Nature School

Lauren Giordano is an author, illustrator, and owner of Chickie & Roo, an educational curriculum and resource company for families and schools. She home educates her two children in Florida and taught in her local homeschool co-op community, where she led nature classes. Lauren is passionate about bringing children closer to nature and helping them develop a deeper understanding of our natural world. Her work has been featured in The Peaceful Press, A Year of Learning, Chickadees Wooden Toys, Wild & Free Co., FunSchooling Books, and more. You can find her work at chickieandroo.com. Stephanie Hathaway is a Kansas City–area artist who specializes in creating educational content inspired by our natural world. She believes in using beautiful, dynamic illustrations to make learning about science and nature exciting and accessible to children of all ages. She is guided by the notion that many of life’s valuable lessons can be learned from nature. It is her hope that her work will inspire families to explore and learn from the natural world right outside their own door. You can see more of Stephanie’s educational nature-based studies and original artwork at stephaniehathawaydesigns.com. Laura Stroup is the founder of Firefly Nature School, a nature study curriculum designed for homeschooling families, co-ops, and classrooms found online at fireflynatureschool.com. Laura has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University with an emphasis in natural resource education. A former museum educator and upper school science teacher, she now directs School of the Wild, an immersive nature school that serves her local community. Laura resides in the countryside near Springfield, Missouri, with her family.

Introduction
1 TEMPERATE FORESTS
The Temperate Forest Ecosystem
Climate and Weather
Anatomy of a Deciduous Tree
Coniferous vs. Deciduous
Plants, Animals, Predators, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Invertebrates
Activities
 
2 DESERTS
The Desert Ecosystem
Climate and Weather
Landforms
Cactus Habitat
Plants, Animals, Predators, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Invertebrates
Activities
 
3 SEASHORE
The Seashore Ecosystem
Coastal Landforms
The Ocean
The Tide
Seashells, Animals, Coastal Fish, Predatory Fish, Marine Mammals, Birds, Plants
Activities
 
4 GRASSLANDS
The Grassland Ecosystem
Climate and Weather
Grass
Plants, Animals, Predators, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Invertebrates
Activities
 
5 WETLANDS
The Wetland Ecosystem
Climate and Weather
Wetland Water
Plants
Animals, Predators, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Invertebrates
Activities
 
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Index