The Development of a Nature Journal (Part 1)

I've had several requests over the last few months for my take on nature journals and how to get a child started with one. Of course I have only done this with one child, so my experience is very limited. I can't tell you how to get your child interested, I can only share the steps that brought us where we are today. I will say upfront that it has been a long developmental process, definitely not an overnight experience...

I was a little concerned that Gerrick (as he approached age 5) showed very little interest in drawing or writing. (There was really no reason to be, but you know how we mothers can be.) The day he did his jellyfish cell documentation was a big day (11/08). It was also the day that giving him some sort of science journal came into my mind. I thought if he had a special book in which to put this type of work, he might be more apt to write/draw more often--but I kept the idea on the back burner for a while because I didn't want to push him.

A month later he did some experimental art with milk, salt, and watercolors, and later in the day after it had dried I found him doing this...



About this time he was also big into Sid the Science Kid, so I asked him if he'd like to have a science journal like Sid's so that he would have a special place to keep the results of his experiments. BINGO! I pulled out the 5.5 x 8.5 spiral-top drawing pad I had bought just for this, and he glued the salt art on page 1 and the jellyfish cell drawing that he had kept on page 2.

Shortly after this Gerrick developed an interest in penguins through our reading of Mr. Popper's Penguins. I helped him put some penguin info in his journal.

Though we had always spent a lot of time outdoors, this was also the time when we really started spending a lot of time taking nature walks in the woods--just to see what we could see.



A month later we were still spending lots of time exploring nature. He was enjoying building his nature collection, but there was no more interest shown in the journal.



I thought of the suggestion to display his journal on a display easel along with his nature collection. He really liked this idea and would periodically change the page that was showing. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I think it becoming part of his nature display was a huge step. It was when he really began taking ownership and pride in it.



Part 2...