4Real Forums: The Nature Connection

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login

Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science ( Forum Locked)
4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science

Topic: The Nature Connection

Author

Message

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

SeaStar
Forum Moderator

Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9068

Posted: March 02 2012 at 11:12am \| IP Logged

The Nature Connection

by Clare Walker Leslie

I saw this mentioned at Dawn's By Sunlight and Candlelight blog.
It looks very promising.
I wish my library had a copy, but it doesn't.

Has anyone read it?

__________________
Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)

SQUILT Music Appreciation

JennGM
Forum Moderator

Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702

Posted: March 02 2012 at 11:20am \| IP Logged

I like it, although it's not a book that I would put in the top ten, I have found some good nuggets and great ideas for our nature study, especially the ones we do as a group.

In this thread Charlotte Mason's Notebooks I quoted from it:

JennGM wrote:

Mackfam wrote:

Betsy wrote:

I just wanted to pass on that I created my own Catholic Nature Book of Firsts this year, because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. I just posed it here. I would love for others to enjoy it and to here any feed back.

Coming back to say that I really enjoy how you've undergirded the beautiful book of firsts with ideas from Our Lady's Mary Garden, and the *firsts* within the natural year that often correspond to the liturgical year. Just lovely and so inspiring! Thank you again for sharing, Betsy!

It is so wonderful, Betsy! Thank you so much for sharing your hard and very creative and beautiful work! With your permission I'd like to share this with our local nature study group.

Your idea overlaps some of the thoughts and readings I've had. Right now I'm looking over The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms by Clare Walker Leslie in preparation for our Nature Study this year. There is a lot of basic naturalist information, but this paragraph stood out, and I'm wondering if this similar to the "Book of Firsts" idea?

The Nature Connection wrote:

Naturalists go out to study the world all year long and in every kind of weather. There's always something to do and see out in nature, if you just use your senses. ....

You'll find lots of different ways to record your observations. The various sheets used throughout this book are examples of phenology charts. Phenology is the study of seasonal timing of life cycle events. You are studying phenology when you record the date that a certain plant flower, an insect hatches, or a migratory bird appears in its nesting grounds. Factors such as length of day, temperature, and rainfall affect the dates on which these events happen each year. By tracking the timing of seasonal changes, you can see how the patterns of nature are changing.

I also use this old almanac for inspiration, since it combines both the liturgical year and the natural seasons. It's based on England's seasons and flora, and also the older calendar (1824), but still SOOO delightful, and very closely matched to the Mary Gardens. There are two versions, just slightly different:

Circle of the Seasons and perpetual key to the calendar and almanackby By Thomas Ignatius M. Forster (1828)

The perennial calendar, and companion to the almanack, revised and ed. (or rather written) by T. Forster (1824)

__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to

& ds1

'03 & ds2

'07
Family in Feast and Feria

SeaStar
Forum Moderator

Joined: Sept 16 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 9068

Posted: March 02 2012 at 4:51pm \| IP Logged

Thanks, Jenn. I have not read through that thread, and I am glad to have your opinion.

__________________
Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)

SQUILT Music Appreciation

Sorry, you cannot post a reply to this topic.
This forum has been locked by a forum administrator.

[Add this topic to My Favorites]

Printable version

Forum Jump

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com