Garden Journaling with Children
Bringing Nature Journaling into the Garden
What is Nature or Garden journaling?
According to the Sierra club, A Nature Journal is a place to grow your thoughts, feelings, ideas, activities, observations, and relationship with the natural world. And, it is an opportunity to interpret your inner thoughts out into the natural world and a space where the natural world can flow into you and leave a permanent mark.
“Recording observations of nature”
“Personal record of time spent outdoors”
It can be a valuable “element” of a children’s garden
Why Garden journal with young children?
*Relaxing and calming
*Helps cultivate creativity
*Brings literacy and art into the outdoors
*Develops hand-eye coordination
*Helps to build a connection or greater connection to nature and a love of the outdoors
*Can be guided and scientific, or very open-ended, and anywhere in between
*It’s a wonderful activity to have at the ready for any down time or for transitions when
appropriate
*Develops literacy, writing, observation, reflection, focus, expression, appreciation,
analysis...
What does it look like to Garden journal with young children?
Nature journaling with young children looks different than it would with older children, and there’s a difference even between journaling with very young children such as 2-4 years and young children that are a little older such as 5-7 years. Below are some ideas on how to nature journal within the range of early childhood.
Nature/Garden journaling entails having an outdoor or garden space to explore before or while journaling, but it can absolutely be done indoors on a rainy day, or just indoors anytime!
Explore nature, garden, outdoors, field guides, books about nature
Draw or sketch animals, plants, flowers, insects, whatever children notice
Add pressed flowers to the journal
Record observations, answers to questions, exploration of a subject
Study a subject such as seeds, cycle of a plant from seed to seed
Poetry inspired by nature
Stories and drawings inspired by nature
Record observations during each Season; find a special spot the children go back to each
season to notice the differences; notice and record and/or draw how a deciduous
tree looks each season
Compare different things in nature such as
2-4 different leaves
2-4 different flowers
2-4 different pollinators
Record signs of each season: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter
Record and document studies on: trees, flowers, medicinal herbs, bugs, fungi, plants,
seeds, bees, animals, butterflies, lifecycles, birds, patterns in nature
Inspire the imagination! Design, draw, paint, create a dream tree house or gnome/fairy/
sprite nature home
Go on a forest, desert, beach, garden, neighborhood, rain, flower, meadow walk: What
do you see, hear, smell, feel? Record your observations
There is no right or wrong way!
Some questions to help children engage in Garden journaling as well as ideas to expand on simple Garden/Nature journaling……
I notice…
I wonder…
Child writes/draws or adult records in their journal, depending on their/ability:
A word or drawing to describe something the child hears, sees, feels, tastes
What does something (animal, insect, plant, etc.) look like?
Where does it live? What habitat would you find it in?
Does it have any unique characteristics?
Encourage children to draw a map of the garden, OR their dream garden complete
with their most desired garden elements
Early Years (Age 0-4)
At this age Nature Journaling is all about being outside or exploring nature in some form, and talking about and describing what you’re noticing and experiencing. 🎨“A two-year old dabbing paint on paper while sitting outdoors (or indoors) with you and talking about birds is nature journaling.” At this age nature journaling is about playing in and with nature.
Primary Years (Age 5-12)
During these developmental years, children are expanding their awareness of the world around them. Around 8 years old, but often as early as 5 years old (especially if they are a younger sibling or spend a lot of time with older kids) 🎨children can start to get nervous about making art and are often judgemental of their own art and that of their peers. To help foster a positive experience, rather than complimenting kids’ art with things like “I love your drawing” or “That is a beautiful flower,” you could say something like, “I see that you noticed the hairs on the surface of the leaf, did you look through a magnifying tool?” or “I see you used different shades of green on the same leaf”
Feedback that is full of descriptive language rather than praise will help to reinforce the idea that nature journaling is not just about art but about digging deeper into observations in nature.
Materials for journaling (materials with an * are ones that are needed for a basic journaling kit)
*Basket or bag to put materials in
CSpiral or Sewn bound notebook, handmade notebook, blank paper on clipboards, to name a few ideas for journaling on. Larger size notebooks that have a hard cover are best for young children
*Colored pencils or crayons (thicker sized drawing tools are better for young children)
*Pencil and large eraser (thicker sized drawing tools are better for young children)
*Correct size pencil sharpener for colored and lead pencils and crayons
Magnifying lens
Ruler
Field guides (optional depending on activity)
Watercolor kit: watercolors & brushes, cloth for wiping brush, little cup for water
How to Teach Nature Journaling by John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren (includes NGSS, Common Core State Standards, Homeschooling, Waldorf, Montessori and Non-NGSS State Science Standards teaching methods)
*The Laws sketchbook for Nature Journaling
* Spark In Nature with Melinda Nakagawa https://sparkinnature.com/
* Journaling with Children of Every Age https://www.journalingwithnature.com/blog/journaling-at-every-age
🎨Some quotes and information from this article are referenced above