I am so very in love with nature journaling, not only for my children, but for myself as well. I’ve known about it for years, but I recently realized that I did not understand anything about it. Before you feel intimidated by the concept of taking a crew of unruly children outdoors to “sketch nature”, please know that I wouldn’t leave you without many resources and tools to help you begin your journey.
Most people who are interested in nature journaling, know about it because they lean toward using a Charlotte Mason educational style. That said, it’s absolutely an amazing option to incorporate into your family whether you homeschool or not.
There are quite a few people on websites and social media that can show the difference in even just a few days of consistency. And that right there is really the key, be consistent. If you want to succeed and help your children learn and grow from this experience, consistency is key. Of course, it helps to make it an adventure and keep things simple and fun along the way.
First Steps
I often risk becoming a little redundant by saying it’s all about taking baby steps. Don’t jump right in with a million supplies and no introduction and expect things to be simple. Few people can pull that off, especially with children. Some of how you approach nature adventures will depend upon the ages of your children.
If they’re very small, you’ll want to really focus on nature itself. Pointing out details and colors and textures are perfect for the smallest of humans. Early elementary would continue much the same, just with a few artistic additions.
It’s worth mentioning here, that a large part of the process would also involve collecting nature to bring home and study. This will, obviously, depend entirely on your comfort level and space. So, my biggest suggestions here are: lay out the ground rules before leaving, maybe there’s one particular type of item you offer as the theme of the day (feathers, rocks, etc) – create an area in your home that is specifically for nature collections (many families use display boxes).
Resources
Since I am, by no means, an expert on any of this – I want to send you off to a few options that have inspired me greatly along the way. Please know that I am in no way affiliated with any of these, they’re just for your information.
Wonder-Filled Days – When I think of Nature Journaling, this is the first resource that comes to mind. A gentle breath of fresh air, they offer an amazing monthly subscription: A Month in Nature Calendar & Nature Study. The full subscription offers not only the beautiful monthly nature calendar, but also includes activities, book ideas, art, poetry, journal pages and more. The site itself has so much to offer, so be sure to check out the main site as well.
*I would stop right there since they offer enough for anyone, but since I do understand that everyone is different, I figured I would mention a few more options.
Ambleside Online – The essential must-have for all things Charlotte Mason and gentle learning would be found here, they do have an entire page on Nature Journaling including links to free resources. The beauty of everything to do with AO is that it is all absolutely free.
Lily & Thistle – For a great explanation of beginning nature journaling, this is one of the great places to start. She also offers a Watercolor Academy and Nature’s Art Club.
John Muir Laws – This is another educational website that also offers great information for the beginner as well as lessons, tutorials, supplies and more. There’s even a Teacher Resources page.
Wild + Free – Beautiful nature journaling course.
There’s obviously so much more out there, maybe even far better resources than the ones I know about – please feel free to share in the comments or contact me! My hope is that you don’t get too caught up in the mire of must-have’s, or the potential bigness of it all. Instead, I hope that you simply find the joy and beauty in the possibility of it – that you see the simplicity in beginning.
And with that, I want to wish all of you happy nature adventuring!