Reduced stress, better sleep, improved immune function, and relief from depression—these are just a few of the many proven benefits of spending time outside in nature. But what if you just can’t be outside regularly? Do you need a quick “nature booster”?

That’s why my husband and I created the new Nature Portals Card Deck just for you! Using it can help you maintain a connection with nature—with nature’s peace, energy, goodness.

One side of each card features a stunning photo, carefully selected not only for its beauty, but also because it evokes a feeling. The flip side recommends a way to expand on that feeling to experience a deeper connection with nature.

This versatile 52-card deck can be used indoors or out!

INSIDE: Relax and Renew Yourself

Give yourself the special treat of connecting with nature even if wintery weather keeps you inside. Go through the cards in the Nature Portals Card Deck, looking at the photos and feeling yourself immersed in the natural world.

Read the uplifting messages and quotations on the back of the cards and follow some of the suggestions, most of which can be followed inside as well as outside. For example:

This  cards shows a Great Egret balancing on a branch in the river. Excerpt from the flip side:

 Turn to nature to find balance. The first step in regaining balance is realizing that you’re out of balance. Imitate the egret and stand on one foot. Did you wobble? Did you feel yourself adjusting your weight and posture to bring yourself back into balance….”I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”~John Burroughs

OUTSIDE: Make a Connection

Take the card deck with you as you step outside. Draw one card and follow the suggestion.  And remember: nature is not just wilderness—the cards can be affectively used in a city park, backyard garden, or apartment balcony.

This card shows a young maple seed clinging to a branch. Excerpt from the flip side:

All things unfold in perfect timing. It takes time for the seed to become the tree, but nature is in no hurry. Look around and notice the different stages of develpemtn in nature…Take a moment to appreciate the perfection of each stage. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” ~Lao Tzu.

Get ready to experience the meadow at “ground level” through the eyes of an adorable mouse who is venturing out into the meadow for the first time in The Mouse and the Meadow.

Young readers will delight in Mouse’s adventures as they learn about the relationships and interconnectedness of the plants and animals in the meadow.

In dramatic scenes, a sinuous snake and a fearsome owl come close to harming the little rodent. But there are tender, rosy-hued moments in which he shares a furry rabbit’s burrow and wondrous ones in which the mouse first discovers a group of fireflies. —Kirkus Review

Check out Dawn Publication’s homepage to read about a FREE book app that makes the meadow creatures come alive as Mouse scurries across the pages.

INSIDE: Rhyme Time

The Mouse and the Meadow is written in rhyme, with the last word in each pair of lines rhyming, such as when Mouse meets a Box Turtle:

The mouse gave his attention to the turtle’s candid words,/Which warned the mouse of hidden snakes and predatory birds. / So far he was fond of all the dwellers in this ’hood, / That is until he came upon a patch of rotting wood….”

In this Rhyme Time activity students will listen for the rhyme and brainstorm a list of additional rhyming words.

OUTSIDE: Book It!

This week’s OUTSIDE activity isn’t outside in nature, but it is outside of the classroom.

I’d like to suggest that you visit an independent book store. I know what you might be thinking, “Ordering books online is so much more convenient and cheaper than going to a bookstore.”

Nevertheless, by going to a bookstore you give yourself the luxury of time to browse shelves of books and actually flip through the pages. What’s your closest indie bookstore? Mine is The Book Seller.

Author James Patterson believes so strongly in the importance of independently owned bookstores that he’s giving away $1,000,000 to small bookstores all across the country. He said,

We’re in a juncture right now where bookstores as we have known them are at risk . . . and getting kids reading is at risk. —James Patterson

This week I’m happy to introduce you to  On Kiki’s Reef —my latest book!

Kiki is a green sea turtle. The inspiration for writing “her story” was sparked by some of the amazing encounters I had while snorkeling in Hawaii.

The array of color on the coral reefs was breath-taking, and swimming with a huge green sea turtle was a definite highlight for me.  I felt a special connection with her as we floated together across the reef and slowly made our way into a shallow inlet near shore.

This endearing little sea turtle will delight young and old alike as she takes readers on a journey through her busy reef and the cycle of her life. . . . I found myself smiling again and again as I followed Kiki through her lively underwater world. – Anna Jedrziewski

INSIDE: Edible Coral Polyp

One of the most amazing things about a coral reef is that it’s alive. It may look like a rock, but it’s covered with a layer of living corals. Corals are tiny animals called polyps. Follow these directions to teach your students about corals as they create an “coral polyp” they can eat from easy to get ingredients.

This activity is adapted from the California Academy of Sciences.

OUTSIDE: Clownfish Tag

Kiki discovers that animals on the reef help each other—”In and out and all around, lots of teamwork can be found.” The symbiotic relationship between a clownfish and an anemone is an example of a “perfect partnership.” Give your students an actual experience of the value of this partnership by playing Clownfish Tag.

This activity is adapted from my book, A Swim Through the Sea Teacher Guide.

MORE FACTS AND FUN ABOUT OCEAN

These books explore the coral reef and sea creatures in fun and interesting ways:

• A Swim Through the Sea—Ocean creatures A to Z.
• Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef—Young children count baby coral reef creatures.
• Granny’s Clan—Life as an Orca Whale is a family affair.

My children have asked to hear this lovely, underwater story repeatedly. You follow Kiki, the sea turtle, as she is born, survives life on a beautiful coral reef and returns to her starting point to lay eggs of her own. I liked this story because it gave enough information for my children to feel attached to Kiki but plenty of hard facts on the life of a sea turtle so that there was much to discuss and re-read. —Erin, Amazon.com review