The giveaway is over but I invite you to read all about this encouraging nature journal product and then click over to Nadene’s website to order your own copy.
I know many of us are always trying to find ways to add some spark to our child’s nature journaling experience. We sort of get stuck in a rut with just a quick sketch and a caption…which is a perfectly fine way to keep a nature journal. But, sometimes it is fun to mix it up a bit and try something completely different.
Perhaps your child hates a blank page or they don’t think they sketch well.
Are you looking for an inexpensive downloadable nature journal product that your whole family will enjoy?
Have I got an option for you!
My friend Nadene Esterhuizen from Practical Pages has created her first in a series of Smash This Nature Journal downloads. What a great idea!
- It was super easy to download the file, read the printing instructions, print the pages, and then get started with the prompts in the journal. The prompts do not need to be done in any order so you can pick a page that fits your nature experience of the day.
- I used my comb binder to bind up my journal but Nadene says in her instructions that you can “staple, bind, tie, or secure” the pages instead. You might want to try this method: Rubberband and Paperclip.
- Most of the pages can be completed in just a few minutes so plan on completely more than one during your outdoor time.
- Children can use this book independently if they can read.
- Not all of the pages require drawing…some are of a more creative suggestion! I love the variety of ideas in this journal!
- This product is inexpensive and can be printed as many times as you want for your family
- There are few supplies you will need with this journal but all are common household items you most likely already have on hand.
- See sample ideas and pages in her entry: Smash This Nature Journal #1.
I love this nature journal idea so much that I asked Nadene if I could review and then giveaway some copies of this for my readers. She generously has supplied three copies of the Smash This Nature Journal #1 for me to share with three lucky families! Enter below using the Rafflecopter gadget…..easy to enter with just a comment answering a nature journal question.
Giveaway is over – Congratulations to the winners!
Don’t miss this giveaway which will end on Thursday night at midnight. I will randomly choose three entries to win their very own copy of this download and announce the winners on Facebook on Friday. I will also contact you via Rafflecopter (email) in order to deliver your electronic prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
My biggest struggle is getting my kids to pay attention more than a minute. I want them to want more, to want to know more, and learn.
I love the idea of keeping nature journals with my children, but we had so much struggle in the early years that I stopped trying. I wish I had seen something like this when the kids were just starting, but I think that even now we might be able to make a new start. Thanks for sharing your discovery of these journal pages and offering a raffle!
I think our biggest struggle is having my girls stay interested. They love going outside but their interest in their surroundings and observing quickly turns to play, which isn’t all bad, but would love for them to focus just a bit more. Thanks for the giveaway!!
Our biggest struggle is just not taking the time to DO it! As my daughter has gotten older, it has just fallen off the regular schedule. Guess I need to give it a higher priority!
Just finding a quiet place and time in the big city.
We have been doing nature study on an irregular basis over the last 7 years. The struggle is finding different things to explore as we live in a gated community with no real back yard. How often can we study the same tree or bush or small patch of grass?
Our biggest struggle is with having a large family in such a variety of ages that it takes forever just to get everybody out the door, so usually end up sending my bigger children out to play while still tending to the smaller ones and, all too quickly, the moment is gone. 😉
Our biggest struggle is finding larger blocks of time to spend outdoors and then following it up with journal entries that we will enjoy looking back on in the future.
My biggest problem is making the time to spend outside and then when we do, keeping everyone focused.
We struggle with making the time. As much as I love nature study and as important as I know it is to my kids’ education, it always seems to take a back burner to math and reading and history – the things the district requires I do.
Just sticking with it is our struggle.
My biggest struggle with nature journaling is getting my older kids to get focused with it. We love the outdoors, but the moment gets lost once we get down to journaling.
Our biggest struggle is just stopping and making the time. I know we need it.
Our biggest struggle is getting them to journal. My boys are 6 & 7 and they both love the outdoors and seeing what’s new or different in our yard. Actually recording their observations is much more difficult.
Our struggle is taking the time to do nature journaling. I love the concept and even print off pages to do, but the time slips away…..
My kids are all really young still so I suppose the hardest part about working on our nature journal (we do a family one right now) is getting everyone out the door and then keeping the baby happy! :o) Thanks for the chance to win! I was thinking of letting my son start his own journal for kindergarten this fall and this looks perfect!
Our largest challenge is finding/making the time to go outside and do our nature journaling. It seems like by the time we get the reading, writing, and arithmetic work done, that nature journaling sometimes seems to fall off the “end” of the day when everybody is “done.” I’m thinking that I just need to turn our day upside down a couple of days a week and get us outside early in the morning before the rest of the day hits us.
It’s hard starting a young child with no experience yet in nature study. This would be a great way to start!
What a great idea. My daughter always bucks at doing nature journals. I want her to enjoy nature and the beauty around her and she just holds her nose up. But guess what. We STILL do it!!!!
We started doing nature journals years ago when my older children were a lot younger. We didn’t stay with it long, but I would love to start back again! I think we just got caught up in putting more time in their “book work”.
Our biggest struggle is just getting out there and doing it, then getting everyone to record what they’ve seen/found. Thanks for the opportunity to try a new approach through your giveaway.
