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Connecting Children and Nature

Reading the Redwoods

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Stories of adventure, mystery and friendship await young readers who participate in a FREE, online reading contest with prize packages awarded on a weekly basis and culminating in the chance to win a Grand Prize.
Participating is fun and easy. Sign-up now!
Just do the activities below:
  1. Read books
  2. Listen to stories
  3. Create your own photos or artwork
  4. Observe the redwood forest with a live webcam
  5. Explore the redwoods nearest you

Everyone who signs up will be entered to win weekly prize packages.

  • A backpack full of goodies for young explorers like a notebook, compass, sunscreen, and a water bottle – donated by REI.
  • Boxes of Z Bars – donated by CLIF Bar.
  • Books about the natural world including  Tall Tall Tree by Anthony Fredericks
  • Totebag and goodies from Independent Bookstore Day on April 28.
  • Recognition on ReadingTheRedwoods.org, in reading contest emails, and on Save the Redwoods League social media.

Everyone who completes the 5 activities will be entered to win a First Prize and the Grand Prize!

See the Prizes  •  Read the Rules  •  Check out our Partners

Ten Tips for Reading Aloud

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Reading aloud books about science can serve several purposes, including sparking children’s interest in science topics and improving their reading and comprehension skills. The following tips are excerpted or paraphrased from Even More Picture Perfect Science Lessons, K-5 by authors Emily Morgan and Karen Ansberry. They’re sure to help you make your read-aloud time productive and meaningful.

  1. Preview the Book—Make sure the book meets your science objectives. Check for any errors or misinformation. Decide if you will read the entire book or just part of it.
  2. Set the Stage—Remember that reading aloud is a performance. Gather students in a special reading area and make sure they can easily see you andthe book. Clarify expectations for appropriate behavior.
  3. Celebrate the Author and Illustrator—Tell students the names of the author and illustrator, showing them photos and adding interesting biographical information. Mention other titles they’ve written or illustrated.
  4. Read with Expression—Practice reading the book aloud to improve your performance. Engage your audience with louder and softer speech, funny voices, dramatic pauses, facial expressions, or gestures. Make eye contact with students now and then as you read.
  5. Share Pictures—Hold the book so all students can see the illustrations or photos on each page. In some cases you may want to wait to show the image until children have a chance to visualize what is happening in the text.
  6. Encourage Interaction—Keep chart paper and pens handy to record questions or new information. Provide children with “think pads” so they can write down their thoughts and questions. Give children opportunities to “turn and talk” with a partner.
  7. Keep the Flow—Avoid excessive interruptions that might disrupt fluent, expressive reading. If the book combines a story with science content, you may want to read it first for the story and a second time to emphasize the content.
  8. Model Reading Strategies—Before, during, and after reading aloud model these six key reading strategies: making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance, and synthesizing.
  9. Don’t Put It Away—Keep the book accessible to students after you read it. Give them an opportunity to look carefully at the illustrations or read the book independently.
  10. Have Fun—Let your passion for books show. It is contagious! Seeing an authentic response from the reader is important for students—laugh at the funny parts and cry at the sad parts.

5 Ways to Celebrate the Season Outdoors

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thThe winter solstice, the longest night of the year, is December 21st, followed closely by Hanukkah the 24th and Christmas on the 25th. Celebrate the season with these suggestions for outdoor rituals, crafts, and experiences for home or school.

See the Sunrise or Sunset. Throughout December take time to go outside every day and notice the sun. Try to do it at the same time each day—possibly at sunrise or sunset if you’re at home, or at the beginning or end of the school day. If you keep this commitment throughout the year, you’ll really notice the change in the day’s length and the sun’s path.

Make a Yule Wreath. Make a wreath of evergreens (or purchase one) and invite family members or51118bfd2272ea2172d4a79624cf027d students create a small card illustrating something they appreciate about winter. Have each person show their card and share something about it. Then attach the card to the wreath and display it in a prominent location. On New Year’s Day, remove the cards (you can keep them in scrap book) and return the wreath back to nature.

Celebrate Twice—Both Inside and Outside. Celebrate Christmas as you usually do inside, and also create a NEW tradition of celebrating Christmas outside. You might decorate a tree with pinecones smeared with peanut butter (something the birds will appreciate) or play a game of “Outdoor Scavenger Hunt” as you look for items in nature that begin with the letters of the alphabet. Encourage creativity, especially for challenging letters, such as eXtra-ordinary leaf or Zebra-shaped cloud. Preparing food outside over an open fire is always fun. S’mores anyone?

wedding-luminariesShow the Way with Luminaries. Hanukkah is a Festival of Lights that is traditionally celebrated with lighted candles. This year decorate your walkway or front porch with paper bag luminaries. Cut holes, stars, or hearts in the bags and fill them with sand for stability. Place a wax votive or battery-operated candle inside each bag and enjoy the inviting glow.

