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Kristie 4
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 5:45pm | IP Logged
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I am thinking of ordering the book Shanleya's quest (as seen on the Lapaz blog) and also this book, Botany in a Day. Has anyone used them together? I was leaning more towards Botany in a Day as I can come by it more easily...
THoughts??
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Kristie in Canada
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Rebecca
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 6:10pm | IP Logged
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Hi Kristie! Our family has been using these books since September. We have really enjoyed them both. Here is what we have done thus far if you are interested in reading. We have used both books, though with the little children we have primarily used Shanleya's Quest. My older son (11) has used the Botany in a Day as well, for a more detailed study. You can also find some free information on the plant families at Mr. Elpel's website Wildflowers and Weeds.
Have fun!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 18 2008 at 8:14pm | IP Logged
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Yay! I got the idea from Rebecca, so I'm glad she answered your question.
Shanleya's quest is in story form-very cute and well told. Good for my 6yo, but my 12yo finds it silly. Botany in a day is way over little's head. Together, they make a great combo. Both kiddos can now easily identify the mint and parsley family (which are the first two, the only ones we've done so far) on sight!
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Theresa
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Kristie 4
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Thank you both. Good to hear about the silly component too Theresa as my 10 and 13 year old would probably not jibe with it and my 7yos is a serious little guy....
Off to find Botany in a Day to start with!
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Kristie in Canada
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Rebecca
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Theresa, I can't believe how quickly the kids do learn the families. Once we learned the simple identifying factors, it sure made a walk in the yard all the more interesting! I have never studied plants much until this unit and have learned so much these past few months. My eleven year old does enjoy Shanleya's Quest, mainly because it makes learning the plant families easy and fun. Theresa is right though, it is told in a fairy tale format and some older children might not find it as amusing as the younger ones. :)
Kristie, you will like the Botany in a Day book. We have also enjoyed A Kid's Herb Book. It has some neat supplementary ideas and activities for many of the plant families studied in Shanleya's Quest/Botany in a Day.
Have a great weekend!
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: April 19 2008 at 4:54pm | IP Logged
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Thanks folks. I ordered Botany in a Day...just waiting for the postman now!
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Kristie in Canada
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Mare
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I'm off to add more great books to my Amazon wish list. 
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Maryan
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I got both these books for our spring nature study and love Botany in a Day... even though it's for older kids, we just look at some of the plants around here and compare with the book, etc.
Shanleya's Quest hasn't worked out as well. For some reason I thought S.Q. was going to be more like a fairy tale. But it's more like an Indian tale (with Father Sun and Mother Moon and their newborn baby earth). We're just not at the "explanation of Indians and ancient Greeks and Romans didn't know about God" stage here. With fairy tales, I just say it's "make believe" but since it had to do with creation type stuff, it was more confusing iykwim. Just an FYI for those shopping for botany books. 
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Maryan
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lapazfarm
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Maryan, I'm glad you brought that up. I meant to, but forgot to mention it.
Shanleya's Quest does have a very Native American creation-myth feel to it, at least the very beginning pages. It isn't an issue for us because my kids have a pretty solid grasp on truth vs myth, but it may be a concern for some.
You could easily skip the first 2-3 pages and just start where Shanleya's story begins and nothing of value would be lost.
Thanks for pointing it out.
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Rebecca
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Maryan, I was hesitant when I read it before reading it to my kids but mine have heard many different versions of the creation of the world, mainly from a year we spent studying Ancient cultures. My kids knew that it was just a story, not true, just as the others were. The author, Thomas Elpel definitely believes in evolution, as is evident in the chapter that addresses it in Botany in a Day. I think that chapter can be eliminated as can the first pages of Shanleya's Quest if your kids aren't ready for that.
Thanks for pointing that out. It is good for people to know.
Blessings,
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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I hope I didn't offend anyone by putting my caveat! That wasn't my intention.
The pictures in this book are beautiful but moreover clever in presenting botany to kids. I especially like the Island Map where the Islands were flower shapes! I wasn't trying to negate the merit of this book... just a fuller picture.
I think I was thinking it was going to be more like Cicely Mary Barker fairies (we have flower fairies of the trees)... 
Anywhoo...I like both of your suggestions of skipping stuff. Or I may just shelve it until we cover the Ancients and use it the next time we do botany! As I said, we haven't studied Ancient cultures yet, so I'd have to explain other culture's view of gods in addition to the book... it was just more "teaching" than I wanted to do with this book, this spring iykwim.
With my oldest only 6... I've got plenty of time!
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Maryan
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Rebecca
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| Posted: April 23 2008 at 11:48am | IP Logged
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Gosh Maryan, I can't imagine anyone would be offended by your posts. You were good to mention your concerns and ideas!
I put together a list of botany books for littler children. I hope it will be of use to anyone with smaller children who are interested in plants.
Have a great day!
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Botany in a Day
