Title: National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia
Author: Lucy Spelman
Age: 3+
I have always wanted my kids to develop a fascination for animals and learn more and more about them. There has been so much research on why kids love animals : The Menagerie of the Child's Imagination I have always encouraged D and A to watch National Geographic's animal 101 series which gives a short and sweet summary on different kinds of animals and based on their interest, they pick and choose in depth NatGeo videos of specific ones. I personally have always loved animal watching in their natural habitats and don't have a great feeling about zoos of any kind as such. It breaks my heart to see their sad faces in the cage/space they are in at the zoo.
We just got back from a vacation to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. It was one of the best vacations we've had as a family. Both the national parks were simply spectacular and the scenery was just breathtaking. I was stunned at the sceneries and most times I just stared in awe. One of the main reasons we picked Yellowstone was the chance to see some amazing wildlife. We got to see plenty of bisons, elks, heron, chipmunks and bald eagle. I was pretty apprehensive about how the kids will survive the long drives through the park daily without cell phones and tablets but they kept themselves very engaged looking out for wildlife throughout our drive. It was the perfect detox for all of us. They got so excited spotting bisons and elks everyday. Every single spotting of them sparked a Yay! in them. We never got tired of trying to spot one. We spent all four days trying really hard to spot a bear and a wolf. D, A and I even hiked at least 3 miles into the woods in search of a bear, but in vain. At the end of the trip we were pretty bummed that we were so unlucky. We all literally jumped in joy when we accidentally spotted a grizzly bear and her cub while driving back home through Shoshone national forest. D commented that watching the grizzly with her cub was so fascinating. We will cherish the memories from this trip forever and it has sparked a lot of interest in wildlife watching in all of us. We have come to love national parks for this very reason and I am sure we will do a lot more such trips.
The book in this post was a birthday gift to D from one of her classmates when she was in kindergarten. This is a great book for any animal lover. The book is divided into different sections - each grouped by similar kinds of animals and in depth details of each of them - Their habitats, range, diet, description, characteristics, size/length. It also has information on the status of each of the animals - endangered, domestic, in trouble etc. A just loves turning through the pages to look at the beautiful pictures of all the animals. D has an animal sketch book and when she's bored will draw and color many from this book on her sketchpad. Whenever the kids are bored, I usually pick up this book and we all just pick a page and read it together. We also use this book as a record to check mark against the ones we have seen either at a zoo (I'm still trying hard to get D and A away from going to a zoo for an outing) or out in the wild.
National Geographic has done amazing things for our planet and I love all their books. This will make a great gift for anyone who loves animals and are fascinated by them.
Author: Lucy Spelman
Age: 3+
I have always wanted my kids to develop a fascination for animals and learn more and more about them. There has been so much research on why kids love animals : The Menagerie of the Child's Imagination I have always encouraged D and A to watch National Geographic's animal 101 series which gives a short and sweet summary on different kinds of animals and based on their interest, they pick and choose in depth NatGeo videos of specific ones. I personally have always loved animal watching in their natural habitats and don't have a great feeling about zoos of any kind as such. It breaks my heart to see their sad faces in the cage/space they are in at the zoo.
We just got back from a vacation to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. It was one of the best vacations we've had as a family. Both the national parks were simply spectacular and the scenery was just breathtaking. I was stunned at the sceneries and most times I just stared in awe. One of the main reasons we picked Yellowstone was the chance to see some amazing wildlife. We got to see plenty of bisons, elks, heron, chipmunks and bald eagle. I was pretty apprehensive about how the kids will survive the long drives through the park daily without cell phones and tablets but they kept themselves very engaged looking out for wildlife throughout our drive. It was the perfect detox for all of us. They got so excited spotting bisons and elks everyday. Every single spotting of them sparked a Yay! in them. We never got tired of trying to spot one. We spent all four days trying really hard to spot a bear and a wolf. D, A and I even hiked at least 3 miles into the woods in search of a bear, but in vain. At the end of the trip we were pretty bummed that we were so unlucky. We all literally jumped in joy when we accidentally spotted a grizzly bear and her cub while driving back home through Shoshone national forest. D commented that watching the grizzly with her cub was so fascinating. We will cherish the memories from this trip forever and it has sparked a lot of interest in wildlife watching in all of us. We have come to love national parks for this very reason and I am sure we will do a lot more such trips.
The book in this post was a birthday gift to D from one of her classmates when she was in kindergarten. This is a great book for any animal lover. The book is divided into different sections - each grouped by similar kinds of animals and in depth details of each of them - Their habitats, range, diet, description, characteristics, size/length. It also has information on the status of each of the animals - endangered, domestic, in trouble etc. A just loves turning through the pages to look at the beautiful pictures of all the animals. D has an animal sketch book and when she's bored will draw and color many from this book on her sketchpad. Whenever the kids are bored, I usually pick up this book and we all just pick a page and read it together. We also use this book as a record to check mark against the ones we have seen either at a zoo (I'm still trying hard to get D and A away from going to a zoo for an outing) or out in the wild.
National Geographic has done amazing things for our planet and I love all their books. This will make a great gift for anyone who loves animals and are fascinated by them.
