Nature Journals

NATURE JOURNALS

We are so excited to see where our nature journals will take us!

Nature plays a huge role in our family. We prioritize being outside playing and exploring on a regular basis. As I have read and seen various ways of implementing nature journaling into routines, I just knew this would be a hit with my kids. I view nature journaling as a way to dig deeper and a creative avenue for documenting our observations, discoveries and memories. I have a vision of various ways to incorporate nature journaling into our activities but I aim to let my children take the lead on this too. I want them to have ownership over how they choose to use their nature journals. I hope that this will be a creative outlet that we can enjoy together as well as allow them to explore independently. 

I purchased sketchbooks to be used as our journals. Madelyn happened to have a sketchbook from a recent Kiwi Crate that she is using. As a beginning writer, I discovered it may be beneficial to add lines when she chooses to write. I noticed that without the lines, she struggled to align her thoughts. I selected sketchbooks for the open space so that each page really could become something new and we wouldn’t be bound by lines or defined spaces. I personally think taking the time to add lines will be well worth the advantages the open pages will allow for.  

Inspired by the books Nature’s Anatomy by Julia Rothman and the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum, we jumped right in with our nature journals. This was actually our first activity using them. We set up on one of our large spool tops out in the yard. We brought our collection of seeds outside along with colored pencils, watercolors, and sketchbooks. We looked at our seeds up close one by one. We tried to note all of the characteristics and transfer our observations to paper 

Creative writing is another activity inspired by the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum. My kids love writing stories of all kinds. They are particularly drawn to narratives and let their imagination carry their storylines. To go along with our seed study, we decided to write creative fictional stories about the journey of a seed. Since we focused on seed dispersal we wanted to incorporate this into our writing. With a common theme, our stories took very different routes. Owen wrote from the point of view of a berry seed. A bear enjoyed the berry as a snack then carried the seed until it worked its way through the bear’s digestive tract. I also wrote from the point of view of a seed. I became a burr that hitched a ride on a child’s sock. Madelyn created a tale of a little girl who planted a seed and cared for it until it grew. These stories served as our bedtime reading that night and are tucked safely in our nature journals to revisit again and again. 

I am excited to see how our nature journals will evolve. I will continue to share our journey with them. I would love to hear your experience with nature journaling! Share below in the comments or tag us on Instagram, @playbeyondthelines.

We receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, when you purchase from an affiliate link.