Nature Notebooking (AKA Nature Journaling)

Nature Notebooks

If you’ve been researching the Charlotte Mason for even a short about of time then you’ve most probably heard about nature notebooking (AKA journaling). Or maybe you’ve seen some beautiful snapshots of children’s nature journals on social media. You want to begin nature journaling, but…

Your kids are not artistic (and neither are you!).

It seems so simple, is it really worth my time?

How do I encourage and inspire my kids to record in their notebooks?

What to Record in Nature Notebooks

Nature notebooking is your child’s first science notebook. They learn how to wonder, observe, record, and make connections. These skills are essential for success in future STEM subjects. Nature study is truly the foundation of science. But most importantly it develops lifelong learning habits and an eye for beauty.

The nature notebook is where you record your observations of your special study topic, or anything else you see on your nature walk. The purpose of nature notebooking is to force the mind to slow down and notice — notice the shape, color, and details. The child draws a picture and/or writes a narration of the subject. At first, children may not know what to say. I love the prompts that John Muir Laws suggests in his book “The Laws Guide to Nature Journaling and Drawing:”

What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
What does this remind you of?

I.e. “I noticed this flower was growing by the pond. I notice it has 5 petals. I notice it is pink. I wonder if it’s edible? I wonder if it can grow away from the pond. It reminds me of the hibiscus flower we saw in Puerto Rico. “

These questions seem too simple to be effective, but “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6)

From my research on the science of learning I’ve found that these questions each kickstart important cognitive processes. When you ask your child to verbally express what they notice they are automatically looking for attributes that make this subject unique. They actually notice things they didn’t notice before. When they are asked to wonder they have to generate questions, and curiosity ignites a desire to know. Finally, when a child is asked what this subject reminds him of his brain is forced to retrieve past knowledge. It also makes the brain form relationships between two seeminging unrelated things. When the brain retrieves past knolwedge and forms connections it makes that neural pathway stronger and more easily accessible next time. As Charlotte Mason said, “Education is the science of relations.”

As my child’s narrating muscles get stronger they usually use a two-page spread in their journal for each entry. One page they draw a picture of the whole specimen, then details, like zooming in on small parts (antennae, stamens, pistils, etc), or where they found it. On the opposite page they write a narration about it. They may talk about the season and time of day, the location we found it, the story of how they found it or caught it, and describe its behavior. My boys began naturally adding “I notice,” “I wonder,” and “it reminds of me of” into their written narration.

Here are some examples of notes they can make in their nature notebook entries:

date
where they found it (include details, like the tree species where it was found, forest, near water, etc.)
description of behavior
different angles (looking from top, side, underneath, flying, perching)
zoom in on details (face, flower, bark)
food it was eating

My boys only record once per week in their nice nature journals/notebooks. We also use a large monthly calendar (I use this one by JSTORY) to record daily events, like the weather, as well as a “calendar of firsts” which is writing down when they see the first buds, blossoms, flowers, snow, birds etc. of the season.

Eventually this calendar can be use for scientific purposes — recording temperature, humidity, sunrise/sunset, moon phases, first frost, last frost, etc.

How to Record

Charlotte Mason recommended brush drawing for nature notebooks because of the ease in which young students can record the “essence” of the subject. She believed pencils were too fine and required too much detail for the young student. I completing agree. Yet, my kids vehemently disagree They loathe watercolor and brush drawing, and prefer pencils and sketching to any other medium. I’ve found that high quality dual-tipped markers will appease the young artists, and are an alternative to brush drawing. However, I personally use watercolors and brush drawing in my nature notebook and continually invite my kids to use them. I draw a rough draft in pencil, then (occasionally) outline with a black pen, then fill in with watercolor. My boys prefer to use pencils, but will sometimes use watercolors. I’ve found they are more willing to use watercolors if they outline the subject’s main lines in black pen and if I help them mix the colors. When it’s time to record I break out the Laws Guide to Nature Journaling to give inspiration. John Muir Laws also has a lot of videos on YouTube showing how to draw almost any plant or animal you can think of. Which brings me to the most important point of nature notebooking…

Practice Masterly Activity

Charlotte Mason has made it clear (and I wholeheartedly agree) that nature notebooks are to be the child’s own creation. Your child should be the one to choose what to record, how to record it, and how much information to include. To be honest, this is very hard for me. I’m still learning how to practice masterly inactivity (the term for giving children space and freedom). I simply require that they make a weekly entry and that they make their entries accurate. It’s important to note that accurate and beautiful (or even realistic) are not the same. Charlotte Mason recommended that children use brush drawing to get the “essence” of the subject instead of using a pencil which requires much more skill and detail. Your child may choose to spend a lot of time and effort on his nature notebook, and he may choose to make a basic drawing. Either is acceptable. It helps to remember that the nature notebook is the child’s first science notebook. The important thing is that he is observing, noticing, and making an accurate representation of the specimen. The purpose is not to produce an artistic masterpiece, but to develop the skill of observation. if you have it in your mind that every entry must be a beautiful piece art then you will be disappointed and your child will hate nature journaling. My advice is to keep a nature notebook yourself and record in it when your kids do. You have control over yours, you can make it as artistic and detailed as you want, and you are setting an example for your children to follow, if they choose. You show them what is possible and give them ideas to use in their own.

The principles of nature notebooks is that they are