A collection of interdisciplinary, hands-on activities and teaching ideas for elementary educators. Using the school year seasons of fall, winter, and spring, Project Seasons integrates science, agriculture and environmental themes into the curriculum and aims to show how all things are interconnected. Each seasonal section contains activities, extensions, background information and exhibit ideas.

It’s early fall when Ricky and Ellie travel to Portland from their homes in the Cascade Mountains for a weekend school exchange.  Much to their surprise, they find an astounding variety of wildlife in the city. With the help of their new friends, Jenny and Marcus, they explore Portland’s habitats, from its streets and gardens to woodlands, streams, and river banks. Ellie tests her bird-watching skills while Ricky learns ways to count fish in streams. Together they are fascinated by stunning wildlife in the city’s restored wetlands. The kids find insects and reptiles moving about garden patches and bioswales, song birds and squirrels in neighborhood tree canopies, falcons and eagles crossing spacious river floodplains. As they record and map how wildlife and people are connected in these city spaces, they become community scientists, contributing to actual regional databases. After they see the young trees Marcus planted in his neighborhood, the feeders Jenny tends for hummingbirds, and the fascinating wildlife underpasses built in the wetlands, Ricky and Ellie realize there are many ways people actively care for the city’s wildlife. For more information and resources go to: http://ellieslog.org This book needs to be returned. 

This award-winning 12 volume science series continues. Easy-to-do projects introduce kids to the basics of scientific method (hypothesis, observation, conclusion) as they get a "hands on" understanding of the nature of living things. Stunning photos, fascinating background material, and focused experiments combine to teach biology and excite young students about scientific process. Each volume includes:

• Materials Source List
• Glossary
• Further Reading
• Index

This book needs to be returned. 

Go underground into the living world of soil. Explore how soil is part of our life--the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the houses we live in, and how it even helps to control our climate and protect our rivers and streams. Find out how soil is formed, why some soils are good for growing things and other are not, why you can pour sand but not clay. Then, take an around-the-world trip and dig into dry soils, wet soils, deep soils, and even frozen soils. Along the way, meet the scientists who work with soil every day and find out why they think soil is so much fun. This book needs to be returned.