Please describe your nature notebooks

We just have a regular marble notebook.  The kids draw, do rubbings, write down stuff, color, take photos and tape them in the book, do leaf/flower pressing and keep them in the book, etc.  They really make it their own.  On top of that, we have a family nature journal that we write down the observations of the day – animals we saw, trees that are coming into bloom, temperature and weather, etc.  We love going back over the years to see what was going on in our yard a year or two ago.  

We use a blank sketch book with heavy 60 or 90 lb (I forget) paper for dry brush water coloring. I have used some NB sheets, but prefer our sketchbooks.

http://thecraftyclassroom.com/blog/2011/07/12/starting-nature-journals/. Bi love this post on nature journals.

I like the Christian Liberty Nature Readers for reading practice and narration.  I do list them as part of our science on records.  

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this site: http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/  Barb is a nature lover with lots of experience and really breaks down nature study into doable steps.  I used her ideas under “Getting Started” when we were starting out.  You can subscribe to her newsletter for more ideas and printables.  I used some of the printables in the beginning, but this past school year, we each began using a smaller Nature Journal (a bound sketch book from Michaels).  I asked my daughter which Nature Journal she prefers, and she said the smaller one.  

We have carried our journals with us and sketched in them, but I think we prefer to leave them at home and just go out and explore.  I think carrying our journals with us distracted us from truly “seeing” nature, because we were focused on finding something to draw.  Now we set our journals out on the table along with colored pencils or watercorlors before we go out.  When we come back in, everything is ready to go and our Nature Walk is still fresh in our mind.  Sometimes one of the children brings back a specimen to draw.  Other times, we try drawing or writing about our nature walk from what we remember.  We do take the Nature Journals out into the yard once in a while to sketch a tree that we have been observing throughout the year.  

I think the best advice is to go out and get started.  You will find a groove that best fits you and your family.

We use sketchbooks with watercolor paints as well as pencil drawings and also use colored pencils. I started out with good intentions with the watercolors, but have allowed that to fall to the wayside.  I am planning to get them out this summer to try to restart the habit.  At any rate, our nature notebooks have leaves, rocks, rubbings, pinecones… you name it.  If they see it in nature, it’s in the notebook. 🙂

I had grand intentions of putting the notebooks in a bag along with the paints, etc. That, too, has gone to the wayside, which explains the other to some degree as well.  I am trying to think of a good place to keep the bag where it is both accessible, and yet handy. I will be working on a revamp of our school supplies and school room in the coming months, so hopefully will have that all ironed out by the end of the summer.