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Courtney
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I was looking through the archives for something else and came upon this which reminded me of a question I have.
alicegunther wrote:
| We have been keeping nature journals for years, but this is the first year we've really managed to journal/notebook for history and catechism as well. Keeping journals has encouraged my children's writing in ways plain notebooks could not. |
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We have started doing more nature walks. Last week I posted a picture we took of a mother duck and her ducklings at the creek near our house. My kids were so excited, but when we got home, neither were interested in drawing anything we saw for our nature notebooks. My dd (8) draws constantly (mainly people and horses) but dd (6) doesn't really willingly draw. I think he knows what he wants his drawing to look like and gets rather upset if it doesn't look exactly like it. He'd rather narrate than draw. My question is, how do I encourage keeping nature journals? I loved Alice's idea of keeping journals for other subjects as well, but don't know how to inspire it without pushing it too hard.
How do you go about encouraging nature journaling? Do you ask that they draw or just wait until they're inspired? I do have the How to Keep a Nature Journal book, unread of course. This is one of the areas I'd really like to develop more with my dc over the next year. I see how they come alive so much when we're outside. Everything is so exciting to them and I want them to be able to capture that to go back to. Any thoughts?
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Mary G
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No answers for you Courtney but I also wanted to ask about nature journals.
Do you all use bound or spiral journals? Lined or unlined? I can see some benefit to keeping a looseleaf binder of nature stuff (at least while they're little) so that they dont' feel like they've "ruined" the whole book if they make a mistake? Also, I was thinking with a looseleaf style you could add plastic sleeves to keep specimens or photos, etc....
What say the nature journal experts?
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Well... I have my own nature journal... and blogged about it on my garden blog.
The kids... well they kind of notebook anything they like, we have no formal nature journal for them. And I blogged about the notebooks on the homeschool blog
basically, my journal is hardbound... the kids, like I said, are notebooked in a binder. hth.
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alicegunther
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Courtney wrote:
| How do you go about encouraging nature journaling? Do you ask that they draw or just wait until they're inspired? |
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This is such a great topic!
I really find that my children go in phases when it comes to nature journaling. This winter, they were making many entries, but now that the good weather has come, they've been too busy playing to do much. Usually, I do not tell them to write or draw in their journal, but just let it happen. Sometimes that means that an entire month will go unrecorded, but I want it to be a hobby they love. That being said, I occasionally will "assign" a nature journal entry as part of a day's activities. Usually, they find this enjoyable, because it gives them a fun reason to go outside and observe nature when we might otherwise be doing something else.
Here is a "stream of consciousness" list of other things that might help get them interested:
--Keep a journal yourself. My children love to join me in the garden when I have my pencils and journal out.
--Keep things interesting with new supplies now and then. A new box of pencils or rubber stamps can be enormously encouraging.
--Try outlets other than drawing. My children's narrations from years back are even more interesting than their illustrations. I love seeing the what was going on in their heads when they were little. You might also want to let them press flowers or glue seeds into the books, cut out pictures from wildlife magazines to make collages, copy or glue in printed copies of favorite poems, mount photographs (I even let my children borrow my digital camera on occasion), make leaf prints or leaf rubbings, collect odds and ends like brochures from local nature centers, and anything else that may strike their fancy.
--Show them inspiring books like "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" or any of Jim Arnosky's drawing boks. This may get them started.
--Have them collect fallen leaves, seeds or other natural objects, display them on poster paper, and take a photo for the journals.
--Bring other children with journals along on your walks to encourage journaling as a fun group activity.
--Find them a pet like a tadpole or praying mantis to keep at home. Kids love to record the progress of a pet.
--Bring out watercolors for them to record the outdoors. Transfer the paintings to your journals later.
--Do not feel discouraged if none of this works! The phases do come. My daughter Margaret (8 yo) filled up half a journal in a month this winter, and hasn't made another entry since March! You just never know when the mood will strike a child.
I need to run, but will definitely revisit this topic later this afternoon.
BTW, Mary, my favorite journal, hands down, is theRing Ring by Running Rhino. It is sturdy and beautiful, although a bit expensive. My wonderful friend Kari picked mine up for me a while back, and I love it. All my girls want one, but I haven't been able to bring myself to invest in so many expensive journals.
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Courtney
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Such great ideas, Alice! I was just remembering our last real journal entry and it was when they were playing out in the backyard and each found a caterpillar. We found jars for them and brought them inside. The kids sat at the table just watching the caterpillars movements. I even took a 50 sec. video on my digital camera of the caterpillar wiggling out of his jar. My son thought this was so funny! He was inspired to paint a picture of it. I sometimes get so focused on the end product that I can miss the process. Thank you for the reminders on building the enthusiasm naturally. I think I'll have to start my own nature journal this week!
