How nature journals can benefit your kids

Remember the colourful scrapbooks we used to put together in school? And remember the practical notebooks for Biology, where we tried to draw and label parts of plants and animals? When you mix these two together, you get a nature journal. A nature journal is a fun and practical way to learn for kids of any age.

How can you get kids started on a nature journal?
Here are 4 quick steps that your

To begin with, buy them a practical notebook with alternating blank and lined pages. They are also welcome to create soft copies in the form of documents or even a blog, but the notebook is the first step. It’s handy, can be carried around, and is great for scribbling and drawing.
Next, talk to your kid to understand what they would like to start with. This is also dependant on age. A 6-year-old may just want to draw the lifecycle of a bean seed, since that is fascinating and new. A 14-year-old, on the other hand, may start with notes on the pet cat, and then go on to write and draw other cat breeds.
Feed their curiosity by asking questions. Actively encourage surfing the internet for answers, guiding them to valid info on Nature, National Geographic, Discovery, Britannica and natural science resources by universities.
Finally, share the better entries with friends on social media. However, kids should continue out of curiosity, not because they want more likes.

3 benefits of nature journal
There are many benefits, but these are the most common ones:

The nature journal is a great way to link kids to nature-

Safe outdoor trips can mean a walk in the park or even a garden downstairs. Feeding birds on the balcony, starting a home garden with potted plants, keeping an aquarium – all are activities linked with nature – and make great journal entries.

Keeping a nature journal hones observation, writing, motor and drawing skills-

School exercises to improve these skills can be boring for a kid, no matter how much we gamify them. But the child is the boss when it comes to the journal, and they work harder to make the entries look better so that they can feel proud of the journal.

Nature journals boost vocabulary and science knowledge-

Kids are curious by nature. As they look up more information to find answers to questions posed by their observations, they pick up a lot of science lessons automatically and learn new terms.