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Here is my list to order for Nature Study.
Books for everybody...I think I may get Miller's Picture Story Books and Notesketch
Colored Pencils-I was looking at the Ticonderoga
Pencil Sharpener
Eraser
Keeping a Nature Journal
Drawing from Nature

and I have A Handbook of Nature Study

Maybe a backpack or tote to keep it all together so you can grab it quickly when you head out? We also have some little round barrel shaped leather pencil cases that work nice for our colored pencils. Sounds to me like you have it all together! I can't wait for spring so we can get out more...this winter has been a bear!

Just thought of one more thing that is our favorite so I can't believe I forgot.....field guides! We have several (birds, wildflowers, trees, insects) but I'm always hunting for more. My kids love to look up bugs and birds and find the right name.

What are some good Field guides?

For kids, the "Fun with Nature" take along guide is good (it's a compliation) along w/Tracks, Scats and Signs is good too. THey're written by different people, but if you Amazon search them, they'll come up if you scroll down with "what other people bought".

Marsha wrote:What are some good Field guides?

For me (and my nature-loving daughter), the Reader's Digest North American Wildlife is a great resource-I would, however, love some handier-sized ones, for taking outside, as this one is over 500 pages, and includes 2,000 plants and animals

I have that one, but would like some to stick in our bag and carry.

Marsha wrote:What are some good Field guides?

Peterson's are my favorite. I also have some put out by our state dept. of conservation, and even though they are more accurate as far as what type of things we will find in our state, I have an easier time identifying things with Peterson's.

Our state also offers a LOT of free booklets and posters, so check out your state dept. of conservation to see what you can get for free.

Hi Marsha!

Ditto on the Peterson's field guides! They are our favorites as well. Having a colored picture of each insect or leaf or whatever... is truly a necessity for me - plus they are cheap! Also, I just wanted to mention that we LOVE www.enature.com. You can type in your zip code, and it brings up pictures and descriptions of every animal, insect, etc. in your area. These are all categorized too, so it's not that hard to find a "match" if you are trying to identify something. They often have sounds you can click on too - like bird calls, etc. As far as the sketch pads, at least for my ds's, they have much preferred the Miller Pad and Paper 5 x 8 (approximate size) blank spiral bound size. We got the 9 x 12 (approximate size) blank size before, and it was just too much paper for them! However, maybe other children - namely GIRLS - would feel differently. I can't wait to get back outside again; like Melanie said, it's been a bear of winter!

In Christ,
Julie