In the spring, I did a ton of research and brainstorming to come up with a plan to keep my kids occupied this summer. I found lots of great ideas on Pinterest including a post about nature journaling. My kids LOVE to draw and hike and observe nature-y things, so this was a natural fit for us (pardon the pun)!
I bought a couple of sketch books and let the kids decorate them with some sticky foam letters and markers:
Their first nature drawings were done in our backyard:
From there, we ventured out into our neighborhood for a creek walk and some journaling there:
We love to take our nature journals along on hikes, walks, and even trips to the dog park! Drawings of flowers, trees, animals, bugs, animal tracks, and natural settings will be so much fun to look through on a rainy day when we're missing summer.
Some ideas for nature journal entries that I love:
I bought a couple of sketch books and let the kids decorate them with some sticky foam letters and markers:
Their first nature drawings were done in our backyard:
From there, we ventured out into our neighborhood for a creek walk and some journaling there:
We love to take our nature journals along on hikes, walks, and even trips to the dog park! Drawings of flowers, trees, animals, bugs, animal tracks, and natural settings will be so much fun to look through on a rainy day when we're missing summer.
Some ideas for nature journal entries that I love:
- Drawings, sketches, paintings (try colored pencils, crayons, markers, watercolors, washable paints)
- Leaf or other rubbings
- Pressed flowers or leaves attached with clear tape
- Quotes (my 7 year old wrote a favorite movie quote, "we're going to take a walk outside today…" on one of his drawings). Love.
- Make designs or paint pictures with nature finds dipped in paint (conifer branches, rocks, acorns, pine needles, etc.)
- Tape a seed from something planted in your garden next to a drawing of the fruit or veggie that grew from it. Maybe add a pressed leaf too!
Find more great nature journaling ideas, here.
