Guest Author - Kimberly Misra

Keeping a nature journal is a great way for kids to connect with the natural world. Writing and drawing in a nature journal hones observation and sketching skills, increases retention of scientific facts, and serves as a permanent record of the child’s ever increasing skill. Plus, nature journals are just plain fun! Here’s how you can get started on this wonderful hobby.

• Buy a blank sketchbook. Get one for each child and yourself. You may want one with half-lined pages to make recording observations easier.

• Gather supplemental reading. You don’t need anything, besides a blank book and pencil, to start journaling. It can be fun to have some extras though. Field guides are invaluable for looking up information on whatever you’re studying. We enjoy the Peterson First Guides and National Geographic’s My First Pocket Guide series. I also love having Anna Comstock’s classic Handbook of Nature nearby. Each section of this enormous reference has questions you can ask your child, such as “Why do you think the chipmunk has stripes?” (Answer: for camouflage).

• Gather other supplies. A good set of colored pencils, like Prismacolor, makes drawing more fun. You might also consider extras such as a hand lens, binoculars, or bug jar, but these aren’t necessary to start with. The important thing is the experience, not the tools.

• Pick a regular time to dedicate to nature study. While observation and casual discussion of nature is ongoing, we’ve chosen one afternoon a week to dedicate to our nature journals.

• Let the kids pick topics. If they’re having trouble choosing, I might prompt them by saying “Well what’s going on in our yard right now? What animals have we seen this week? What flowers are coming up?”

• Don’t critique the work. This is important. I have sometimes felt the urge to offer advice on a drawing or narration, but I hold back. I believe the nature journal should be an entirely personal effort. There are plenty of other things I plan to “teach” them, but I want this to be about them discovering things on their own.

• If younger kids can’t (or won’t) draw, let them narrate. After we pick a topic, we usually try to observe it in person, and then read about in a field guide. Younger children can dictate what they remember as you write in their journal.

• Store your nature gear in one central place. We have a shelf where we keep our books, journals, and colored pencils together.