Include the Environment in New Year’s Resolutions. If you’re going to make resolutions at the beginning of year, you might want to add one or two that are good for the environment. Here are some ideas to get you started: commit to turning out the lights whenever you leave a room, grow a windowsill herb garden, donate items you don’t need or use, use natural cleaning products, compost food scraps, or decide to make one energy-efficient change to your home.

Encouraging Kids to Appreciate Nature

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How can you encourage feelings of gratitude for nature in children? The best way is to give kids a direct experience of nature’s beauty, awe, or power. And the good news is that nature experiences don’t require a trip to the wilderness. Simply being outside is the first step.

Dawn Suzette’s blog Mudpuddles to Meteors suggests simple and easy ways to get kids outside during the month of November. Sign up for her annual Fall Outside email to get an outside nature activity for each day of the month. That’s 30 activities! For example: Eat a meal outside—Have everyone fill their plates in the kitchen and head outside. Want seconds? Head back in to the stovetop and grab a spoonful! Making a one-pot wonder (a meal you can make in one pot or dish) makes getting outside so easy because you only need is a bowl and a spoon. If it all still seems overwhelming, start out with a snack. Once you’re outside, let nature provide the magic.

If children are reluctant get outside, let nature picture books provide the impetus.

For example, read A Moon of My Own—a story about a girl who travels the world (if only in her dreams) discovering natural wonders with her companion the Moon. After noticing the phases on each page, go outside and look up at the moon. Then keep a “Moon Phase Journal” for an entire month.

With minimal text and evocative images, The Dandelion Seed entices children to explore the dandelions encouragement, “The world is more beautiful than you can imagine. You’ll see. You’ll see.” This books is a great lead-in to playing a game of “Nature I Spy” in the backyard or schoolyard.

The sweet (pun intended) story of If You Love Honey leads children through a meadow of plants and animals that part of the natural cycle that results is delicious honey. It sets the stage for finding something to appreciate in nature with the concluding words, “And you know who to thank for that!” An outdoor follow-up activity might be a game of “Nature I Spy,” as kids pair up to find objects in nature for each letter of the alphabet.

Adults telling kids to appreciate nature doesn’t work. But animals become excellent teachers in Granny’s Clan. After learning about the life of orcas, and reading about ways people honor them, children’s hearts and minds naturally open up to the idea of saying “thank you.” This season you can create your own “celebration” for the wild animals (squirrels, birds, fish, frogs, etc.) in your area.

Wishing you and yours many opportunities to say thank you to nature this Thanksgiving!

Gary Braasch: Author, Photographer, Friend

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Gary BraaschGary Braasch, photographer and co-author with Lynne Cherry of the award-winning How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate (2008) died unexpectedly while snorkeling in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It is a profound loss—and a reminder of how a single person can recognize the enormity of the challenge of climate change and do something of global significance about it, all the while maintaining a calm and joyful spirit.

As Lynne recalls, twenty years ago Gary took it upon himself to do all in his power to alert the world to the global climate crisis. His extraordinary photographs reached people’s hearts and minds. He thought that if people could see with their own eyes how climate change was transforming ecosystems they would be motivated to take action to reduce CO2.

How We KnowHe and Lynne had young people in mind as they worked together on How We Know because they knew that adults tend to follow the lead of young people on this issue. A League of Conservation Voters study showed that children are a primary source of information about environmental issues for adults, and the largest force upon adults to lead a more sustainable life-style. A study by corporate giant Unilever found, “when kids lead, adults follow.”

Gary and Lynne’s book published by Dawn Publications garnered 16 awards and many laudatory reviews. The Dawn staff recalls with fondness our time working with him on the book.

You can catch his spirit as well as the extent and quality of his life work in this video of Gary in his own words.

Greenland Glacier by Gary BraaschEven though Gary and Lynne knew all too well how dire climate change is, they strove to write a book that would not scare children but help them to see possibilities for change. The reviewer for “Embracing the Child,” for example, recognized this:

A groundbreaking new book for children explains the science behind the headlines, shows how young people are participating in gathering the scientific data, and tells what can be done to avert a crisis. The authors of How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate report on such a groundswell of activity by scientists and concerned people-including many children-that what could be a fearful or depressing book is, instead, an empowering book.