Preschool Nature Journals

SHARE:


Preschool Nature Journals. Great way to get kids of all ages outside, good for classrooms or home use.

For several months now, Lena has been grabbing little notebooks, Post-it pads, or scraps of paper when we go out for any kind of adventure.  She's been sketching the little ladybugs she finds in our house and on our walks around the neighborhood.  Despite her best efforts, her four-year-old brain hasn't been able to keep up with all these bits and bats of paper she was trying to collect!

To keep all of those sketches, ideas, and lists in one place we made Preschool Nature Journals.  They've been a big hit!

[Click HERE To Learn About My E-Book, Make Your Mark]


This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links.  If you use these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.   Click here for my full privacy and disclosure policies.


preschool nature journals, outdoor activity for kids

As I set out to find something suitable, I had three criteria:  a cover that the girls could decorate; blank (non-ruled) pages; and fairly sturdy.  I finally found what I wanted at our local Target, but they are also available here on Amazon. These Moleskine journals come in a pack of 3 (for a reasonable price) and have a hefty kraft paper cover.  You could, of course, use whatever you find or simply make your own by folding copy paper in half and adding some staples along the spine.

using rubber stamps to decorate preschool nature journals

Next we decorated the journals with some nature-y rubber stamps.  I used our Melissa & Doug alphabet stamps and stamped "Lena's Nature Journal" and then let the girls add some leaves and other decorations.  Your child could also decorate their journals with crayons or colored pencils, or simply leave them blank.


Then we waited. And waited.  And waited.  We waited for weeks for weather that was even remotely suitable for nature journaling.  Going out to play in the snow is one thing, but we needed it to be warm enough for little fingers to hold a crayon!


Finally, we headed out one morning to a local waterfront park.  We weren't able to get deep into nature given our limited window of suitable weather, but it was plenty nature-y enough!   You could visit a park, a nearby forest, or a backyard (your own, a friend's, or a relative's).

supplies for nature journals

I packed up a little bag with the journals, crayons, and colored pencils.

sticks, pinecones, acorns gathered

The girls gathered some sticks, twigs, pine cones, and acorns.

sketching in nature journals

Then they settled in on a bench, I added the date and location to the top of the page for them, and then they began to sketch.

sketching in nature journals

They asked for different colors to use, switched which objects they were sketching, gazed at the lake in front of them, and asked questions about their sticks and the acorns and the pine cones.

sketching in preschool nature journals

Then we packed up and headed home!  My girls LOVED this activity, despite the cold.  Lena has already asked when we can use them again (when it stops RAINING)!

Some additional notes on using journals with young children:
  • Remind your children before you begin that these are special journals that they should be careful with. My girls would scribble on every page in the matter of 5 minutes if left to their own devices.  I asked them to be thoughtful with their journals.
  • Don't limit your children to sketching!  Encourage them to them dictate thoughts or stories to you about what they're seeing or experiencing.
  • You may want to bring along a magnifying glass so that you can examine things closely.
  • Consider doing leaf rubbings if your pages are thin enough (ours weren't) or flower pressing.
  • Try to journal in all seasons!  As you can see, we had a successful nature journaling trip even in winter!

You May Also Be Interested In


From Other Great Bloggers


    Visit the Cutting Tiny Bites Nature Play Pinterest Board below for more great nature play ideas!



    https://www.facebook.com/WhatCanWeDoWithPaperAndGlue/
     https://www.pinterest.com/paperglue/
    https://www.instagram.com/whatcanwedowithpaperandglue/
    http://madmimi.com/signups/125528/join

    Name

    activity animals art author back to school bears bees bird black history book extension book list books budget butterfly cats chalk chapter books children christmas cinco de mayo circus coins colors construction cookie craft crafts culture curriculum dentist different dinosaurs discovery table diy doctor dogs dolls Earth Day easter elementary fabric fall family family theme farm fathers day fine motor first grade five senses flowers food france fruit game geography gift gift guide gross motor grownup halloween healthy history homeschool ideas independence day insect insects invitation jungle keepsake kids kindergarten kindness kinesthetic learning lego letter of the week literacy lunch math menu resource mothers day music my body nature numbers obstacle course ocean organization origami ornament outer space painting paper parenting play play dough pops preschool preschool resource pretend printable process art pumpkin quiet time rainbows reading roundup recipe recycle Roundup science season second grade sensory Seuss sewing shapes snack snacks soup spanish spring st. patrick's day summer sweet bite Thanksgiving toddler toys transportation trees tutorial united states valentine vegetarian washi tape weather weekly theme winter yarn
    false
    ltr
    item
    What Can We Do With Paper And Glue: Preschool Nature Journals
    Preschool Nature Journals
    Preschool Nature Journals. Great way to get kids of all ages outside, good for classrooms or home use.
    https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd31yua6EM4Yj-_nFRghmadl016fOUj540uU4KAmxFFRPym-nv_T42hylXvPAY3c10uV-Ewu-wR1CVhmU0sUE7eEpIIYr9gv0rPE-aWxMVcahMo62-po12uT8UWaz0Ri3uS1N19FGsg4Yc/s1600/PreschoolNatureJournals17.png
    https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd31yua6EM4Yj-_nFRghmadl016fOUj540uU4KAmxFFRPym-nv_T42hylXvPAY3c10uV-Ewu-wR1CVhmU0sUE7eEpIIYr9gv0rPE-aWxMVcahMo62-po12uT8UWaz0Ri3uS1N19FGsg4Yc/s72-c/PreschoolNatureJournals17.png
    What Can We Do With Paper And Glue
    http://www.paper-and-glue.com/2015/03/preschool-nature-journals.html?m=0
    http://www.paper-and-glue.com/?m=0
    http://www.paper-and-glue.com/
    http://www.paper-and-glue.com/2015/03/preschool-nature-journals.html
    true
    2983766635568173784
    UTF-8
    Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS CONTENT IS PREMIUM Please share to unlock Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy