Nature Journaling: 4 Ink and Paint Lessons to Observe Like a Scientist.

I love nature journaling and will teach students four lessons they can use to enhance their nature journaling practice. We will use the natural world as our inspiration for this series.  The class will begin with a little introduction to myself, watercolor painting and field journaling skills, and a discussion about journaling outside.  I will ask students to share their outdoor experiences with the class in the classroom through weekly comments and posts of their work as we move through the class to get feedback. This is a four-lesson class, and each week there will be a video and pictures posted about how to begin the lesson and the journal entry for the week. 

Each week you will receive a video lesson and some video inspiration from the woods where I live or from my travels in the mountains.

Lesson one topic: About your journal and 'Zoom in, Zoom Out
This lesson focuses on observing things from a distance and then observing the same object from a close range and making new observations.

Week two topic: 'The naming of names'
This lesson focuses on the naming of plants and animals. Learning about plant families and using a field guide, and generating our own names for things.

Week three topic: 'Gesture sketching moving animals'
This lesson focuses on drawing living things that might be moving and how one can go about doing that. Also, what animal movement suggests about behavior.

Week four topic: 'Visual collections'
This lesson asks students to focus on one theme, like 'New growth,' or 'Things that are blue'...etc. Students will choose a topic and then spend time looking for these things and making notes in their journals. 

Students will have access to a class Padlet where they can see images of and like the work of others. All posts need to be approved by me, so only appropriate posts will go up. The Padlet works like a giant bulletin board where students can see their peer's work and get more ideas about what to try on their own. They can also ask questions in the classroom and share techniques that worked. I will also use Google slides to show reference images to look at. When parents enroll in the class they will get a QR code and a video on how to post on Padlet. Padlet is free to join. I just log in with my Google account.
I am skilled at differentiating content for many ages and learning needs in a kind and supportive style. I like to talk with students while they work and discuss and show what we are working on. Grades 3-9 are my favorite ages to teach to and learn with. I will have a camera on my journal while I draw/paint, but will also post images of my journal and samples of my process and materials. Students will be able to ask questions as we go and be able to add to their drawings based on prior experience.