A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature through the Seasons

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Overview

The technology boom of recent years has given kids numerous reasons to stay inside and play, while parents' increasing safety concerns make it tempting to keep children close to home. But what is being lost as fewer kids spend their free time outdoors? Deprived of meaningful contact with nature, children often fail to develop a significant relationship with the natural world, much less a sense of reverence and respect for the world outside their doors.

A Natural Sense of Wonder ...

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A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature through the Seasons

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More About This Book

Overview

The technology boom of recent years has given kids numerous reasons to stay inside and play, while parents' increasing safety concerns make it tempting to keep children close to home. But what is being lost as fewer kids spend their free time outdoors? Deprived of meaningful contact with nature, children often fail to develop a significant relationship with the natural world, much less a sense of reverence and respect for the world outside their doors.

A Natural Sense of Wonder is one father's attempt to seek alternatives to the "flickering waves of TV and the electrifying boing of video games" and get kids outside and into nature. In the spirit of Rachel Carson's The Sense of Wonder, Rick Van Noy journeys out of his suburban home with his children and describes the pleasures of walking in a creek, digging for salamanders, and learning to appreciate vultures. Through these and other "walks to school," the Van Noys discover what lives nearby, what nature has to teach, and why this matters.

From the backyard to the hiking trail, in a tide pool and a tree house, in the wild and in town, these narrative essays explore the terrain of childhood threatened by the lure of computers and television, by fear and the loss of play habitat, showing how kids thrive in their special places. In chronicling one parent's determination (and at times frustration) to get his kids outside, A Natural Sense of Wonder suggests ways kids both young and old can experience the wonder found only in the natural world.

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Editorial Reviews

Booklist
Fans of Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods (2005) will find much to enjoy here, although Van Noy's unique combination of parenting memoir and naturalist treatise makes him a more readable and prescient author than most on this subject ... Van Noy is forging new ground by combining environmentalism and parenting in a fresh and engaging manner. His collection can serve as a blueprint for future works on brining nature back into the lives of children.
—Colleen Mondor
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780820331034
  • Publisher: University of Georgia Press
  • Publication date: 6/25/2008
  • Pages: 152
  • Sales rank: 699,976
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Rick Van Noy is an associate professor of English at Radford University in Virginia. He is also the author of Surveying the Interior.

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Table of Contents

Walking to school 1

The places I've lived and the ones I've lived for 9

Beautiful scavengers 17

Scorched earth 27

Nordic fun 36

Skating pond 40

Weed Eaters 44

Creek walking 55

Holy land 62

Bridge 33 74

Swimming hole 92

False Cape 104

Tree House 113

Seven days 122

Tide pools 128

Dirt world 140

Notes 151

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 13, 2008

    Rachel Carson and Richard Louv gave us the ideas. Now is time for action!

    Rick Van Noy has taken the words of Rachel Carson to heart. Collecting notes while making memories with his children, he has compiled a parent's dream come true. How does a parent create meaningful activities that will help their family grow stronger, help their children learn of the need to care for the world around them, and do all this without costing a fortune? As a father of three, I am constantly trying to find ways for my children to experience their surroundings, hoping that they will grow up and do the same for their children. Rick Van Noy's book, A Natural Sense of Wonder, reminds parents of the importance of everyday adventures. Written in conversational, journal style, the book features many stories of family adventures such as treehouse building, salamander hunts, and one of our favorites - creek dipping. Along the way, Van Noy introduces just enough beginning ecology to encourage families to seek out further information about historical ecological figures and movements. Simple hints and the author's lessons learned are shared to guarantee that your own attempts at navigating the world- or just your backyard, will be successful. Successful, in that you will build stronger bonds with your family, and truly provide them with a 'natural sense of wonder' for the world.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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