So each member of the family has a brand new sketchbook dedicated to nature journaling, sharp pencils and art supplies – now what?
What should you do?
Encourage your children to create a picture of something specific that they see. You can direct their focus to something you have recently been learning about or you can let them choose something that they spot themselves.
They can do pencil sketches, line drawings with felt-tipped art pens, watercolour paintings or charcoal or chalk or pastel drawings. Experimenting with these different media could be fun too.
Importantly, each journal entry should include the name of the item, location and the date. The item of interest could be a plant or animal or simply a twig with a leaf, a seed, cone, feather, animal track, egg shell, nest, seashell or an interesting rock or crystal.
You should use field guides to look up the names of the specimens you encounter and learn more about them. Older children might like to add additional information such as the scientific (Latin) names of their entries and other interesting information about them.
Where it’s not prohibited, you could also take samples of (non-endangered) flowers, grasses and leaves to press and include these in your journals at a later stage.
Your children can take photographs and use these as a reference for their sketches later, especially when the weather is unpleasant.
“Children should be encouraged to watch, patiently and quietly, until they learn something of the habits and history of bee, ant, wasp, spider, hairy caterpillar, dragon-fly, and whatever larger growth comes in their way.” ~ Charlotte Mason
