Nature Journaling
Nature journaling is a form of notebooking. Put simply, it is keeping a journal about nature. It has no rules, so you will always get it right. It is a creative, expressive observation of nature. It can be artistic, literary or both.
Make nature journaling a part of your homeschool! Find out how to nature journal with kids!
You will be delighted as their interest, articulation and observation of the world around them grows.
Nature journaling is meant to be a natural process so we keep it fairly simple. All of the my kids journal at the same time, each working at their own level. They also make entries on their own if they are particularly inspired.
Miss Beth Age 12 --November 2009 Nature Journal entry,
"The warm soft days of spring have past early this year. November, has exchanged its gentleness for a scorching heat not fitting to its normal soft warmth. Even in the morning hours the heat starts to build. The wind, usually refreshing brings no comfort today as it blows hot air on my face. The pavement burns my feet. If this is spring—what will summer be like?The house is cool, the blinds and curtains are shut, keeping out the heat. Under the big tree in our yard it’s cooler. Leaves shade the ferns and other plants that prefer the cooler weather. The plants are all green thanks to all the October rains.The gum tree sways in the wind, our rose, once without bloom is the queen of the garden, and its soft pink flowers climb the side fence."
A Family Visit to the Lilypond
‘Hey kids, after lunch we’re going on a nature walk.’ I announce with enthusiasm. The kids reply in monotones, ‘Great!’
Not the response I was hoping for.
After lunch I bark out orders. ‘Get hats, get water, get sketch books, get pencils, not those shoes. No! you can’t take Beary. No! you can’t take your scooter. Ok! Beary can come but he has to stay in the car.’ Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
We are finally on our way. As we drive, I hear all the different reasons why my kids think a nature walk is a bad idea.
We park the car, lather ourselves with ‘mossi-stuff’ and off we go.
We walk, talk and absorb our surroundings. One child has a headache and is complaining about the heat, another hates big ants. I dash to rescue a tree that is having all its fruits pulled off, I then give a short lecture on preserving the native flora.
We plod on until we turn a corner and our spirits soar. The kids run madly towards the pond. I feel like we have found Monet’s garden. The Giant Water Lily’s are in full bloom, bees sip their nectar and dragonflies hover about. The willows dangle lazily into the water. Willy wagtails hop nearby. The kids are exhilarated.
We set up our watercolour pencils and sketch books and begin to draw in this peaceful place.
After an hour, we climb back into the car, happy and refreshed, wanting to bring some friends next time.Moving your Nature Journals off the Bookshelf of Good Intentions
I must confess I wasn’t a nature buff. As a kid my favourite nature show was Gilligan’s Island (I wanted to be Mary Ann), and my favourite nature holiday destination was a Gold Coast theme park. So, when I read about nature journaling, it just made me feel guilty. Yet another thing I wasn’t doing. So I just put it in the mental pile of things I would like to do in the future— but probably wouldn’t.
A few years ago, I began to read more about nature journaling and I was reminded that using this tool would help my kids to observe the intricacies of nature; give them an outlet for their artistic and written expression; and help them see nature as more than just scientific names and processes. I wanted to cultivate this habit now, so in the future they would love nature and it’s Creator.
We started our nature journaling in a simple notebook. We used The Wonderland of Nature as our ‘bread and butter’ resource for nature study. We would read the text and then go into the backyard in search of our specimen; we read how aphids are ant cows, so we went looking and found them being ‘milked’ in the mandarin tree; we read about what clever engineers spiders were and we went outside to examine a spider’s web. Then we got out our drawing pencils and sketch books to make an entry. Other times I asked the kids to narrate from a nature book and gave them pictures to sketch or cut out, to help them create their nature pages.
I plan about two nature walks a term and the rest of my nature study is done about once a week using living books,nature stories and backyard observations. Since the kids have become more aware of their surroundings they also create opportunities. Just recently there was great excitement when one of the kids discovered a praying mantis on the back porch, everyone was called and pictures were taken.
Using Living Books for Nature Journaling and Science
‘Books dealing with science...should be of a literary character, and we would probably be more scientific as a people if we scrapped all the text books. Where science does not teach a child to wonder and admire, it is perhaps of no educational value.’ Charlotte Mason
As you are well aware it is not possible to discover all the wonders of nature from your backyard or on a local nature walk. So we need some resources that will help us. Rather than sleeping through a science text book choose ‘living books’.
Downunder Literature has living science books.
The Wonderland of Nature(Childrens Book Council of Australia award) and The Wonderland of Nature Journal are a homeschool science resource set that covers one year Australian science curriculum for the homeschool or school.
Nature Journaling with Kids was written to give you some practical ideas about nature journaling and nature study in an Australian environment.
A Bush Calendar is an Australian nature diary classic written by Amy Mack over a year in the early 1900’s. Her enthusiasm is infectious and it draws you out into the bush.
Crowns of Fire is a beautifully illustrated masterpiece that will delight as it teaches about bushfires.
NatureTalks to New Zealanders written by Phillip Crosbie Morrison is an amusing scientific look at the flora and fauna of New Zealand. It makes comparisons with Australia. Recommended by New Zealand homeschoolers.Some Useful Websites
http://homemade.truepath.com/nature2.htm
http://highland.hitcho.com.au/naturejournal.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/