Pocketful of Pinecones: Nature Study With the Gentle Art of Learning(TM) : A Story for Mother Culture ®

Because of the unusual format of this book, and because of the mixed reviews here, I was unsure if I would like this book--but I purchased it anyway, because I very much enjoyed Karen Andreola's Charlotte Mason Companion. Fortunately, I was not disappointed, and indeed I was pleasantly surprised.Let me say first of all that this book is an EXCELLENT resource for homeschooling mothers who want to incorporate nature study into their children's lessons, but aren't quite sure how to go about it. Within each chapter of this "journal," Carol describes in detail what she and her children do for nature study, the drawings the children make for their journal, etc, so clueless people (like me!) can really get a concrete idea of what nature study looks like.It's also a useful resource in that Carol uses Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study extensively, and she writes in her journal about how she uses it and about what information she found there. I have heard many homeschooling moms say that they like the Handbook of Nature Study but that they aren't sure how to use it.At the end of the book is a wonderful list of "living books" with a nature theme that Karen recommends.I feel confident after reading this book that I can successfully bring nature study into our homeschool.Now, as for the story--yes, as one reviewer put it, it IS unrealistic. Carol's husband seems "practically perfect in every way," just like Mary Poppins, and in fact everyone that Carol knows seems to be strangely delightful. I don't think there is one unpleasant person or incident mentioned in Carol's journal. But, perhaps Carol just thinks the best of everyone? Perhaps she tries to always focus on the positive? Regardless, the story is pleasant to read. I found it enjoyable and refreshing to take a break from my busy day and read this sweet and gentle story. I didn't mind at all that it was unrealistic. I get enough realism in my daily life already!So thank you Karen for writing a book that has blessed me in many ways. :)

I'm almost halfway through this book and so far I have enjoyed it. It is a very light, nice read.

Encore un très bon livre de Karen Andreola.Un outil intéressant pour les familles pratiquant l'instruction en famille et suivant l'influence de Charlotte Mason.Elle donne des pistes pour la découverte de la nature, avec l'utilisation du fameux cahier de la nature.

I was looking for ideas for taking my kindergartners on nature walks. Toward that end, this book is marginal at best. There are several ideas that I could have gotten from an annotated list - instead of having to slog through Andreola's tortuous prose and inexplicable story line. I homeschooled all my children K-12 so I get the "homeschool" scenario - but the book as a whole was much too contrived for my time or tastes.

We are new to homeschooling and this book came highly recommended by SO many people. I've read other Andriola books and liked them just fine but I don't think fiction is her strong suit. The story felt forced and parents struggling to incorporate nature study won't really relate to the story of a woman from almost 100 years ago who doesn't likely struggle with the same distractions that we have today. The diary entries seemed hokey and I would have preferred it to just be written as a story than a string of diary entries that end as poorly as my diary entries from my childhood. I did enjoy the storyline about the inn, but that's pretty much it. :(