Product Description

A friendly guide written for amateur artists, writers and naturalists. Inspired by the nineteenth-century British educator Charlotte Mason, this approach to self-education combines careful observation of nature with the introspection of journal writing and the relaxing pleasure of watercolor. When used with children it can become a science or art curriculum. Anyone who is interested in journal writing will love it. Discovery journals are fun for all ages and are particularly rewarding for families and educators. It is a great hobby for parents and children to share together. The whole family is able to participate and learn together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115548 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-09
• Binding: Paperback
• 118 pages

Jennifer Brownlee, classroom teacher
"To notice the painting on a flower, the shape of a cloud, the song of a thrush and the cool smoothness of the bark on a birch tree, these are the memories captured in a nature journal. Nature studies are an integral part of the living atmosphere of a classroom. Without them, trees become merely pictures, flowers lose their fragrance, birds are without song and movement, and life exists only outside the window. To know nature is a source of refreshment and pleasure for every person--teachers and students alike.

Within my own classroom, nature studies have been a biweekly habit of picking up our notebooks and colored pencils and heading outside to be still, quiet and thoughtful. Afterwards, we use a field guide to identify our new discoveries. Oftentimes, these moments are the most productive of the entire day, and they serve to provide the much needed mind-food for other academic disciplines."

Jaqueline Wettwer, homeschool mother of four
"I introduced nature notebooks to my children just the way you described. It worked just the way you said it would. They loved it! It is their favorite part of our homeschool."

Elizabeth Braymen, Girl Scout Leader
"I tried a 'Wild Day' with my Brownie troop. They really loved it! It was so wonderful. They were so involved with their drawings and observations that the time just flew by. They didn't even want to stop for treats."

Customer Reviews

The Best Book About Nature Journaling for Children and Adults without formal art training
This is a slim volume, a quick read, I finished it in under three hours. The author, Karen Skidmore Rackliff writes in a colloquial manner which is easy to understand. The author tells of how she and her seven homeschooled children spend one day out of every two weeks in nature. When the family (and especially mom) is feeling stressed out by errands and household tasks they pack meals and snacks and head off for a full day in nature. Rackliff calls these "wild days".

When she decided to have her children keep nature journals, at first she forced each child to record words and images in what she calls a "discovery journal" (what others call a "nature journal").

She is not ashamed to admit that her oldest son didn't like this and said she feels that over time he continues to be disinterested. With subsequent children she stated she was less forceful, and simply modeled journaling by (continuing) to make her own journal in their presence. She said she felt that this was key in subsequent children being more creative artistically and with the written word in their own journals.

The author's approach to their nature journals changed over time to what I feel is more like "unschooling" in which the child is placed in a stimulating environment with art supplies and a blank journal, and where the parent doesn't really care if the journal is ever used or not. I wondered if the difference in her two sons' reaction to their use of the discovery journal could possibly be due to the child's interest or learning style; the son who was so creative with detailed writing entries may have a talent or special enjoyment of composing written journal entries rather than focusing on having more drawn images.

I appreciated the listing of published nature journals that are on the market today and plan to use these lists for future reading "wish lists". However, being completely untalented in any area of artistic endeavor, I was wishing for some references for books for beginners, to learn basic drawing and watercolor skills. The author made it clear that she taught herself to draw and paint by just doing it, practicing and experimenting and feels we all should do it this way. While the notion of not needing to take classes or read books before starting a journal is appealing, it is actually scary to me. Here again, I think the author's own learning style preference of just doing it and jumping in as a novice is due to her own learning style, whereas my comfort level-learning style is to learn a little about technique from reading about it to give me some concrete information and some confidence, before facing the blank page.

All in all when I finished the book I was excited at the idea of planned time in nature to observe, relax, and de-stress. I have always wanted to learn to draw and paint and this book has really inspired me. I also appreciated the content to support my continued attempt to have my own Charlotte Mason style homeschooled children keep a nature journal.

I would have preferred a bit more detail about which brands of art supplies are good, rather than her just saying "ask the storekeeper at the art supply store" for recommendations of good products.

I enjoyed the small black and white photographs of the discovery journal entries which ranged from her young children's art to her own beautiful entries. They were nice to see and helped me get a gist for what is typical of young children's drawings (when they are not taking formal art lessons).

Note: I wrote this review in April 2003. I continue to recommend this book as it is the most `real' book about nature journaling with children that I've ever seen. I also have since tried drawing in pencil and ink. I have read other books on art journals and drawing, check my profile to read those.

A wonderful resource from beginning to end!
This book is exactly what I was looking for - and I didn't even know it. I thought the book would be basic explanations of keeping a nature notebook with the bonus of having the authors (and her children's) sketches in it. I was VERY pleased to find that it was that, plus a whole lot more. A homeschooling mom has written the book and she very articulately shows how using journals can incorporate into more than just art or nature study. In the book, I found a brief history of different people who have kept journals through the ages and the various reasons why. (This alone has given me many ideas in helping to introduce journals to my children.) She goes on to give suggestions on how to get started and what supplies are needed. Five different chapters are included on teaching & incorporating various subjects with your Discovery Journals. And the appendices give a list of books with examples of nature studies, and a list of famous men & women whose journals can be looked into for further study. I found this to be a wonderful resource. I have always kept journals but never ventured into keeping a nature journal. This will be an excellent resource to get me started and keep me going and its quite a bargain for all the information packed into this lovely little book.