Our oldest gardener will start Kindergarten in August. To continue to develop her handwriting skills this summer we are starting a nature journal project. Our first assignment was to make the journal! So, I purchased a basic writing fundamentals notebook by Mead.
We then talked about decorating the cover with things that remind us of Florida living. We gathered last year’s nature magazines and a couple pairs of scissors, and started looking for anything related to Florida nature and wildlife. I also helped her cut out the letters for the words Nature Journal.
We then talked about other materials we could use on our journal cover. I’m a huge fan of mixed media art, so I always try to remind her of non-traditional art supplies. Shells, sand and other backyard finds were mentioned for our Florida themed cover. We drew lines with glue and then went out to the sand box and dumped sand on them.
We even placed three pieces of the Southern Slash Pine on the cover: pine bark, pine needles and pieces of a pine cone.
After our gardener was happy with its appearance and everything had completely dried, I sealed the cover with polyurethane to help it last through the summer.
Our First Journal Entry: 6/01/11
What she observed while taking a nature walk at dusk…
…a dark blue sky, two frogs and a bat (picture of sky and bat).
Journal Entry Two: 6/04/11
Take the camera and find something to take a picture of in the backyard. (Boy was she in for a treat)!
She found a Painted Lady Butterfly with a slightly injured wing. It sat quiet drinking on the lantana while she took a few (good) pictures. As we were looking at the wing injury the butterfly flew up & landed on her tummy. She squealed with delight but held perfectly still!
Our little gardener has been super excited to WRITE in her journal and can’t wait for her next assignment!
Happy Summer!
Posted by Michele on June 8, 2011 at 2:16 pm
Adorable! Love it!
Posted by punkychewster on June 26, 2011 at 11:42 pm
that’s such a great idea to do with kids. i’m planning a gardening summer camp for rising grade Ks, and we’re going to be talking about growing stuff. i was randomly searching the internet for ideas but keeping a journal is a good way to start! thanks!
Posted by ourchildrensearth on February 25, 2012 at 9:43 am
This is so cute and I am so doing this with my kids this summer!
Posted by Earnest Efforts on June 14, 2012 at 9:37 am
What a beautiful experience for the kids. Something I would have remembered all of my life!
Posted by Bee Busby on June 14, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Oh thank you so much! My girls really love reading it back at the end of the summer.