Wild Days, Creating Discovery Journals
by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Wild Days, Creating Discovery Journals by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe, paperback, 118 pages, copyright 1998, $8.95. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this book from our Amazon affiliate link.
Karen Skidmore Rackliffe, a homeschooling mother of seven, offers a breath of fresh air for nature study in her book, Wild Days, Creating Discovery Journals. Building on her need to regain sanity from busy days full of ringing phones, activities, and chattering children, Mrs. Rackliffe enticed her children into nature journaling by calling the field trips "wild days."
In Wild Days the author describes the steps to begin and have success with nature journals in a home school environment. Mrs. Rackliffe provides methods and recommended materials for young children through teenagers and even suggests that homeschooling moms should have a nature journal! Her heart-touching descriptions of her own experiences in nature and those of her children are bound to move every mother who reads this book.
Mrs. Rackliffe proposes ways to tie in the nature journal with other topics. Language arts, math, science, history, and geography are all discussed, but of course, art is one of the most relevant topics.
The book has black and white copies of some of the lovely water color paintings and line drawings made for nature journals. An entire chapter is devoted to related crafts.
Mrs. Rackliffe concludes the book with lists of books and videos and a list of famous people who kept nature journals.
Recommendation: Wild Days will truly inspire you. If you are ready for a little adventure, want to escape the dry textbooks, get a little closer to your family, and have FUN, this book will give you the recipe for success in the great outdoors. Wild Days is sure to be a hit with enthusiasts of the Charlotte Mason method, and will bring a wealth of ideas to all families.
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