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The Nature Connection outdoor workbook


SilverMoon
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This one ~ http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Connection-Workbook-Classrooms/dp/1603425314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395413145&sr=8-1&keywords=nature+connection

Would this work for desert dwellers? We don't have typical plants or seasons. Neighborhood critters are a mix of typical and region specific.

(It's a desert desert. I was pulling weeds next to the saguaro in my yard in 79F degrees today.)

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We have it and we live in NV.  We are only a little way into the book, but I think it will work just fine for us.  I mean we won't be able to study snow flakes in January in our back yard, but we can still go out and observe what we do see, record, do some drawings, track the weather, and take note of the subtle seasonal differences.  For me, the book is providing direction and accountability so that we get out and become "naturalists" (as the book calls it).   :001_smile:

 

 

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I think it could work. A lot of the activities are things like "make an arrangement of things you find in nature" and "pick a single spot to observe nature for the week" and things like that. And the nature quest scavenger hunt things you can make the list yourself. Of course other stuff wouldn't work at all and a lot of the example things like plants to look for will be all wrong, but I would say that probably 2/3 to 3/4 of the book would be usable or pretty easily adaptable.

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I don't think all of it would work... I haven't looked at it in a while.  I used to live in a Desert and you might be better off looking for something geared toward that.  A lot of publications that are generally about "nature" tend to overlook or not even mention some of the most beautiful and subtle aspects of Desert nature life.  If it's age appropriate maybe try the One Small Square desert book?  

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We live in the tropics, where the seasons are very subtle, and use the book all the time. Without a doubt it has enhanced our nature studies and helped us look more deeply at the world around us. My daughter and I keep nature journals, and my son just likes to observe without recording, but we all get a lot out of the book. 

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Not a huge fan of Claire Walker Leslie here.

 

You could use any book on nature journaling in the desert as long as it was instructive on the method, not prescriptive on activities.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Naturalists-Notebook-Susan-Leigh-Tomlinson/dp/0811735680/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423239015&sr=1-7&keywords=nature+journaling

 

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrating-Nature-Right-Brain-Left-Brain-World/dp/0915965089/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423239072&sr=1-9&keywords=nature+journaling

 

General desert resources. I don't know which desert you are in!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Arizona-Sonora-Desert-Museum-Book-Answers/dp/1886679096/ref=sr_1_37?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238395&sr=1-37&keywords=desert+ecology

 

http://www.amazon.com/Deserts-National-Audubon-Society-Nature/dp/0394731395/ref=sr_1_43?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238450&sr=1-43&keywords=desert+ecology

 

http://www.amazon.com/Saguaro-Moon-Kristin-Joy-Pratt-Serafini/dp/1584690364/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423237632&sr=8-2&keywords=desert+journal

 

http://www.amazon.com/Deserts-Activity-Guide-Ages-6%C2%969-ebook/dp/B005HF3PFA/ref=sr_1_50?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423237897&sr=1-50&keywords=desert+ecology+childrens

 

http://www.amazon.com/Geology-Desert-Southwest-Investigate-Projects-ebook/dp/B005J61FOA/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238054&sr=1-25&keywords=deserts+activities+children

 

http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Coloring-DESERTS-Peterson/dp/0395670861/ref=sr_1_33?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238081&sr=1-33&keywords=deserts+activities+children

 

http://www.amazon.com/Scats-Tracks-Desert-Southwest/dp/1560447869/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238297&sr=1-10&keywords=desert+ecology

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cactus-Hotel-Owlet-Brenda-Guiberson/dp/0805029605/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238297&sr=1-11&keywords=desert+ecology

 

http://www.amazon.com/Arizona-Sonora-Desert-Museum-Book-Answers/dp/1886679096/ref=sr_1_37?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423238395&sr=1-37&keywords=desert+ecology

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I'm familiar with some of the how to nature journal guides. The appeal of the workbook was open and go, even if I have to spend some summer planning changing oak to palo verde. It'd work best for us if the girls (9 and nearly 7) can run parts of it themselves after they're familiar with it.

 

Some of those extra resources look fun! I'll look them over.

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