Thinking and Reading (LCW)

I've been thinking alot about Noah but I'm not going to post about it.

I also just finished the Barbara Woodhouse book Talking to Animals. If my prose sounds a bit stilted that's why. Mrs. Woodhouse was born in 1910. The book was written in 1954. I enjoyed it alot! I read it because she grew a reputation working with dogs in the UK. Turns out that her work with dogs got started about the time she finished this particular book so there isn't a lot about that. Talking to Animals is actually more about her work with cows and horses. LOL! God's joke on me? (I laugh because I grew up on a farm and there's a side of my working with Ellie and Nyah and helping at the Humane Society that is reclaiming part of the person God made me to be.) I still really enjoyed it. I'll spare you endless comparing of children and animals, though I could...

So, unless you want to hear about dog books, I've started another book ... I mentioned this book awhile back because it looked intriguing. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006. Mr. Louv is chairman of the Children & Nature Network. His author's website is here.

Why is this important to a faith-based blog like Emerging Kids?
1) I already believe that our interaction with the natural world is important to our faith. He promises to tackle ways that "faith-based organizations can help reclaim nature as part of the spiritual development of children." I'll share quotes with you!
2) There are so many images and experiences in scripture that are tied to the God-created world. What if we lose touch with that world? What if we lose that point of reference? What will happen? Will it make the scriptures seem more irrelevant and obsolete than some already claim? What lessons will we miss?

Louv says, "...as the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human experience." [Last Child in the Woods, p. 3]

"Yet, at this very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to our association with nature- in positive ways. Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorders and other maladies." [Last Child in the Woods, p. 3] Therapy or not, the out-of-doors is definately an alternative learning environment for kids diagnosed with ADD and for those facing other personal challenges. The out-of-doors as a learning environment is definately a consideration for Christian Educators.

More to think about: For centuries and generations, when children and adults wanted to "escape" or "get away" to ponder or recover or just to get a break where did they go? What did they do? When a child wants to escape today or if he needs to retreat and "get away" what does he do? Where does he go? I suggest the effects are different.

And yes, I realize that we're living in a world where few people feel safe anymore, especially outdoors and we don't let our children roam and explore the way other generations did. I hear you but I ask you, are the dangers outside all that different from the dangers of incessant video gaming or exploring the internet?

Ponder with me...