Pond and Stream question

The Handbook of Nature Study is a parent resource that is optional. Some moms find it helpful to have a source for information that they can read ahead of the lesson. Page references to The Handbook of Nature Study are given throughout The Pond and Stream Companion.

Pond by Gordon Morrison is an optional additional read for a 3rd grade student. It gives more details on ponds and the life that depends on them.

Life of a Snail by Theres Buholzer is another optional additional read for 3rd grade students. It gives the student details from the author’s own observations of snails she kept for the purpose of learning more about them.

A Little Guide to Wild Flowers by Charlotte Voake is an optional book for looking at illustrations and reading bits of information about flowers found in Great Britain. Because Pond and Stream takes place in Great Britain, your children might benefit from seeing illustrations of some of the flowers mentioned the story. You could always search for the flowers online too.

Seagull by the Seashore: The Story of a Herring Gull by Vanessa Giancamilli Birch would be my first pick for the lesson it is scheduled in but if you can’t get that one, go with Gulls…Gulls…Gulls by Gail Gibbons. Seagull by the Seashore is from one of the nature series of books that were done by the Smithsonian Institution.

The Brook Book by Jim Arnosky is optional if you want some guidance with the nature study for the final lesson. The last lesson has you go to a body of water and collect specimens for observation. There are alternatives for those who don’t have access to a pond, stream, or lake. The Brook Book is most useful for those who have a body of water they can access.

Swan Flyway: The Tundra Swan by Dana Limpert, Otter On His Own: The Story of a Sea Otter by Doe Boyle, Molly the Owl: The True Story of a Common Barn Owl That Ends Up Not Being So Common After All by Eric Blehm, and Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow by C. Drew Lamm were all out of print at the time we published The Pond and Stream Companion, so they are all used in optional lessons. Swan Flyway, Otter On His Own, and Screech Owl at Midnight Hollow are all books from the nature series of books done by the Smithsonian Institute.