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Mary G
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alicegunther wrote:
BTW, Mary, my favorite journal, hands down, is theRing Ring by Running Rhino. It is sturdy and beautiful, although a bit expensive. My wonderful friend Kari picked mine up for me a while back, and I love it. All my girls want one, but I haven't been able to bring myself to invest in so many expensive journals. |
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Alice -- now I bet these could be made fairly inexpensively, using good drawing paper, maybe some lined sheets, a plastic sleeve or two and good sturdy cardboard (covered with decoupage or even leaf prints, etc). Sounds like that would make it the child's own book and they could do what they want with it. Am I reading the ad right -- $18.95 sounds a bit much for the journal -- is it really that nice?
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alicegunther
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alicegunther wrote:
| --Show them inspiring books like "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" or any of Jim Arnosky's drawing boks. This may get them started. |
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alicegunther wrote:
--Do not feel discouraged if none of this works! The phases do come. My daughter Margaret (8 yo) filled up half a journal in a month this winter, and hasn't made another entry since March! You just never know when the mood will strike a child.
I need to run, but will definitely revisit this topic later this afternoon.
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Well, it is after midnight, and this is the first chance I've gotten to come back to this thread, but I have been dying to share a funny story with you.
This morning, I really wanted to respond to Courtney's post, so I set the timer for ten minutes and typed like mad (as the typos in the post show ). The girls knew I was only going to be ten minutes, although none of them had an inkling of what I was writing about. When the timer beeped, Margaret came to show me a beautiful nature drawing she'd been working on the whole time. It featured a dripping outdoor faucet surrounded by butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and a black capped chickadee, all pausing for a drink. She explained that this was a sight she had seen once when one of the children failed to turn off our outdoor faucet properly.
I asked what made her to create this particular drawing now, and she whipped out a library book we'd borrowed: Drawing from Nature by Jim Arnosky!!!
Isn't it so funny that she happened to be doing the exact thing I was writing about? It took all my computer willpower not to run right back and tell the story that very moment! I guess that's "4Real" Learning in action!
As for nature journals:
Mary, you most certainly could make your own based on the "Ring Ring" model, and it might be even nicer because you would be able to customize it. $18.95 plus shipping is a lot to spend on anything, especially if you need to purchase more than one.
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lapazfarm
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Everything Alice said!
I find the one thing that most inspires my dc to work in their nature journals is that I am doing it with them. Nature journaling is on our schedule 2 mornings a week and we always enjoy that time together. I also will often read aloud on whatever we are drawing and that encourages them to draw more.
If ds is very reluctant to draw, taking digital pictures and gluing them in, with ds adding his written observations, is a nice alternative. Or perhaps writing a poem (or copying one) about what he saw and then just decorating the border-much less intimidating than a blank page! You can also print up images in grayscale and have ds color them in lightly with colored pencils-it creates an interesting look. Either take the pictures yourself or google them.
Sometimes a smaller size journal can be less intimidating, also. I know I can be intimidated by a large expanse of white paper. Just getting that first mark on the page can be so hard! That's why I always start with writing the date, place, weather conditions, etc on the page first-eases me into it a bit.
Good luck!
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alicegunther
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Courtney wrote:
| I loved Alice's idea of keeping journals for other subjects as well, but don't know how to inspire it without pushing it too hard. |
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For such young children, journals could include narrations, illustrations, and a bit of copywork. I find that the children really enjoy "owning" a journal in any subject and are proud to have a concrete and beautiful work product. They also seem to learn more permanently when they have created a journal.
The one downside to keeping journals in multiple subjects is that it can be extremely time consuming. If you plan on reading many materials in history, for example, journaling about them at every step makes it challenging to complete your plan. Still, I think there is so much to be said for "covering" less, but internalizing more.
This year, we have been working on Bible Journals with success. It is taking us far longer to read the book of Matthew than it otherwise would have, but the girls know this gospel so well that the extra time and effort have been well worth it. The other great thing about journaling is that multiple ages can participate. My 12 yo and 10 yo girls write narrations, while the 8 yo and 6 yo still narrate orally. All draw pictures, and the books continue to shape up nicely. When we are at Mass and a reading from the book of Matthew comes up, my girls beam as if Matthew was their personal book of the Bible! That is priceless in itself!
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alicegunther
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Thank you, Theresa, and I hope you won't mind if I take the liberty of sharing two of my favorite nature journal sample posts, both from your blog!
Nature Journal Page
Nature Study with a Four Year Old
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My six younger children have been a little crippled in the nature journal department. My eldest is a gifted artist. They would peer over his shoulder, ooh and aahh, and totally give up on their own drawings. Our journals have gone in fits and spurts, with the second child in line steadfastedly refusing to do one at all.
Following Alice's lead, I started an online nature journal--a family nature blog. The advantages here are that photographs are the visual medium (but I don't have to print them all to create the page), spellcheck and the keyboard take the pain out of handwriting, erasing, and agonizing over spelling, and there is instant acclamation.
Second son still wouldn't do it. Then, everyone wanted to post about the nest in the nesting house he built. But no one but Christian was tall enough to photograph it. He was pressed into action. He took the picture and Mary Beth wrote the copy. He muttered something about not wanting the whole world to see his picture.
Lo and behold! He got a comment. Alice, not even knowing the dynamics, commented on the PHOTO! Now, he's ready and waiting to take photos of eggs and chicks...