Remembering to bring it with us
My biggest struggle is that I feel like I know nothing about nature so how could I teach the kids? I know that I need to learn right alongside them but it always gets the back seat to everything else that needs done.
The idea that there is a “right” thing to draw can be a hard thing for the kids to face when they open their journals to a fresh blank page.
I never have trouble getting my daughter interested in the nature study itself, but she is not a natural writer and the journaling portion is not something she enjoys.
My challenge is remembering to bring the journals and related materials! With packing snacks, water, appropriate clothing for various weather in different habitats (chilling wind along the river, hot sun in the field), I switch to different sized bags and forget something. Plus, when I bring colored pencils, the kids want to paint, etc.
My biggest struggle was being consistent in getting outside rain or shine. We solved this by teaming up with another family for nature study. I don’t want to let them down, so when the weather is icky I put on my boots and a waterproof coat and out we go!
Our biggest struggle would be time, well lack of. Or that we are out and about and we don’t have our journal with us at the right moment….ugh. And have to ask….Barbara are the Sprint car races still held in Placerville? I grew up near there and my dad used to take us…sure miss that.
Yes, the Placerville Speedway is still in full swing…every Saturday night spring to fall. 🙂
Mine is weather nice enough to sit & draw and second, the ability of sitting and drawing while chasing a 2.5 y/o boy!!
Our biggest struggle right now is gettin into nature to do our nature study! That is about to change. Nice weather is coming and my kids are a little older.
I love it!!
I make myself too busy with other things. We do things in nature, but to sit down with a journal-“takes too long.” Horrible excuse, I know. This looks like a great idea though as the work does not seem to be long and drawn out. And definitely looks loads of fun.
Some of your links above do not work for me unfortunately and I am unsure of the exact ‘journal question’ due to that. From looking through comments I am assuming it is something along the lines of what our struggle might be? For us, it is making more time for journal work. We do a lot, but I would love to add in more as they are both really coming into age for ease and feeling more successful. Thanks for the chance to win!
My biggest struggle is just making the time for nature journaling. We love to be in nature and “study” nature, but documenting it is always put off for another day. I’m looking forward to taking a look at this new resource. Thanks.
I wish my girls would be motivated on their own to journal details and take more time on nature study. They enjoy being outside and going on nature walks, but the recording of these or drawing can seem more taxing to them. I’m thankful for all the resources you’ve recommended like using the Drawing with Children book and your ideas with that.
Getting everyone to sit down together – I think i need to lower my expectations sometimes!
Trying to make time to fit it into our day
We live in sprawling suburbia. There is one great park next to our neighborhood but we have taken our son there since he was born. Any other interesting places are a journey for us. I need something to help us see things with fresh eyes.! I am from another part of the country and grew up with hills and woods all around. My current area is flat and I even need help finding it interesting. The struggle is real!
My biggest struggle is my son strongly dislikes writing and art. This might be something he would enjoy.
Our biggest struggle is having Mother Nature agree with my schedule. Often, she will foil my plans with thunderstorms, choking humidity, and/or scorching heat. Then, I have a hard time coming up with a new plan for our nature journal for the day. It would be so nice to have a resource to grab when my plans get ruined and I need something different or on the fly.
Our biggest struggle is also just making nature study/journaling a priority. As my children have gotten older, the day seems to fly by. Before I know it, another season has blown by and we haven’t done it. We were better about it when I had all littles, 5 or 6 and under. I miss it a lot.
My biggest struggle is actually getting started, so this would be a fantastic opportunity for my children!
I love this! And it will work overseas. Bonus! Thanks for sharing and caring.
The sample looks great! What a fun, engaging way to get kids nature journaling.
We are beginning Charlotte Mason style homeschooling and nature journaling is something we are looking forward to learning as a family 🙂 Will look into this option for help! Thank you!
My biggest struggle would have to be my health. We used to go on walks every day, but it’s been almost 6 months since I’ve been well enough for that.
My biggest challenge is living in a desert snd not having a variety.
Actually doing what we read about.
Actually doing what we went outside to do. For example we started learning about the trees in our yard and study them for summer, fall, winter, spring but getting out there and doing it is a struggle since my girls start picking up pinecones, then that drifts into picking up sticks then that leads to piling them up so we can have a fire that night and so on …..
My biggest struggle would be consistency.
Finding the time. It seems as though whenever the weather is really nice and I try to set aside a chunk of time for us to work on this, the kids are so excited to be outside that they try to get away with a fast sketch and then want to play … which is not exactly my intention ……
Our biggest struggle is dealing with dysgraphia. Both my girls have issues not only with writing, but with drawing and coloring as well. We have done Vision and Occupational Therapy and while things have improved, it’s never going to be easy for them.
My biggest struggle is doing other things instead for school. Pacific NW rain is also a snag for us too.
As a science and nature person, this is my favorite part to learn about and I want so much to help spark that interest more in my son!:)
Our biggest struggle in accomplishing our Nature Study is being able to actually get outside… It is so rainy here in the PNW, and so often coordinating our schedules with the weather is too much!… But we still love them, even if they aren’t as consistent as I would like.
