Connecting Children and Nature

As it gets wetter, it’s time to play in puddles, breathe fog onto windows, and teach the water cycle! I Am the Rain is one of three Dawn books that feature water in all its myriad forms (See also Pitter and Patter and A Drop Around the World).

I Am the Rain is the 2018 winner of both the Teacher’s Choice Award and the Family Choice Award and a recipient of numerous starred reviews. Suitable for first to third grade, this lyrical picture book focuses on the forms of water, from mist to floods to flakes, with a special emphasis on the influence of the changing seasons. Look at this gorgeous spread of fall pumpkins!

As one reviewer put it: “It’s a large task to steer young children through the cycle of condensation-precipitation-collection-evaporation. Paterson’s spacious illustrations and animated narrative do a brilliant job of just that.”

For those children who ask the tough questions (What makes a rainbow? Where does rain come from? What color is water?), our Science Behind the Poetry Handout has clear, concise answers that cover the most common questions about water, as well as the ins-and-outs of the water cycle. The handout is free on our website and makes a great teaching aid to deepen children’s understanding.

If you’re looking for inspiration around teaching kids about the water cycle, I Am the Rain is the perfect package of wonder, beauty, and kid-friendly science.

The fall harvest time is here (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere!) with pumpkins, falling leaves, and cold, brisk winds. It’s a perfect time to feature the harvest in the classroom, with mounds of vegetables ready to be picked, brilliant orange, red, and yellow colors, and an abundance of seasonal activities to brighten up the home and school.

Molly’s Organic Farm has 5 complete lesson plans to celebrate (and explore) everything from your senses to the seasons, all the while learning about the workings of a community-based organic garden. And you don’t have to leave your classroom to do them!

We love this lesson plan put together by the Picture Perfect Science team for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Part of the Teaching Science through Trade Books collection, the lesson plan uses our book, Going Home: The Mysteries of Animal Migration, for grade K-4 to discuss why animals migrate—what we know and what remains a mystery.

Written by Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry, The Mystery of Migration lesson plan includes activities to engage elementary students in an animal guessing game based on the playful rhyming verse about migration behaviors, as well as mapping routes on free printable maps…

As we head into October, Daytime Nighttime: All Through the Year has the perfect start to the season!

This stunning picture book for K-3rd grade has art that seems to pop off the page, showing a series of creatures foraging, hunting, and building their homes, during day and night, month by month. A great way to teach the seasons, as well as diurnal and nocturnal differences, Daytime, Nighttime features two creatures per month…

Looking for fun science activities for K-3rd grade? Check out the activities for our new fall title, Over on the Desert: Somewhere in the World.

Over on the Desert is part of a bestselling series by Marianne Berkes that teaches about biomes—to the tune of “Over in the Meadow.” A delightful collection of desert animals, from jerboas and dingos to gilas and camels, are shown in their different habitats using adaptive behaviors, all the while the song guides kids through a fun counting game.

Our favorite science activity from the book is…