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Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature
by
Awareness! Belonging! Connection! Speaking directly to these needs, Coyote's Guide sparks our natural gift of curiosity. At eight or forty-eight, when the power of mystery pulls us into nature, we follow. Think of these personal rewards: the excitement of discovery, real connection with animals and plants, and a sense of belonging through knowing our place on the planet. W
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Paperback, 548 pages
Published
March 1st 2011
by Owllink Media
(first published 2009)
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Community Reviews
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A great book that's essentially a must-read for anyone working in outdoor education/nature connection, especially for those who will be working primarily with kids.
I'm currently an apprentice at a school in the Tracker–Wilderness Awareness School lineage. Really only being a few years into my own personal journey of nature connection, it sometimes feels kind of strange to be helping/mentoring kids along in theirs. Sometimes I feel ... unqualified. Reading through Coyote's Guide, however, was a p ...more
I'm currently an apprentice at a school in the Tracker–Wilderness Awareness School lineage. Really only being a few years into my own personal journey of nature connection, it sometimes feels kind of strange to be helping/mentoring kids along in theirs. Sometimes I feel ... unqualified. Reading through Coyote's Guide, however, was a p ...more

I can't say enough about this book: it is life-changing! It totally changed my outlook on how I "teach" outdoors. I have a degree in elementary education with an emphasis in science and math education and have years of experience teaching both in schools and through a nature center. This book should be a fundamental support and guide for all schools, naturalists and families! Comprehensive, thorough, wise and beautifully written and organized. The beginning of the book provides background inform
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What I read of this book was really motivational and inspiring. I love that we have a growing movement to keep kids connected with the world in which they live, and these writers provide wonderful insight to how we can facilitate that. However, since I stopped working with children last year, I haven't found the motivation to continue reading. This text contains valuable information as well as stories and ideas, and maybe one day I will pick it back up. For now, I'm keeping it on the shelf.
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Mar 05, 2011
Leslie
marked it as to-read
I'm seeping through the pages of this book, absorbing the wisdom and intention of experienced naturalists. It's reading about work, but it doesn't feel like reading about work, because it's every bit as enriching to my own encounters with the natural world and way of looking at things as it is to my lesson plans and interactions with kids.
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I read (properly read, as in every word and thinking about them) maybe seventy pages of this before I couldn't stand it anymore. Then I skimmed the rest, and took a few notes.
There are some useful ideas in here, but for me the text is terribly bloated and repetitive... like a textbook in that way, which I suppose would bother me less if I'd clocked that I was buying a textbook and not a book to read.
There are a lot of margin quotes of wisdom (?), which seemed very interesting until I realized ...more
There are some useful ideas in here, but for me the text is terribly bloated and repetitive... like a textbook in that way, which I suppose would bother me less if I'd clocked that I was buying a textbook and not a book to read.
There are a lot of margin quotes of wisdom (?), which seemed very interesting until I realized ...more

The beginning of the book was helpful but too wordy, in my opinion. I would have given it 3 stars. The middle of the book was worth about 2 stars. So many words and not what I was interested in focusing on. The second half of the book where the activities were was worth 5 stars. So many great and fun ideas to get the skills of nature in a creative and playful way. My only struggle is not having enough people available for the games when I’m working with just my kids. So, the average is about 3 1
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It's not that the information in this book is bad, there are many time-tested techniques and practices to build nature awareness and connection here. But they are so buried in florid language, garbage, pseudo-indigeonous assumptions and appropriative nonsense that it makes every single page a chore to get through. A long-time nature mentor and teacher required to read this for a new position, I need a solid environmental education palette cleaner after every contact.
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A breath of fresh air. Not only does Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature build on the philosophy Louv's Last Child in the Woods but it also helps guide us with activities to implement the philosophy. Following the Coyote isn't something we should fear. It is the way to awakening us to a world that we have lost sight of. I recommend this book to everyone.
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Nov 07, 2021
Andrew
marked it as to-read
Recommended in Let Them Be Eaten By Bears: A Fearless Guide to Taking Our Kids Into the Great Outdoors as "inspiration to go outside, to be counterculture".
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I love this book. Pick it up all the time for new inspiration. I've used it with scouts to guide urban kids toward a connection with nature. Used the games and wisdom to enliven a camping trip or paddle with moments of presence and meaning. It truly has the vibe of the life's work of someone passionate about reconnecting adults and child to the wild. Never unbearable or preachy or intimidating in its tone, but playful and coaxing. It makes burying oneself in the wild of the world feel very possi
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I love the ideas in this book. It's not one of those books you want to read cover to cover. Each time I pick it up to read for a few minutes or get some ideas, I am inspired to take the kids outside and explore. We have cultivated one lovely habit for which the book is worth at least looking at, perhaps not owning, which is the idea of a "sit spot". My children have their sit spots where they like to go to for calm and centering and I think this is an invaluable tool for me too!
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This is meant to be a bible for people who want to introduce children to nature in a specific way and though I appreciate much of it--the general tone and premise is too precious even though that is exactly what the writers intend. I much prefer Rachel Carson's "The Sense is Wonder" which is far more direct and less pretentious.
I guess it would be a good compendium for anyone who is a complete stranger to nature writings, but I am not that audience.
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I guess it would be a good compendium for anyone who is a complete stranger to nature writings, but I am not that audience.
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This book is meant to be encyclopedic in that you read bits and pieces rather than front to back. It's been by my bed for months now and I'm going to return it to my friend and buy my own copy for future inspirations.
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Aug 10, 2010
Amy
is currently reading it
A modified version of one of the activities in this book rescued the second half of a 3.5 mile hike with our 5 year olds!

Sep 22, 2011
Sarah
marked it as considering
rec'd by adam s.
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Jon Young is on the leading edge of animal tracking and understanding bird language. He has been exploring animal communication for 35 years and was mentored by the famous tracker Tom Brown Jr. as well as a tribal elder in Africa. Jon developed the 8 Shields Cultural Mentoring System, a model that has influenced more than 100 nature programs in communities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and is al
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