Monday -
Monday
Monday 
Anyone remember the bag of peppermint baking chips I picked up awhile back for $0.29? They've been sitting in my cupboard just waiting for the right recipe to come along. Last week, I saw this recipe and saw my opportunity to put them to good use.
Since summer started, I've gotten more lax about stocking my pantry. This week, I noticed that things are looking a little bare in the pantry so I picked up duplicates of a few things. Here are my good grocery store deals for the week.
Gearing Up
When contemplating making a nature journal, the choices can seem endless. Big or small? Buy a tablet or make your own? Lined or unlined paper? There were several factors we considered when making ours.
Once you’ve got your journal figured out, you need to consider other supplies. Here are some things to consider adding to your journal.
Aiding Your Child’s Journaling
First, find opportunities to record nature. Hikes and nature walks are obvious choices. But don’t limit yourself to just the obvious. Going on a picnic? The zoo? Take the journal along. Even a morning in the backyard wil
l uncover a wealth of opportunities to record the natural world.
For each entry in the journal, remind your child to first record the date. When your child finds something (an animal, plant, or setting) that he or she wants to record, ask your child questions that prompt full descriptions. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Can you touch it? What does it feel like? Don’t forget to have the child record environmental information also. Where are we? What does the animal or plant’s habitat look like? What is the weather like?
Be sure to allow adequate time for the child to gather information and record observations through drawings and/or descriptions.
Want to really jumpstart your child’s ideas? Be more than a cheerleader; create a nature journal of your own so that you can compare ideas and observations.
Don’t Stop There
Once you get back home, don’t forget to follow up. A huge component of a nature journal is learning. Take a few minutes to research what you’ve found. If you have field guides, you can do this on the spot. But if not, you can find virtually anything courtesy of google these days! Add notes, facts, and interesting tidbits as you uncover them. You’ll not only be teaching your child about that specific plant or animal but also fostering valuable research skills.
Helpful Resources to Get You Started
Websites:
Books:
And here is the results of our labor. I managed to wrestle enough strawberries out of my 5-year-old's fingers to make 10 jars of strawberry jam. We also froze three small bags of sweetened berries for later shortcake.
