Field Journal

 

Along our adventures, we decided to make a field journal to document the places we have been and the memories we make along the way. You can use any notebook or journal, I will put the link to the journals we use down below if you like the look of what we use. They are small and easily portable.

There isn't an exact plan for what we decide to draw or what we decide to capture as we write in our field journal. Between a four year old and what he thinks is memorable such as "watering trees" and what adults find memorable we just give him a pen and he decides what memories he wants to draw. Eventually our goal is to slowly incorporate writing as he gets older. Here are suggestions:

• Notebook
• Blank Kraft Travel Journal Notebook
• Softcover Spiral Notebook/Spiral Journal, Kraft Cover, 50 Sheets
• Use a well-sharpened pencil or ball point pen (I have a favorite of course)
• Paper Mate Gel Pens | InkJoy Pens, Medium Point 
• End each park visit by writing down the basics:
• park name/location
• date
• weather conditions: is it cloudy, sunny, windy, raining?
• Record your observations. Some things to consider recording are:

I ask the boys questions...

• any fruits or flowers on individual trees or plants?
• if they observed any kinds of insects? insects and plants as they are feeding and pollinating?

When we get home, I trace part of the park that we traveled on into the notebook. I document cool things we found on our adventure and document the information on where we went and when we went there.

Then I let him take over. I let him decide what he wants to document. We do have a rule: PENCIL first and then he can outline it or color it in. Typically he is done drawing after he does his initial pencil drawing, but he has colored a time or two. I love spending this time with him and it is fun to "debrief" after our #guentheradventures.

                                                                    He likes to document with pictures. We haven't decided how to incorporate his picture documentations, so for now we will share with you fellow readers and bloggers. Maybe our next step will be to create a photo journal? Or an online blog of his pictures and discoveries?! 

#guentheradventures