My biggest struggle with Nature Study is helping my youngest understand that he is learning to draw and see nature right now. That is will take time for his drawings to actually match what he is seeing.
my biggest struggle is getting them to slow down and pay attention to nature.
The hardest part about nature journalling is making it a consistent part of what we do…instead of a vacation thing. My kids have their own “journals” that they use as scrapbooks. I would love to teach them to include nature instead of cutting out of magazines!
It seems by the time we get the core subjects in we have run out o f time. I hate rushing through a lesson.
As much as we like to get out and explore, my biggest challenge is getting them to sit quietly in order to journal. Then, there is always the problem if I am able to have them journal, when one is finished and gets impatient to keep wandering about, while the other is still trying to journal.
We wax and wane with our nature studies; out biggest struggle is to be consistent.
Making it a habit! A journal like this would be easy to have by the front door or in the van for a quick nature journal time during our normal outdoor activities.
Consistency is our biggest struggle, for sure!
Our biggest challenge is coming up with time to slow down and really enjoy nature. This is the time of year when we prefer to be outdoors most of the day, and as a result spend more time taking hikes in the woods or on the beach…we just need to take the time to enjoy it the rest of the year too 🙂
Making the time to do it! We do the nature walks, but then get home and don’t do the journals!
My biggest struggle is not being able to draw, it kind of deters me from wanting to do a nature journal myself
and then we all end u not taking time for nature journaling.
My biggest struggle is getting the kids to put time and effort into it, instead of just doing what they have to in order to be done.
For us it tends to be worry about the quality of the final product stopping us from really jumping in and trying new ways to put ourselves, what we see, and what we love into them. “I can’t draw a bird so I’ll just draw this flower.” That is what is holding us back.
My biggest struggle is making it a priority and just getting it done. I need to stop treating it as an extra – something we do if we have time.
Lack of enthusiasm! They just don’t get exited like I would hope.
We love nature study! We try to take our notebooks outside once a week, but it seems that the busyness of life gets in the way too often and another week has gone by without doing it. So, I guess my biggest struggle would be slowing down enough to spend the time regularly. Thanks for the lovely giveaway!
Honestly, just making time to get outside each day.
My biggest problem, is that I have not given Nature Study enough attention… I think the “Smash This Nature Journal” by Nadene Esterhuizen will motivate me as well as my three wonderful kids!!!
Thank you for the great idea and give-away!
It is hard to slow down and just take the time to journal. I would love to try this with my boys.
We love going out into nature. We observe, talk, smell, etc. but forget to journal! We get caught up in the moment, I guess.
Our biggest challenge is making the time to journal! We enjoy our hours outdoors but my kids are constantly moving when we’re out and I forget when we come into set out materials. I am also not sure of the best way to incorporate it into our day – what kind of journal to use, how to prompt my kids, etc!
I struggle with actually going outside.
We struggle with taking the time to journal. We have two lovely acres and a park close by. I just need to plan better.
Taking time to stop and journal in the moment of a discovery is my biggest challenge. Often I may take a picture of an item and say we’re going to draw it later. Sadly, once we’re home, the moment and magic has passed.
Biggest struggle is to savour and linger in nature that will last beyond picking up sticks. I too would love to have observational studies but it’s too tedious for my active boys. With this wacky journal, I think it’ll be just the catalyst for a smashing outdoor time! I can already imagine the twinkle and roars of laughter at the suggestions!! Thank you for sharing this awesome idea!
My biggest struggle is being consistent and recording what we see. It is the extra effort, but I know it is worth it!
Our biggest struggle is the heat where we live. It limits the number of months that we can enjoy being outside. It also limits what we see in a desert climate which often gets monotonous.
I’ve never learned how to do nature journaling and that’s our biggest challenge. I want to try it but it seems overwhelming.
I too find it hard to keep the momentum from the things we see while out to the kids actually wanting to sit down and journal. Taking something with us is definitely a good idea!
I struggle to get into weekly routine! But will get there…
My struggle is to get everyone together and motivated. Some are more reluctant than others. I read about this journal a while ago, and I’ve been planning to give it a try.
I struggle with getting outside with them consistently.
My children LOVE keeping notebooks and LOVE drawing nature pictures. I just need places to go that are safe from: strange men and their dogs (that’s a scary story – at least the police were quick), moose (how can something so big hide behind twigs?), and bear (enough said). We now do CAR nature studies. Safely tucked away in my motor vehicle, enjoying nature from the road side… If I could get my husband to enjoy nature walks, I wouldn’t worry as much about walking around.
My daughter and I have enjoyed keeping a nature journal but wanting to make it meat and perfect creates pause on many occasions. This seems like a good area to dive into and maybe ease the tension.
My daughter and I have enjoyed keeping a nature journal but wanting to make it meat and perfect creates pause on many occasions. This seems like a good area to dive into and maybe ease the tension. 🙂
I struggle with the whole thing….getting started, making the time, staying interested, being creative! I think this nature journal idea is great!!!
Our biggest struggle is remembering to take our nature journal WITH US!! LOL
Remembering to take them with!