Customer Reviews

Nature Journaling: Learning to Observe and Connect With the World Around You

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For people interested in trying out the Nature Notebook or Nature Journal idea (it's a great activity for both children and adults), I highly recommend this book. Nature Journaling is written and illustrated by college-level science educators who use Nature Journals as their primary method of teaching people to learn about nature firsthand. A beautiful, inspiring book! I was first introduced to the idea of Nature Notebooks by reading the works of Charlotte Mason, an educator in England during the last century. Taking regular Nature Walks and keeping individual Nature Notebooks has been a happy and fulfilling family activity in our home for several years.

After purchasing Nature Journaling, the book totally changed the way our family approached our own Nature Journals -- this book provided us with so many new ideas and creative uses for our notebooks. The first day we read through the Nature Journaling book, my 12-year-old daughter and I spent two hours at the local beaver pond sketching red-winged blackbirds, Canada geese, rough-skinned newts, turtles, lily pads and wildflowers. My husband has even decided to start keeping a Nature Journal of his own after seeing the newly inspired work in my personal Nature Notebook. To anyone reading this review who has an active interest in enjoying and learning about nature, I hope you'll seriously consider adding a bit of nature journaling to your family's summertime activities. You may even find yourself starting a rewarding and educational life-long hobby.

This book was recommended in our homeschool loop. I bought the book hoping for some ideas to get me started, always wanted to start but felt uncomfortable about just doing it. The book will end all your worries! I was very impressed by the books contents and how easy it was to get started. My 5 1/2 year old daughter and I have started with the very basics as part of our daily school lessons and I plan to add more as we progress. You do not have to be an artist to do this! This is your journal and you do what you want in it, nobody needs to see it unless you want to share it. It will make you become more observant to your surroundings and the way things are constantly changing. A great base for any homeschool program.

If you're into nature and you haven't lost touch with a child's wonder, you will enjoy Nature Journaling. A great book for families who like to wander together or for adults who want to reconnect with their natural surroundings.

An excellent book to get you started with capturing little pieces of nature to bring indoors with you. Truly helps diminish the "Oh, I can't do that" syndrome. Take the kids with you and make a project of it. You'll find it's easy and fun too.

There is a tremondous amount of ideas in the beautifully written book, such as ideas and techniques that you can use. I've always loved nature and have recently wanted to start a nature journal, but never really knew how to go about it or what types of observations to draw or write about. Well, I don't have that problem any more thanks to this wonderful book.
My only complaint, which is minor compared to how usefull and informative this book is, is that some of the authors' handwritten notes in the sketchbook examples are a little hard to read.

I wanted to familiarize myself with nature in my new locale. As the homes spring up and push the wild spaces back, I feel the need to record some of it before it is gone.
This book, Nature Journaling, gives me the structure and the encouragement to start recording. My first attempt was a drawing of a lizard clinging to the screen. I'm so pleased to just get started with this book to inspire me.
The book suggests varied journaling styles, and asks questions to spark your observations. The drawing exercises also are varied (pencil, adding color, quick sketches, etc.). The book is delightfully illustrated with sample sketches from many different nature journals.
Journaling makes you really look at things and question what you are observing. I really recommend it.