Born to Be Wild
Hundreds of free nature activities for families
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Want to save cash, your child's imagination and possibly even the planet? This is the book you need.
Packed with great photos of real families in the outdoors, Born to Be Wild contains easy-to-follow instructions for activities that require nothing more sophisticated than a small person's imagination and access to a little outdoor space.
Nature lays on magical materials for free each season, from fallen leaves and twigs, moulted feathers, sand and shells, to mud, puddles and rain. Everything else you'll need for these activities is already hiding in your cupboards at home. No expensive art supplies of outward-bound kit required. All you need are the toolkit items at the front of the book - ordinary household essentials like scraps of paper, string, glue, recycled food containers and an empty jar or two.
Along the way Hattie talks to families, organisations and communities who have rebuilt their relationships with nature with extreme or inspiring results, and she introduces scientists, psychologists and other experts who explain why, as modern families, we should revive our waning relationships with nature, whatever age or stage we're at.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Garlick, also a mother of two, provides simple instructions for hundreds of activities that parents can do with young children outdoors. This chatty guide is meant as a jumping-off point, as Garlick convincingly shows that wild places contain endless opportunities for fun. The photographs depicting children focusing deeply on feathers, exhibiting plucky happiness as they galumph through a meadow, or sweetly embracing yoga poses will make readers of all ages antsy to get started. Garlick begins with a basic toolkit, listing helpful ordinary household items (such as scissors, rubber bands, ribbons, and old cardboard scraps) and including general guidelines for "nurturing nature instead of knocking it about." The activities are organized first by season and then by material. Spring, for example, includes numerous ways to play with grass (build a nest, make a grass crown, etc.), and the autumn season makes use of acorns and pinecones (build an acorn man, make a conker mobile). Some activities are quick fixes (e.g., roll down a hill); others require an afternoon's time or a day trip to the beach. Nature and imagination are a potent combination, exposing children to all sorts of delights, and this book provides endless remedies to the indoorsiness of urban life.
