“Let me keep my mind on what matters which is my work which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.”
― Mary Oliver

Nature journaling is the practice of keeping an illustrated, observational journal of the natural world around you.  A nature journal helps focus our attention, observations, thoughts, and experiences.  It is a practice followed for centuries by many of the world's greatest minds.  In this class, we will learn and practice the skill of keeping a nature journal.  

In this class we will collect and organize our observations, questions, connections, and explanations on the pages of a notebook using words pictures, and numbers. Through the practice of narure journaling, learners will develop observation, curiosity, gratitude, reverence, memory, and the skills of a naturalist. We will discover and integrate new information with our existing knowledge, and train our minds to embrace curiosity and inquiry. Learners will develop mindfulness of their natural surroundings and pay learn to pay attention to detail. Though a practice of nature journaling, learners will increase an appreciation of nature's beauty, improve recognition of different species, and have an understanding of their local flora and fauna. This is done while also improving the ability of writing, drawing, and researching. This will provide time to be in nature, listen, and have some quiet time. Not all of our learning will be done on screen learners will be encouraged to go outside, bring items to class, and even do outside research for their journals. 

Each week will have a theme, learners will come to class prepared with found items, or reasearch about the assigned theme.  After a discussion on the topic, we will add drawings and notes to our journals.  While I will be providing a directed drawing, learners are always encouraged to use their own inspiration to create their jornal page.  After drawing, the learners will get the chance to label the parts of their nature drawing, which I will provide a diagram of what they can label on their drawing.  All art supplies are welcome in this class.  At the end of class,  learners will also be asked to share their completed journal page. 

Week of January 30: Rocks and the rock cycle.  Homework: bring a few rocks to class that you have found around your home.  If you can, look up the rocks to discover what type they are.  We will draw the rock cycle and different rocks
Week of February 6: Landforms.  Homework: What type of landforms are around you? Do you live on or near an island, a canyon, near the mountains or a waqterfall?  We will discuss the types of areas we live and create landscape drawings
Week of  February 13: Weather.  Homework:  What's the weather like where you live? Do you have snow, rain, sun?  We will discuss how weather changes and why and create drawings reflecting weather.
Week of February 20: Phases of the Moon.  Homework: Spend the week noting what the moon looks like each night, and your thoughts on the moon. We will draw the phases of the moon. 
Week of February 27: Constellations.  Homework:  Check out the stars this week.  Do you know any of the constellations?  We will discuss the origins of constellations and then draw one
Week of March 6: Trees.  Homework: What types of trees grow in your neighborhood?  Look outside or take a walk and make note of the tree shapes you see?  Do you know what they are called?  Notice the bark texture, the leaf shapes.  We will discuss the anatomy of a tree and draw trees.
Week of March 13: Leaves. Homework: Bring any leaves you can find to class.  We will identify the leaves and lable them, and make leaf rubbings.

NO CLASS WEEK OF MARCH 20

Week of March 27th: Other tree offerings.  Homework: Do the trees in your area drop other things besides leaves?  Can you find pinecones, flowers, fruit, seeds, nuts?  We will check out other items from trees and arrange them in a fun pattern in our journals
Week of April 3: Lichen. Homework: Check out the trees, rocks, and even walls in your neighborhood.  Do you see any green or orange growing on them?  Notice the textures and colors you see.  We will discuss the nature of lichen and draw the types we observed. 
Week of April 10: Mushrooms.  Homework: Look, but don't touch any mushrooms or toadstools in your neighborhood.  We will discuss the varieties of mushrooms and make drawings in our journal. 
Week of April 17: Insects.  Homework: On a nature walk, what insects do you notice.  We will discuss differnt insect types, their anatomy and life cycles.  
Week of April 24: Flowers. Homework: Has spring sprung where you live?  What types of flowers grow in your area?  If you can, bring some examples to class. We will make a diagram of the anatormy of a flower.
Week of May 1 Bees.  Homework: What are your thoughts and feelings about bees?  We will discuss the purpose of bees in nature and make a drawing and diagram of a bee's anatomy.
Week of May 8: Butterflies. Homework: What types of butterflies live in your area?  We will discuss the different varieties of butterflies and make drawings of these colorful insects
Week of May 25: Insects. Homework: Make note of the insects you see around your home and neighborhood. We will discuss the purpose of several different bug varieties and make drawings of their anatomy