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Nature Notebooks for Younger Kids (Size, Etc.)?
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What size nature notebook do you recommend for 4 and 6-year-olds? I want 8.5×11 but wonder if that would be too bulky for them to carry around. I don’t know yet if they’ll draw big or small, but we may have large items to keep in our nature notebooks (feathers, etc.). I am hoping we don’t end up with a lot of wasted paper though. I am planning on getting zippered pouches to keep drawing pencils and erasers from getting lost. I am not sure yet about hard or soft cover. Any other tips? Thanks!
I got the Notesketch spiralbound book 5×8 from Rainbow Resources … the paper is too thin for us though … still hunting for the perfect book too!
Spiral bound definitely; easier to open up and draw/paint in.
Smaller definitely; no room in my bag!
Not too fussed about lines for notes at this stage.
Like your zippered pouch idea!
Would love to hear anyone elses’ ideas/ experiences too!
I just used an artist sketch pad from Walmart – spiral bound, pages are good for watercolor pencils, gluing leaves or pictures in etc. My young kids (4 and 6) just sit with them in their laps or at the table.
We used 5×8 spiral bound sketch pad. The pages are thicker so they can draw, paint, color, markers and the color does not bleed through. I purchased them at Office Max last year.
I like the size, not too big, and they have plenty of pages. We used about 1/2 last year so they will continue with the same book this year. It is so fun to see their progression in skill.
If they draw smething specific, I write the description on the back of the page, but other than that it is their book to draw what they see.
That sounds like a great nature study book, sarah2106 … do you have any more specifics on the name so that I can find it on the office max website?
We live in the boonies and have to order most things online … unable to feel the quality of the paper … hence the error with my previous purchase ;0)
This is the one I got at Office Max (I thought it was less $$) http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/paper/sketch-pads-drawing-paper/product-prod2040975?R=11048699&ssp=true
It looks very similar to this one also at Office Max http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/paper/sketch-pads-drawing-paper/product-prod4721803?R=22447498&ssp=true
As long as the paper is heavy weight I would imagine it would work well
Fab!
Thanks so much Sarah!
Now to find a way to purchase it without having to pay $10 to ship a $6.50 nature study book from Office Max to our homel!! Their nearest store is 3 hours from us! Gotta love being in the mountains! Wouldn’t trade it for all the sketch books in the world!
Really apprecitae you posting hte specifics!
Check Amazon as well. They have this one for free shipping with Prime http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00260S6LM/ref=s9_simh_gw_p229_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Q8ND9EWZ0BVWQNSYQRD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
It looks to be the same as the Office Max one with just a different cover.
We started with an 8×10 spiral sketchbook from Wal-Mart at those ages. I got one for me too, although I don’t draw as often as they do. But when I do, they think a lot of it. I tell them to keep practicing their drawings like I did when I was a kid. It has 100 pages and we use front and back, so 200 entries. Some leaves we have found for leaf rubbing are big enough to fill the page. After 4 years, we are in the same book. Life happened and nature study got skipped a lot (at least the nature notebook). This year I put it on the schedule once a week for science, art, reading, and writing all in one. They have to find SOMETHING to draw and try to find a science book on the topic to read. They have to label it or copy a sentence or poem (writing).
For trees, My Favorite Tree from the OS Companion has been very helpful.
I recommend 9×6 with heavy paper of 80-90 lb that can handle dry brush. Spiral is great, but I stay away from perforated pages.
This is slightly off topic, but what do you do if you have a perfectionist child who tends to get frustrated if her work doesn’t come out looking the way she wants it to? I was thinking we’d just get a 3-ring-binder for the nature notebook this year (5YO), because then she could do her drawing on a loose page and punch holes in it if satisfied, to add it in, or throw it away if she’s not satisfied. I don’t really want to encourage the perfectionism, because I’d rather have her be more courageous about her work, but I also don’t want her to hate the sketchbook if she feels like she can’t “mess up” in it.
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