid to get a book that doesn't apply to what's actually around us. Thoughts? We were still able to get some good out of the book living in Hawaii and Japan, where we were more likely to see mongoose or tanuki than a squirrel. One thing I found helpful was that the book addressed general areas like compound flowers, cereal grains and mammals, even though it was probably more focused on the Midwest/East Coast. I can't recommend the Handbook of Nature Study blog often enough. Go through the outdoor challenges that she has. They will walk you through using the book as a springboard to exploring whatever natural environments you happen to have around you. (The blog author is the WTM boards very own Harmony Art Mom and I think she is a huge inspiration.) Also, you can find the HNS book as a downloadable ebook. Then you can print out whichever sections you are working with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Get a book that applies to your region and use Comstock's book to guide you in thought provoking questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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