How To Make a Nature Journal With Your Children

Encouraging children to get outdoors in nature with a fun activity that will keep them engaged.

Create a nature Journal with your children to help them have a better understanding of nature and to encourage them to ask questions about the nature that surrounds them.

Go on a walk to the park, forest, pond, stream, woodland, beach. Use your journal to make notes and draw what you find most interesting. Write down what you see and hear, stick special leaves and flowers that you find in. Draw around leaves and create leaf and bark rubbings on the pages.

Take some watercolours and crayons to use - what colours can you see?  Take this journal with you over the summer holidays to make a record of the adventures you have been on and the nature that you have found. Take it to the beach and draw shells, fish and seabirds. Take it to the pond and sketch the tadpoles, frogs and ducks. Stick any feathers that you find into your journal. Stick in a photo of you collecting natural treasures or jumping in puddles! You could also stick a postcard in if you have been to the beach!

Use this journal then to discuss what you saw, heard and found and of course, keep it as a momentum of your summer.

Connection with Nature: Regular interaction with nature can improve your overall sense of well-being and promote a healthier lifestyle. It also encourages environmental stewardship and a deeper appreciation for the natural world. Perhaps it could lead to a litter pick and looking after your local area?

Ideas of what to do in your journal:

• draw a bug
• sketch a bird
• take leaf and bark rubbings
• paint shells
• stick feathers in
• draw around leaves and decorate them
• paint flowers
• draw a big tree complete with birds and a nest with eggs
• glue in a favourite stick
• take a photo of you out in nature and stick it in
• make a note of the colours that you can see
• count the bugs that you find and make a record
• keep a list of what you can hear
•  find a spiders web and try to draw it in your journal
•  can you identify any leaves?
• what treasures have you found - make a record
• can you draw a fairy garden or bridge? Or a little map?

Things to pack with you:

• Your journal

• Glue stick

• scissors

• crayons

• water colours, brush and a little tupperware for water

• a pencil

• a magnifying glass

• camera

• string

How to make a simple paper journal:

Simply fold some sheets of printer paper in half to make a little booklet - children can do this themselves. Punch some holes and thread with string to tie the pages together to keep them in place. You could use a slightly thicker cartridge paper for a more strudy journal or use brown craft paper as we have done. 

Find out more about my Rewilding your Wanderlust and other courses here.