The younger children are still crafting paper and pencil notebooks, as well as contiributing to the blog. Stephen, in particular, reminds me of Michael with his notebook at that age. I think the blog will be a more consistent journal, but I think the notebooks will indeed remain a part of our repertoire.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Dawn
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I am getting a lot of inspiration here! I like to sketch but my boys don't really. They do like to take photographs and I wondered if we could piece together a family nature journal with the children's words (and mine), and a mix of photos, Dover coloring pages and mum's sketches ...
I think if we tried to stretch our nature study across three or four journals they would turn out a little thin, so we'll do it family-style for now. Blogging is also a great medium, as Elizabeth mentions above.
One other idea we had is to make a field guide to our own yard ... one for each month or season. Something we could look back at each year. That's rattling around in my head right now ...
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Courtney
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Yes, Dawn, lots of inspiration here! I definitely going to check out the Arnosky books. Elizabeth, my ds always has the same reaction when he sees dd's pictures. "I cant' do it!" It is a challenge to get him to do his own thing but I think maybe steering him in another direction such as narrating to me about what he sees. It's funny b/c I have one who LOVES to try and strongly dislikes narrating to me (at least while I'm keyboarding it in) an the other dc really likes to narrate but shys away from the drawing.
Alice, you reminded me of our Bible journals we did last year! They really took a lot of pride in them and have really enjoyed looking back through them again. I can tell, like you said, they really took in the stories because of it.
Looking forward to trying out these great ideas! THank you, ladies!
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Genevieve
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I just want to thank all of you who shared ideas of what to do with nature journals especially the preschoolers. I didn't realize how many different ways there are to capture nature on paper without actually sitting down and sketching. My poor son woefully wants to draw something realistic but his motor skills doesn't let him. I'm wondering whether a how-to book might help. Any suggestions for a 4 yr old?
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alicegunther
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Lo and behold! He got a comment. Alice, not even knowing the dynamics, commented on the PHOTO! Now, he's ready and waiting to take photos of eggs and chicks... |
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I am thrilled to read this! And it really was a fantastic photo! We do not have anyone here who could take one like that for us!
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alicegunther
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Dawn wrote:
I am getting a lot of inspiration here! I like to sketch but my boys don't really. They do like to take photographs and I wondered if we could piece together a family nature journal with the children's words (and mine), and a mix of photos, Dover coloring pages and mum's sketches ...
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We talked about doing this for years and years, even buying supplies and huge binders, but it never really got off the ground. I think the main problem was the logistics of piecing together a scrapbook, picking good representative work from so many children, and getting me to follow through. The online format has truly helped with this and piqued the children's interest. At the end of the year, it will be easy to develop the photos and print out the post to creat a concrete record to show friends.
If anyone is interested in seeing our online journal, please visit the Cottage Garden.
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MacBeth
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Courtney, our nature journals are very casual. Trip prefers to take pictures, and that's fine. Libby likes to narrate and draw, and the younger two will just draw.
I keep a very non-scientific journal, and include poetry (which may or may not be scientific), and draw anything I see...not necessarily "nature" either. In their book Keeping a Nature Journal, Leslie and Roth emphasize that humans are part of nature, too, so I include "snapshots" of our daily lives as well as normal nature images.
As for how to put it all together, I have a very serious opinion on the matter . We use regular paper, and bind themed notebooks together so that I do not have several unfinished books kicking around the house. I like seeing a complete notebook, and the kids get that feeling of "completion" that is important to them. We bind the books with covers of recycled paper that may include bits of natural materials--Irish moss, lavender, thistle seeds , whatever is small enough and flat enough to bind to the paper pulp.
I have also used waterproof paper out in the field for wet days/hikes. One cannot use watercolor paints with this, though .
We have also had themed photo walks--one of our most successful last fall was a mushroom/fungus walk. The colors and shapes are tremendously varied. Fungus is good with younger kids, too, as it is not easily frightened by young kids .
Other times we'll do a camouflage hike, and try to draw things we cannot see well. For younger kids, I love to do a scavenger hunt challenge. With a large group, I use index cards with pictures of our potential finds.
I hope this is as helpful as the rest of the thread...jumping in late due to that kitchen commitment that keeps calling me--I have torn down walls! I am finding lots of natural history inside the spaces that have been long left unrevealed  .
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lapazfarm
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MacBeth wrote:
We have also had themed photo walks--one of our most successful last fall was a mushroom/fungus walk. The colors and shapes are tremendously varied. Fungus is good with younger kids, too, as it is not easily frightened by young kids . |
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MacBeth, I love the idea of a fungus walk. It is one area of nature where I am woefully ill-informed. I just need to get out and dig into it. Any tips on fungus hunting? Best sites, time of year, etc? I figure moist woods will be the richest sites, but where else should we look?
Also, do you know of any good online fungus guides?
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Mary G
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I'm not sure who Spinneretta is (altho she has 4Real links so she needs to step forward) but she has a beautiful post on her nature journal which has really inspired me. It's really great info!
THANKS for sharing, Spinneretta!
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That would be me Mary and you are very welcome
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Nature Journals
