Wild Science: Nature Journaling

This is a Reprint of an Article that I wrote for Yakima Family Times.

The girls grab their back packs and quickly head for the door. I grab my own backpack filled with water bottles, colored pencils, drawing paper, and my copy of The Handbook of Nature Studies by Anna Comstock and we are out the door.

The drive to Cowiche Canyon is short and we are soon off on what has become one of our favorite family activities. I park the car in the parking area and the girls unbuckle their car seats, we are on our way.

We are greeted by two white geese with brown spots on their heads. They have become the welcoming crew as we enter a new world. A little farther on two donkeys named Misty and Glory stand silent watching us as we walk past.

A short walk and we come to the first bridge. The girls grab some sticks from the nearby area and play a quick game of Pooh Sticks. This innocent childhood game was taught to my children by their Uncle Dave, from England, when he accompanied us on one of our adventures. One, two, three, the four sticks are dropped from the bridge into the water, the girls rush to the other side of the bridge and eagerly watch to see whose stick comes out first.


Further along the trail we come to the area my children have named The Moss Garden. When we first discovered it in February it was a beautiful frozen waterfall, by mid March the frozen ice was gone and a small trickling waterfall was visible. In April my girls had discovered the velvety green moss that grows on the rocks feed by the trickling stream. To them this is a magical place where fairies hide.

Now, the search begins. Each child looks for a new discovery. It may be a plant, flower, rock, track or animal. Their eyes search and their voices quiet as they look for the item of interest. When found, each child sits down and pulls out her drawing pad. With varying levels of skill they draw whatever item has captured their interest. Once, Beth’s sharp eyes found a deer track in the mud. Some days the girls take the time to color their drawing on the trail, other days a quick sketch is all that is done, then its off for more searching.


While the girls are sketching their discovery, I pull out The Handbook of Nature Studies and quickly look up the new discovery. This book is a goldmine of information, not only providing wonderful facts about a wide variety of plants, trees, flowers, animals, rocks and stars, but also providing thought provoking questions, and even poetry when applicable.

I read out loud from the book while the girls draw. We talk about what I have read and study the item intently. When all of the girls are finished with their drawing we pack up our supplies and begin the walk back to the car.

Along the way the girls point out previous discoveries. The bush with red sticks that was discovered in February, the red standing out against the then gray landscape, bloomed into a fuzzy grey pussy willow in early April.

By the time we reach the first bridge again, Amy’s legs are usually tired and she begs a piggy-back ride. We load back into the car and drive home, the girls more relaxed after their excision outside.

At home the girls get their Nature Journals, they glue the picture they have drawn into their book. They then take a piece of lined paper and write about the days discovery. If I found a poem in The Nature Handbook the older girls will copy it and add it to their journal.