WILDLIFE EDUCATION -- Here's a list of cool educational stuff to consider getting a kid 4-9 years old for a holiday gift, regardless of whether you're an environmentalist or someone who's afraid of that title but still loves the outdoors.

The list that comes from imaginechildhood.com includes items designed to turn the outdoors into a classroom. With some parental nurturing, they'll help kids understand how animals live and survive in the wilds, identify passing tracks, read about their living and migration habits, use a compass to document the direction they are travelling, and a pocket scope to watch the animals from afar.

Like most people, I already have most of the items in my house, including the worn copy of Owl Moon, which was a favorite children's book in our family (for the parents AND the kids). I thought if it this morning as I walked the dogs before sunrise and heard a great horned owl hooting in the nearby ponderosa pines

Read on to check out the items, which are available online or in one form or another from area retailers.