Explore the wonders of the natural world with the naturally curious child.

Field-tested across the country, this comprehensive curriculum expands and extends the role science has traditionally played in the early childhood classroom. The first in a new series, Discovering Nature with Young Children explores the wide-ranging elements that make up the natural world around us. The curriculum replaces simple fact-feeding practices with the development of long-term scientific reasoning, including literacy skills and numeracy skills, such as hypothesis, inference, prediction, and estimation.

Discover the science behind exploring and understanding water with young children.

The Activity Book That Makes Kids Wild About Nature Nature books for kids should get them excited about heading out into the great outdoors. This one encourages them to track, explore, discover and create. Unlike some nature books for kids, the Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids, is filled with hands-on educational outdoor activities--like crafting bird feeders out of fruit, pressing flowers, creating sundials and so much more. The Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids includes: 50 AMAZING OUTDOOR PROJECTS--See how nature books for kids can inspire a lifetime of curiosity by using play to encourage natural observation. ACTIVITIES FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE--Discover fun and educational outdoor activities designed for a variety of seasons, regions, and age ranges. WILD COLORS--Color illustrations bring activities to life, provide further instruction, and get kids excited about going outside. The hands-on, get-dirty approach makes this one of the best nature books for kids and shows them what makes the great outdoors great.

I Love Dirt! presents 52 open-ended activities to help you engage your child in the outdoors. No matter what your location—from a small patch of green in the city to the wide-open meadows of the country—each activity is meant to promote exploration, stimulate imagination, and heighten a child's sense of wonder. Jennifer Ward is the author of numerous acclaimed parenting books and books for children, inspired by nature. "Jennifer Ward has created a book that will serve to gently introduce parents to nature, even as parents are using it to help guide a child into the narural world. Children—and parents—learn to observe, as well as appreciate, the basic joys of getting their hands dirty and feet wet. Discoveres become shared experience."—from the forword by Richard Louv

A companion to the curriculum, this trainer’s guide serves as an indispensable handbook for trainers and administrators interested in introducing staff to the Building Structures with Young Children curriculum—from planning to implementation. Special sections outline the curriculum and introduce scientific reasoning to adults, and eight workshops detail the complete curriculum for staff members. The guide also includes strategies for supporting teachers over time through mentoring and guided discussions.