Nature Journaling 101
The blank page.
For some of us, filling a blank page is a wonderful opportunity—like the challenge I always felt as a kid to be the first to step into the perfectly smoothed, white lawn after a new-fallen snow. I always wanted to get there before the squirrels. For others, filling a blank page can be a daunting task or source of uncomfortable embarrassment.
Years ago, when we began to study nature with a group, we were all beginners (both teachers and students). In our inexperience, we shared little direction for how to approach those blank pages. We just didn’t know. At first, we noticed the kids sloppily rushing through completing their entries—eager to get on to playing with friends and the snacks that awaited those who were finished. So for a season, we added some time constraints, by setting a timer—students needed to spend at least 20 minutes on their entries and get their parent’s go-ahead before they were free to play and snack. We also came up with one more directive: each child must draw one picture and then add as many facts (in words) to match their grade level—so, for example, a third-grader needed to share at least 3 written (or orally narrated) bits of information they had learned from the day’s lesson. Mothers also began to take part by modeling this journaling practice. It wasn’t long before we no longer needed the timer or the fact-to-grade-level rule. We have seen our students grow and develop wonderful observation skills, and accurate, even beautiful, recordings. But sometimes our group members change—students graduate, families leave, and new students and families join as beginners. It can feel uncomfortable to start or share a journal entry as a beginner if just over your shoulder you see and compare your own entries with those more experienced and polished. Nature journals can be very private, personal, and unique, but I wanted to share a few tips to filling those blank pages for beginners—to cut down on newbie discouragement and build a gentler growth mindset. Here are two principles which are important to keep in mind, and 10 entry tips which we have learned along the way that would have been helpful at the start:
First it is important to clarify our purpose. The nature journaling we are doing is not an art class or primarily about making beautiful pictures. Our group’s purpose is to learn about, observe, and appreciate some creature or aspect of God’s creation, and our journaling time is meant to accurately record on paper the essence of the living thing which we have learned about, observed, and experienced through our nature lore teaching and hike. Obviously we wish to have each student put forth their best efforts, which will in turn produce beauty (since most of what we observe in nature is beautiful), but that is not our main purpose. As adult leaders, it is helpful for us to be mindful of this and refrain from commenting so much on the beauty of a picture and more on the accuracy of student’s drawings. I think it is especially important to hold a policy of not self degrading your entries or belittling or comparing your abilities to others. Everyone can be successful in this practice and we are all growing and improving over time and with practice. If you as a student feel intimidated by the task of drawing “lovely pictures” in your nature journal, think about approaching your journal more as a scientist than as an artist—add in notes and numbers and labels and diagrams. The wonderful thing about this, is that regardless of whether you approach your drawings as an artist or as a scientist, as you practice, your drawings will improve—both in accuracy and in beauty.
Second, it is important to emphasize paying attention. All learning hangs on this core skill. Paying attention is fortunately a skill we can all develop through practice. Nature journaling is an especially fun and refreshing way to practice paying attention, because so much of nature study and nature journaling requires attention to detail. How many leaves are on that plant? How many stripes are on that animal? Or which type of song does that particular bird make? Both scientists and artists must pay attention. One of my favorite artists, Pissarro once said, “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” Nature study, like art, requires attention—noticing. And Charlotte Mason would say, when we begin to notice and pay attention to something in nature, we begin to form a connection, a kind of relationship. And education, she says, is the “science of relations”. ‘When we record those connections through nature journaling, these new connections are not quickly lost or forgotten.
Here are 10 suggestions of things any student can easily add to their nature journals to fill up those blank pages:
1-Write the date of your entry (I recommend in the top corner).
2-Write the common and scientific names of the species you are studying (again, I recommend this to be put somewhere toward the top of the page).
3- You may also wish to write the location of your hike somewhere on the page along with any notable experiences you had or saw during the hike.
4-Include a picture (or pictures.) Including zoomed in close-up drawings of smaller sections or portions of your species can be a fun help to vary your entries.
5-Include numbers somewhere in your entry. For example, describe how many petals, claws, eyes, legs, eggs, etc. the species has.
6-Include examples of your species over time. For example, you could draw various stages in the species’ life cycle. Or if they experience seasonal changes, could you show or tell the differences in your journal entry?
7-Record observations you noticed or information you learned during the lesson either at the bottom of your page or throughout your drawings in diagrams or bullet points.
8-Ask questions. What do you notice that you’d like to explore further? Is there anything that sparked your curiosity that you’d like to know which wasn’t answered in your lesson? Mason calls curious questioning “key” to lasting learning. So write your questions down!
9-Make connections. Charlotte Mason always encourages learners to make connections throughout life. Maybe this hummingbird reminds you of a helicopter, or that leaf you are observing looks like a heart to you. Write those connections down!
10-Add a quote, verse of scripture, or piece of poetry somewhere throughout your entry. This is another way to bridge connections across subjects and to add beauty and meaning to your entry—not through pictures, but through words. Often we incorporate poetry and scripture within our study of nature. Consider including an excerpt or quote to your nature journal entries as well.
I hope these suggestions help ease your beginner’s minds and give plenty of ideas and helpful direction for how to potentially fill those blank pages with meaningful and memorable content. May you enjoy the process while appreciating more clearly the glory of God through His creation.
Warmly,
Anne