Nature Journal Ideas using the cards

Nature journaling doesn’t need to be just one way. Children can bring their creativity to the experience. We can think of nature journaling as a record of our growing relationship with nature. That relationship isn’t just about learning facts and names. It can also be about how we feel with nature and the different ways we want to express that through writing, art, poetry, drawing, photography and more. Here are a few ideas for your nature journal as you study flowers. 

• Take photos of the different flowers that you see.
• Write a list of words describing flowers that you see
• Have fun making up your own names for flowers
• Research the folk names of flowers and find out why some of them have those names (it’s often do with the plants uses)
• Draw the flowers using crayons, watercolours, or pencils.
• Draw a really big picture of the flowers.
• Press flowers and make arrangements in your journal.

Make tiny bouquets (from our summer rhythm)

This is something that will delight anyone in the house –  I mean, who doesn’t smile when they see a tiny bouquet in a tiny jar next to their bed, or kitchen sink, or on the table, or window sill… basically your child will enjoy making these so much that they will make as many as they can! Keep small jars and bottles for activities like these. Gather a selection of small flowers and leaves with your child. Bring them home and have fun arranging them in the little bottles.

Make a daisy or dandelion chain

This is such a sweet and simple activity for all ages. Little hands will enjoy picking the daisies (making sure to leave a long stem) and older children will enjoy creating the chains. There are two ways of making a flower chain. You can split the stem, using your nail to cut a hole in the stem which the next flower can be threaded through. The second way of making a flower chain is by folding the stems around each other, holding in each flower in place with the next. You need more flowers for the second way, and you get a lovely full chain. 

Make a flower potion or perfume 

This is something I loved to do as a child. Collect together some little bottles (raid the recycling bin!) and set up a little invitation to play for your child. You could include bottles, syringes, spoons, bowl, flower heads, labels and pens, eco glitter, food colourings, berries. Encourage your child to find flowers with you, perhaps you could go on a walk together and pick blossoms or flowers which are abundant, such as dandelions or cherry blossoms. Your child will enjoy choosing which flowers, berries and natural materials to place inside their bottle and top up with water. This activity can also be done with the end of a bouquet. Instead of throwing flowers that have reached their end in the bin, cut the heads off and give them to your child to play with the petals.

Grow your own flowers

Such a simple activity and with so much potential! You can grow sunflowers on windowsills, tea gardens in pots with chamomile, mint and rose, or a wild flowers bed for the pollinators. Whatever your available space you have possibilities to grow and enjoy flowers. You can use the experience to further your studies of plant cycles, pollinators, bees, butterflies, flowers and more. Actually seeing flowers grow from seed, to seedling, to plant to flower, to dying down with really deepen your child’s understanding of plants and flowers.