Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching

From the intro to the conclusion I find this book a wealth of ideas for working with children in nature. As an artist/educator I am always enthused to discover ways to blend the use of writing (left brain) and drawing (right brain) activites. Clare Walker Leslie has an excellent chapter on nature journaling that has given me new ways to help my kids at the Contemporary Art Center relate in our spring and summmer studios out doors.

INTO THE FIELD IS A VERY HELPFUL BOOK. IT SPECIFICALLY GIVES HOW TO LOOK OUT OF A WINDOW AT A LANDSCAPE AND SKETCH THE SCENE. IT PROVIDES EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK. IT GIVES HOW TO CONDUCT A FIELD TRIP WITH CHILDREN INTO NATURE AND HOW TO RECORD WHAT THEY SEE AND DISCUSS WHAT THEY LEARNED. THE BEST PART OF THE BOOK IS THE PREDICTIONS OFTHE FUTURE....IN FIVE THOUSAND YEARS THE GLOBAL WARMING EFFECT WILL BE RESTORED AND THE GLACIERS WILL HAVE RETURNED. THE HUMAN BEINGS MAY HAVE BEEN WIPED OUT BUT ALL THE FLORA AND FAUNA FOR THE MOST PART WILL REMAIN. THE NEW RACE OF HUMANS WILL HAVE BEGUN....AFTER LISTENING TO AL GORE I WAS AFRAID OF THE END OF THE WORLD WITH NO LIFE AT ALL BUT THIS BOOK GIVES HOPE AND THE REASONING OF THE CYCLE OF A PLANET.