Session 1: Young Naturalists! Designing An Outdoor Journal
Session 1: Young Naturalists! Designing An Outdoor Journal
In our first SproutCraft Session, kids design and begin using their very own Outdoor Journal – a place to draw, write, and wonder about the living world around them. We’ll introduce the idea of a “naturalist” as someone who observes carefully, asks questions, and records what they notice, just like Charles Darwin, who carried notebooks to sketch plants and animals and write down his ideas.
This journal will travel with them through the rest of the sessions and can keep growing at home long after the program ends.
What we’ll do in this session
Welcome & Garden Chat
Brief introduction to the garden space and simple ground rules for kindness, safety, and respect for plants and critters.
Quick discussion: What do you notice outside? What do you wonder about plants, bugs, and soil?
What Is an Outdoor Journal?
Kid-friendly explanation of nature journaling: combining drawing, writing, and curiosity.
We’ll share how naturalists like Charles Darwin used journals to record their discoveries.
Examples of what can go in a journal: sketches, leaf rubbings, questions, poems, weather notes, garden maps.
Designing the Journal Cover
Each child personalizes a sturdy journal using a variety of art materials (markers, colored pencils, collage papers, stamps, stickers, etc.).
Focus on expressing their personality and interests—this is their tool as a young artist-naturalist.
First Garden Observation Walk
Guided walk through the garden or outdoor space.
Prompts to use all five senses (“What do you see? Hear? Smell? Feel?”).
Children add quick sketches, words, or simple charts to their journals to capture what they noticed.
Sharing & Reflection
Short, optional share circle where kids can show a page or describe something they observed.
Gentle encouragement that there is no “right” way to journal—every page is an experiment.
Skills & Concepts Gently Woven In
Observation and curiosity
Basic plant and garden vocabulary
Connection between art and science
Early writing and drawing skills
Mindfulness and time outdoors
What Your Child Takes Home
A personalized Outdoor Journal they’ll use in future sessions and can keep adding to at home.
A first set of real observations from the garden, helping them feel like a “real” naturalist from day one, following in the footsteps of curious observers like Charles Darwin.