This book inspired me to start my own nature journal and gave me the confidence to draw in it! Wonderful, encouraging and instructional. If I can draw nature, then anyone can!

Okay, this is a winner! If you do NOT have it on your bookshelf then get it! This has become one of the required textbooks for many of my courses. (Visit my Amazon page for more information.)

It is flat out beautiful -- the beauty is that it is filled with the illustrations and notes by the authors. The book delves into the questions you might have, doubts that might arise -- and those get answered but the book allows and encourages creativity and growth through the nature journal process.

You'll find hints for what tools to pick for your illustrations and notes, tips for observing, what information you might want to include, how to overcome your critical mind, beginning drawing exercises and tips on how to enchance your creativity. You'll find a seasonal section that gives some good suggestions for documenting natural changes and events. Later there are more drawing exercises on shading, drawing flowers, anatomy, landscapes, etc. There are also samples of different journal techniques, tips on how to set up a nature study, how to keep records, how to journal for a scientific study or biological research project and still more!

Toward the end of the book group journaling and exploring is discussed. What you will also find are valuable tips for quizzes, writing, science, art, history, music and math projects. The suggested reading list and assessment scale for the journal or porfolio are also vital resources within this book.

If you are not convince now you never will be! One of the best personal journaling _and_ teaching books I've encountered this last year.

What makes this book so great? It is partially a nature journal itself, yet it is full of *real* ideas for your notebooks. I love the authors' drawings and comments, and how they help you draw well with small exercises. I was amazed at how well I could draw a bird after doing the bird sketches they recommend. They include sidebars with annectdotes of teaching approaches. They suggest ways to make a note book your own, to make it more interesting, and to make it more scientific, too!

Some of my favorite pages in the book are city or country landscapes, including houses and buildings. The authors remind us that humans are part of nature, and what they build is too, just as a wasps' nest is. A drawing of a street in Cambridge MA made me a bit homesick...but it also reminded me that this would be our last year with a cabana at the beach. I started documenting our days there, and rather than take photos, I tried to record our days in pictures I drew. These are not amazingly Rembrant-esque, but they accurately reflect the days we spent. With a bit of help from this book, I was able to capture perspective and shadowing as I drew my children and the local flora and fauna, and add comments as I draw--the time and temperature, what the animals are doing, when the last rain fall was, or how I felt. The entries in this notebook include the buildings and benches, the fences and the kites--everything it take s to capture a scene.

Leslie and Roth talk about different types of notebooks, with examples. Seasonal notebooks capture the changing wilderness; scientific notebooks record observations with commentary. A notebook may include only flora or fauna. It may record a journey or special occasion.

A nifty section includes a discussion of materials and tools for drawing. Leslie demonstrates pens vs. pencils and markers, drawing the same leaf with several different tools. She tells us her preferences, but leaves us to choose for ourselves.

One side-bar includes the author's reflexion on teaching nature journaling: When asked about drawing in an nature notebook, one second grader said, "Well, I can draw the sky." That's how I felt about drawing...and yet that phrase says so much about nature notebooks. The sky is so big, yet so simple. I think this sums up the whole book. Keeping a nature notebook is so simple, yet such a big part of our education.

An excellent book to get you started with capturing little pieces of nature to bring indoors with you. Truly helps diminish the "Oh, I can't do that" syndrome. Take the kids with you and make a project of it. You'll find it's easy and fun too.

This book was recommended in our homeschool loop. I bought the book hoping for some ideas to get me started, always wanted to start but felt uncomfortable about just doing it. The book will end all your worries! I was very impressed by the books contents and how easy it was to get started. My 5 1/2 year old daughter and I have started with the very basics as part of our daily school lessons and I plan to add more as we progress. You do not have to be an artist to do this! This is your journal and you do what you want in it, nobody needs to see it unless you want to share it. It will make you become more observant to your surroundings and the way things are constantly changing. A great base for any homeschool program.

If you're into nature and you haven't lost touch with a child's wonder, you will enjoy Nature Journaling. A great book for families who like to wander together or for adults who want to reconnect with their natural surroundings.

Ancient Celtic Festivals deserves ongoing mention as a fine resource for kids ages 8-12 years, which explains how modern celebrations are rooted in ancient Celtic history and festivals. Links between the ancient rituals and how they are celebrated today require good reading skills but reward with many insights.

Month by month the Northeast US outdoor scene brings changes in the plants, animals, and climate. Opportunities for children to become involved in observation and simple projects are related to several attractively illustrated pages for each month. I've bought several copies of this book over the years, and am delighted it's back in print. Preschool and primary classrooms will find much to enjoy; youngsters refer over and over to favorite pages. It would make a nice present to a child's classroom; if there's already one there, so much the better!