Curious Kids Nature Journal: 100 Ways to Explore the Outdoor Wonders of the Pacific Northwest

by Fiona Cohen, Marni Fylling (Illustrator)

Overview

Full of journaling prompts and activities focused on the natural world, this companion to the bestselling Curious Kids Nature Guide will encourage kids to get outdoors and engage with nature.

This outdoor journal and activity book, organized by ecosystem, is the perfect complement to the Curious Kids Nature Guide. Kids are encouraged to use their senses to explore nature in their own backyards and beyond and make observations.

Over 100 color and scientifically accurate illustrations help kids more easily look for and identify plants and animals, as well as natural phenomena, such as animal tracks and nurse logs. Writing, drawing, and activity prompts inspire kids to record and track their observations.

For kids who want to take their exploration and journal recording to another level, kid-friendly citizen science projects are noted for activities like bird counts, insect tracking, and marine debris tracking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632173843
Publisher:	Blue Star Press
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Series:	Curious Kids
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,092,511
Product dimensions:	8.02(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

FIONA COHEN is a long-standing volunteer with Seattle Audubon, has connections with Seattle Parks, North Cascades Institute, Washington Library Media Association, and other local nature groups in Washington and British Columbia.

A science illustrator, writer, and educator, MARNI FYLLING has a BS in zoology from UC Davis and a graduate certificate in natural science illustration from UC Santa Cruz. Her favorite thing to do is explore tide pools—although sketching insects and wildflowers (or just about anything else) is a close second. She is the author/illustrator of Fylling's Illustrated Guide to Pacific Coast Tide Pools and Fylling's Illustrated Guide to Nature in Your Neighborhood.

Read an Excerpt

CONTENTS
Introduction VII
FOREST AND MEADOWS 1
BEACH 41 
FRESHWATER 83
BACKYARDS AND NEIGHBORHOODS 115
Explore More! 155
Index 161

INTRODUCTION

You are a nature explorer, and this is your journal.Why have a journal? To keep a record of what you observe in the world. Observing means more than just looking at something. It means using a combination of senses to take in what’s in front of you. It means making measurements and asking questions about what you find. Questions like: How many? How big? Where was it going? What was it doing? When you make a careful note of what you find with your senses and your measurements, you are using one of the most powerful tools ever invented for figuring out what is going on in the world: science. Scientists observe and they make sure to record what they actually find, even if it’s not what they expected to find. 

How You Use This Book Is Up to You

How you record your observations and what you choose to keep in this book is entirely up to you. You can write or draw your observations—or both! Or you can take pictures and glue them on the pages. You can use tape to attach leaves you find. Maybe there’s a grown-up who can help you write things down. Or you might use a phone or a computer to take dictation for you, and then print out and glue your words here.You may want to share your observations with professional scientists. Sometimes they rely on people like you. People who record and share their observations about nature with professional scientists are called “citizen scientists,” and they help scientists answer important questions. Some entries have suggested citizen science projects that you could participate in, and there’s additional information and a full list of projects on page 155 of the journal. It’s fun to express yourself, and when you record your experiences, you think about them more and understand them more. If you struggle with writing as I did when I was a kid, don’t let it stop you from recording what you find.

Drawing Tips

The kind of drawings scientists who study nature make are different from what you might do to make a pretty picture. When they draw, they are showing the details they want to remember. It doesn’t matter if the whole picture looks like anything you might recognize, just that the details are there. One of the cool things about drawing is that it makes you concentrate on the thing you are observing, and when you concentrate, you notice more things about it. You will make mistakes. Everybody does, and it’s OK. You are not drawing to impress anyone, just to record what you noticed around you.

Some tricks to make drawing easier:

• Before you start, take a long look at the thing you are drawing, and decide what details are important to you.
• While looking at the thing, trace around it in the air with your finger. Then draw the shape on the paper.
• If you see a mistake, don’t let it stop you. Keep going. You’ll figure out how to fix it faster if you keep putting pencil to paper.

Tools for Exploration

Tools you should bring when you’re exploring nature:

• This book. Don’t worry about getting it dirty. It’s supposed to be dirty. You should be proud of every smear.
• Pencils. They’re better than pens; they write in the rain, and you can erase them. Bring a few in case you break one.
• A ruler. There’s one on the cover of the book, but you might want to bring along another one too.
•A small plastic container, in case you find something you want to hold in place so you can have a closer look.

Other useful tools:

• A magnifying glass or hand lens, to look at small things. You can use the magnification feature on a smartphone too.

• Binoculars, for looking at things far away. It takes some skill to use these. When you find something you want to see through binoculars, keep your eyes on it while bringing the binoculars up to your face. Don’t look away! This is not that easy, and it takes everybody a few tries to learn how to do it, so don’t give up. Seeing things that are far away up close is worth it.

• Field guides. This book has information about only some of the many living things around us. At the end of this journal, there’s a list of good field guides that will give you a more complete view of different topics.You could bring one or two with you when you go out, or have them waiting at home for when you return with your observations.

One more tool we hope you need:

•  A blank notebook, for when you run out of space in this journal to write about everything you discover.

Rules to Follow

As you go out and explore nature, you need to follow some rules:

1. Be safe and obey the rules of the trail.

2. Be careful with the living things you are looking at. Don’t pick flowers. When you pick up a log or a rock, always put it back carefully when you are done. When you pick up an animal to look at it closely, be gentle and always put it back.

3. Take some time to stop and be quiet while you explore. When you do that you’ll notice a lot more.

4. Don’t worry about getting your hands dirty. There are a few living things that might sting you, but it’s safe to touch most things you find in the wild. Just be sure to wash your hands before you eat.

Happy exploring!

Editorial Reviews

"Between these pages, Cohen and illustrator Marni Fylling have created the perfect place for kids ages 6-11 to document what they see and learn in nature"—Seattle's Child

From the Publisher