Nature Walk in the Changing Season

Last updated on: September 3, 2014 at 8:34 pm by Molly Khan

Nature Walk in the Changing Season 2014-09-03T20:34:46-04:00 Molly Khan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Some days, my children are very observant – they notice every little thing around them, often picking out things I never would have seen. Other days, it seems like they’re wearing blinders, unable to notice anything even if it sits right in front of their nose. It took awhile, but I think I’ve finally pinned down the cause: what they notice is change. When something is different, it’s often immediately apparent, locked on to and discussed.

I like to use the changing seasons – especially summer to fall and winter to spring – as a springboard for their awareness of the natural world. That same creek we walked by every summer day suddenly becomes entrancing as it begins to fill up with water and the foliage of the small weedy trees within it starts to yellow. New bugs, new habits of the same old animals we’ve been seeing all summer, all are fair game for a discussion of the beautiful, constantly changing world we live in.

This is an especially great time to discuss the local ecology with children. Most are aware of the basic seasons from an early age, but oftentimes movies and books focus on one region of one country and aren’t exactly representative of the experiences of your own family in your own land. To discover your own local ecology requires lots of separate observations over a long period of time – luckily, that’s easily accomplished with a daily or weekly walk around the neighborhood, or even some time sitting in the backyard. If your children are anything like mine, they’ll be very powerful motivators! Even in an urban area, you can still observe the different behaviors of local animals, the different insects present at different times of the year, and the changing plants as they bloom, fruit, and then prepare for the winter season – or whatever the season is called in your part of the world!

photo courtesy of shutterstock

Previous Post

September 2, 2014

August Link Round-Up: Linking generations through milk, blood, magic, and mentoring

Next Post

September 4, 2014 The Pagan Parenting Blogs You Read

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Adoption birth Birth Guardians birth stories breastfeeding Contraception divorce Flash Points From the Editor's Desk grandparenting home infertility marriage menstruation Miscarriage Pagan Families Parenting poetry postpartum pregnancy review ritual sex education Uncategorized Wednesday Wisdom

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Pentateuch" mean in Greek?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Stories of heroes Five scrolls Book of peace First law