Teachers.netExplore Spring
From tracking spring peepers and raising tadpoles to learning about seeds and recording plant growth, this activity book invites young readers to explore the wonders of spring by becoming scientists in the field.
Combining hands-on learning with solid science, trivia, riddles, and terrific illustrations, projects investigate “the reason for the season” and include identifying trees and measuring their growth, recording soil temperature, and observing the forest floor. Bird migration and nest building are covered, and the movement of air and water is studied with experiments in capillary action and in such activities as “Making Parachutes,” Making Kites,” and “Mapping Air Currents with Bubbles.”
“The information is sound, with engaging activities to test and illuminate spring events. With a heavy emphasis on keeping a journal to record observations, many of the activities can be developed into science projects. Explore Spring! is a fun and worthwhile book.” —School Library Journal, October 2007
“Explore is packed with activities that children will enjoy...The Vermont-based publishing house is on a mission to educate young children about the natural world…” —Sommerville Journal Sciene, June 7, 2007
Kids learn about how plants grow, habitats, animals traits, and many more memorable activities. Author Maxine Anderson has created a wonderful book to help keep kids age four to eight engaged and learning -Calgarychild.com February 2008
“Combining hands-on learning with fun facts, trivia, jokes and riddles, and terrific illustrations by cartoonist Alexis Frederick-Frost, Explore Spring! offers younger readers an opportunity to mix real science with real fun.” —Home Education Magazine, July 2007
Books
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Lerner, Carol. A Forest Year. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc., 1987.
McMillan, Bruce. The Weather Sky. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1991.
McVey, Vicki. The Sierra Club Book of Weatherwisdom. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books and Boston, Toronto, London: Little, Brown and Co., 1991.
Pope, Joyce and Dr. Philip Whitfield. Why Do The Seasons Change?: Questions on Nature’s Rhythms and Cycles answered by the Natural History Museum. New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1987.
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Vogel, Carole G. Nature’s Fury: Eyewitness Reports of Natural Disasters. Scholastic
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Web Sites:
The Weather Channel
http://www.weatherclassroom.com/index.php
Weather Wiz Kids
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
National Geographic Kids
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com
The Audubon Society
http://www.audubon.org/educate/index.php
The Museum of Science, Boston
http://www.mos.org/
The Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/
Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/kids/weather/
Wikipedia
http://www.wikipedia.org/
World Book Encyclopedia
http://www.worldbook.com/features/seasons/html/seasons.htm
The Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/index.html
The Academy of Natural Sciences
http://www.ansp.org/
The Carnegie Science Museum
http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/defaultHome.aspx
Alexis Frederick-Frost is an award winning cartoonist and illustrator who lives with his wife in a small house near the New Hampshire seacoast. On a drafting table next to the kitchen he creates comics that have been published in comic anthologies, magazines, on the web, and as graphic novels. His comic about cycling, “La Primavera” received the Xeric award for self-published comics. In addition to drawing, he teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. To see more of his work please visit his website: http://www.cartoonstudies.org/FrederickFrost
Leaves not only help a plant make its own food. Leaves also help
plants collect moisture from the soil.
