I absolutely love nature walks and could wander in nature for hours just breathing and listening but my kids do not feel the same. I think most kids in this day and age get bored pretty quickly so I started bringing scavenger hunts along to keep them outdoors and engaged in our nature walks. They love scavenger hunts but get bored with them pretty easily if it’s the only thing I offer. I’m actually not opposed to boredom but I want them to enjoy our walks so I am always looking for a great way to keep them excited and engaged on a nature walk.
How we make our own nature journal
I started having them bring their own nature journal and filling it out with whatever they felt inspired by as we walked. This journal started as just blank pages for them to write, sketch, and complete nature drawings however they wanted. These blank pages can be an excellent way to engage younger children who could struggle with something more guided with lines. These journal pages are also very easy to add more because it is just blank paper!
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This little DIY nature journal can be decorated with different with a variety of things to get kids excited to use it. My kids love adding stickers and these little nature ones are too cute to not use! Stickers are perfect for kids of all ages but you can always use stamps, stencils or other fun age-appropriate items
You could also use a blank notebook and decorate that!
Filling your Nature Notebook
Now this is the fun part! We fill our journals with just about anything we find during our walks. My kids love doing a nature drawing of the things they find. We also journal about weather conditions on our walks, and make connections to our weekly nature study unit.
Sometimes we bring various items on our walks which always excites my kids and brings a new focus of the walk. We have a few bird field guides my kids enough bringing and trying to identify what birds we see. My favorite guide is here because it shows what parts of America the birds live in which helps (birds can look very similar haha).
Sometimes we bring binoculars or a magnifying glass to allow us to study things a bit closer. My kids pay close attention to details with the magnifying glass and it’s the perfect way to encourage more detail in their journal entry!
Consider collecting a single leaf, or flower to sketch at home or even do a press onto a journal page.
Nature Journal Prompts
The best prompts are ones that feed off of your child’s personal experience, and interests. You know what things your kid is interested in or asks about so an easy way to guide them in journaling is to lean on those interests and ask questions around those.
Another fun way to help them build their observation skills of the natural world is just by prompting them to engage their senses. Asking questions like what do you hear, smell, and see are an excellent start to get them exploring in ways they don’t usually (or at least don’t notice they are).
Asking them what different colors they see, leaves, pathways and shadows are all things that can bring their focus to a different area.
Discussing the different seasons and asking how something might be different in a different season can encourage them to think in a different way.
Nature journal ideas can literally be endless and once you get your child outside making observations of nature they can guide the process a lot. I also recommend doing nature studies regularly because it changes your kids perspective on what is in nature and how it works. Nature studies can also be a fun family activity where everyone gets to learn together.
What if your child is not super engaged in nature walks or journaling
I get this and one of my kids the great outdoors. We talk about how walking and being outside is good for us. We also talk about all the benefits of nature journaling such as increased creativity, fine motor skill practice, and connection to our own thoughts. Another powerful tool I use to get outside is bribery, joking kind of. I do try to get them excited by letting them choose tool to bring like a magnifying glass, bug catcher, binoculars, or butterfly net. These toys can make the experience a fun activity for a kid who may not be super excited otherwise.
I also really think the nature studies we do are a great starting point for getting them engaged in nature. Think about if you are walking and you see an ant walk by and just think ok cool he is going home. Now what if you knew how much that ant could carry, that he follows a specific path and makes certain movements to communicate to his friends. What if you knew that he only used one opening to get into his home and another to exit. Having that kind of in-depth knowledge would make you look closely, see if you could see his movements or figure out his special path. The same can go for any natural element, the weather, moss, owls, trees or anything really. Learning those small details on various topics truly opens your mind to a whole world that you did not previously know existed.
Another place you can start is in your own backyard. Build your kids endurance for spending time outdoors. If you’ve not been outside for more than 10 minutes at a time that can be overwhelming, especially yo younger kids, to suddenly ask that they stay out for hours and be highly engaged.
Consider allowing older kids to use technology occasionally. I have a super cool rock identifier app that both myself and kids love to use. I also constantly google plants to learn about them and my kids ask me to to look plants and flowers up all the time.
Printable Nature Journal
I created a printable nature journal for my kids to use that includes several things I have found they enjoy and that have helped build a love of nature. This is a step up from a simple nature journal as it includes logs, reflections, writing prompts, sketch areas and activities. I consider this another type of journaling that is more guided than a blank book of ideas and I truly believe there is value in both. A guided journal can give kids the confidence to generate their own ideas and create more detailed journal entries later on. If you are interested in my journal you can grab it here! I designed it to build creativity, observational skills and a love of nature.
I’d love to hear about your experience journaling yourself, with your children or students! Regardless of what journal you choose just know there is such a huge benefit to spending time outdoors and reflecting on that time through writing. Sending you all the love and positivity for your nature walks!