Showing posts with label Outdoor Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Outdoor Life. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 August 2011

101 Things to Do Outdoors Before You Grow Up

Go Wild!
Order "Go Wild!: 101 Things to Do Outdoors Before You Grow Up by Fiona Danks, Jo Schofield" Here

Book Description
Young people these days are often homebound, entertaining themselves with the Internet, television, video games, and text messages, but completely disconnected from the reality of the great outdoors. Many have never experienced simple pleasures such as telling stories around a warm campfire, camping outdoors, or whittling a stick. Go Wild! is the perfect book for families with children ages 10 to 14 wanting to get in touch with the natural world. The authors describe a range of wild and fun adventures for families to share. Readers learn potentially life-saving skills that give them confidence, independence, and a sense of environmental awareness. Topics include building shelter, building a fire, foraging for food, cooking outdoors, tools and weapons, bushcraft skills, water and keeping clean, and safety. From making a catapult to catching crayfish, creating fire without matches to constructing a tepee, Go Wild! is all about thrilling activities, amazing discoveries, and young people having the time of their lives in the great outdoors.

About the Author
Fiona Danks did a degree in Ecology at Edinburgh University followed by a PGCE in Rural and Environmental Science at Bath College of Higher Education. She worked in environmental education for a number of years, first for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and then for the Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, organizing training for teachers and taking groups of children out to nature reserves and other wild sites. She then went on to write books about the Chiltern Hills and the Cotswold Hills while working part-time running activities in a pre-school nursery. She currently runs the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment, a non-profit making company providing grants for a wide range of community and environmental projects across Oxfordshire. Through their website www.goingwild.net Jo and Fiona provide more ideas for outdoor activities and an opportunity for debate on the importance of real world adventures for all young people. For more information on how to encourage children to go outdoors, visit Fiona and Jo's website click here Jo Schofield gained a degree in psychology from Exeter University and began her career working for an educational psychologist in London. After getting involved in the production of a film, she went on to work in the creative department of a TV advertising agency where she began taking still photographs. This led on to her becoming a commercial photographer in Australia and then London. She worked mainly for national editorial magazines such as Country Living. When her children were small she worked in Watlington Primary School and the Dragon school in Oxford, applying her creative knowledge to the classroom with children aged 6-9 years. More recently she has been focusing on writing and photographing for a series of books with co-author Fiona Danks. Through their website www.goingwild.net Jo and Fiona provide more ideas for outdoor activities and an opportunity for debate on the importance of real world adventures for all young people.

Monday, 18 July 2011

Hundreds of Tips to Help During Travel with Your Baby, Toddler, & Preschooler

Take-Along Travels with Baby
Order "Take-Along Travels with Baby: Hundreds of Tips to Help During Travel with Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler by Shelly Rivoli" Here

Book Description
From the author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby comes this pocket-size survival manual for parents traveling with small children. Packed with hundreds of on-the-go tips, parents get quick access to the information and advice they need as they travel, including: babyproofing hotel rooms or vacation rentals on arrival, keeping babies happy in the back seat, managing toddlers on airplanes, translating various baby items and conversions while traveling abroad, and finding medical help or remedies far from home. Age-appropriate games and activities also help keep babies, toddlers, and preschoolers entertained in transit. Plus special sections help parents organize their travel details for each trip and also make it easy to fill in the blanks and log favorite family moments along the way.

About the Author
Shelly Rivoli has changed diapers on four continents and continues to travel with her husband and three young children as often as she can. She is the author of the award-winning guide Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children, which received a Gold Award in Parenting Resources from the National Parenting Publication Awards (NAPPA) and was a finalist for two Book of the Year awards from ForeWord Magazine recognizing outstanding independent publishing. Her travel tips and advice have appeared in national magazines and newspapers, and she has made appearances both on radio and television on the topic of travel with young children. Ms. Rivoli continues to blog yet more travel tips and anecdotes in her Travels with Baby Tips blog. When not traveling, she hangs her hats as mother and writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Friday, 8 July 2011

Run Wild!: Outdoor Games & Adventures

Run Wild!: Outdoor Games and Adventures
Order "Run Wild!: Outdoor Games & Adventures by Fiona Danks, Jo Schofield" Here

Book Description
Following the success of Nature's Playground, Go Wild and Make it Wild, in their latest book, Run Wild, Jo Schofield and Fiona Danks focus on inspiring children of all ages - as well as parents, teachers, youth leaders and anyone working or playing with children - to have fun outdoors, anywhere, any time, whatever the weather. Here are activity ideas and practical projects for all ages and all occasions, from outdoor games to woodland storytelling, from wild navigation to planting trees.

About the Author
Fiona Danks did a degree in Ecology at Edinburgh University followed by a PGCE in Rural and Environmental Science at Bath College of Higher Education. She worked in environmental education for a number of years, first for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and then for the Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, organizing training for teachers and taking groups of children out to nature reserves and other wild sites...

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up

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Order "Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up by Holly Hughes" Here

Book Description
500 Places to Take Your Kids allows parents, grandparents, and kids to create a lifetime of shared memories while visiting destinations the whole family can enjoy. Here are cities, zoos, sports shrines, museums, castles, beaches, outdoor activities, and more—500 thoughtfully-chosen places that will enchant and beguile both the young and the young at heart.

Each entry contains all the information families need to help plan a trip: age ratings, service details, and nearby kid-friendly hotels. A Specialty Index organized by type of trip helps families discover places and activities for all ages and interests, while a Geographical Index allows families to locate attractions across the world or simply across town. Photos throughout the book help bring destinations to life.

About the Author
Holly Hughes has traveled the globe as an editor and writer—she’s the former executive editor of Fodor’s Travel Publications, the series editor of Frommer’s Irreverent Guides, and author of Frommer’s New York City with Kids. She’s also written fiction for middle graders and edits the annual Best Food Writing anthology. New York City makes a convenient jumping-off place for her travels with her three children and husband.

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

Children's Environmental Issues

Childhood and Nature
Order "Childhood and Nature by David Sobel" Here

Book Description
Public discussions of global climate change and other threats to the planet are making children more aware of environmental issues. As increasing numbers of kids come to school wishing to take action, educators want to know how to teach in a way that fosters a love of nature and an understanding of the complexity and seriousness of these issues.

In Childhood and Nature, noted educator David Sobel makes the case that meaningful connections with the natural world don't begin in the rainforest or arctic, but in our own backyards and communities. Based on his observations of recurrent play themes around the world, Sobel articulates seven design principles that can guide teachers in structuring learning experiences for children. Place-based education projects that make effective use of the principles are detailed throughout the book. And while engaged in these projects, students learn language arts, math, science, social studies, as well as essential problem-solving and social skills through involvement with nature and their communities.

The pressures of test preparation, standards, and curriculum frameworks often reduce the study of nature and the environment to a set of facts and general concepts. However, as Childhood and Nature demonstrates, linking curriculum with an engagement in the real world not only provides students with the thinking skills needed for whatever test comes their way, but also helps them grow into responsible citizens and stewards of the earth.

Thursday, 16 June 2011

How to Get Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors

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A great read that leads the way to healthier kids and a healthier planet, written by one of my favorite writers. Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids gives a fun, healthy, and really cool perspective on the best ways to interact with our world.

Order Outdoor Parents Outdoor Kids: A Guide to Getting Your Kids Active in the Great Outdoors by Eugene Buchanan Here

Book Description
There is a movement upon us and it's full of parents who refuse to let their children become a statistic of childhood obesity, and who understand the fate of the environment rests with connecting their kids with the outdoors. Outdoors Parents, Outdoor Kids shines a much needed headlamp on helping parents accomplish this and more. With an informative and entertaining look at biking, camping, swimming, paddling, snowsports, hiking, fishing, climbing and more, award-winning author Eugene Buchanan extends parents a helping hand in getting their kids outside and instilling in them a respect for their health and the environment. It's a set of training wheels for first-time parents and an essential guide for hair-pulling veterans.

About the Author
A former reporter for the Denver Business Journal and 14-year editor-in-chief of Paddler magazine, Eugene Buchanan has written about the outdoors for more than 25 years, from covering the X Games for ESPN.com to working for NBC at the Beijing Olympics. With freelance articles published in the New York Times, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Afield, Outside, Forbes Life and other publications, his passion for traveling and writing has taken him to more than 30 countries on six continents. A Fellow member of the Explorer's Club and contributor to Men's Journal's The Great Life anthology, he spearheaded the Outdoor Industry Association's book, Brothers on the Bashkaus, was released by Fulcrum Publishing in 2007.

Monday, 13 June 2011

Parenting Adventures in the Great Outdoors

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Order "Wild Play: Parenting Adventures in the Great Outdoors by David Sobel" Here

Book Description
When David Sobel’s children were toddlers, he set out to integrate a wide range of nature experiences into their family life, play, and storytelling. Blending his passion as a parent with his professional expertise, he created adventures tailored to their developmental stages: cultivating empathy with animals in early childhood, exploring the woods in middle childhood, and devising rites of passage in adolescence. This book is Sobel’s vivid and moving memoir of their journey and an inspiring guide for other parents who seek to help their children bond with the natural world. As we share this family's experiences, we observe how wild play in nature hones a sense of wonder, provides healthy challenges, and nurtures Earth stewardship—and we share Sobel’s joy as his children, Eli and Tara, grow into earthbound, grounded young adults.

Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods identified the urgent problem of “nature deficit” in today’s children, sounding the alarm for parents, educators, and policy makers. Wild Play is a hopeful response, offering families myriad ways to blaze their own trails; it should become another classic in this field.