Nature Journaling Workshop with award-winning book illustrator Sarah S. Brannen

 

For Grades 2 – 5

45 minutes; 3 to 4 workshops per day.

 

Keeping a nature journal helps students connect with the natural world in a direct and personal way. 

Drawing sharpens observational skills. Careful notes add scientific value. Writing adds context and richness.

 

I will explain how I kept a butterfly journal and used it to assist with creating Monarch and Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal, followed by a short presentation on the history of nature journals. 

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Materials

Journals and objects to draw will be provided

Students will need their own drawing/writing tools:

pencils, pens, crayons

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Hands-on journal creation 

 

If possible, we will go outdoors.

If indoors (more common) I will provide boxes of items

for students to sketch, for instance:

Shells

Pine cones

Pebbles

Seedpods

Feathers

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Drawing: close observation. Note details. It’s okay to include landscape elements, sky, animals, even other people. Reference photos can be useful. Always make notes, including date, time and place.

 

Writing: Students may spend more time writing than drawing if they prefer. Poems are another good option.

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Finish

Students will share their journal entries with the class. The best way

to keep a nature journal is to make regular entries: every day, once

a week, once a month. It is interesting to note changes over time,

or to study one type of thing (e.g. monarch butterflies).

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Bio

Sarah S. Brannen is the illustrator of the Robert F. Sibert Honor book 

Summertime Sleepers, written by Melissa Stewart. She is the author of 

Uncle Bobby's Wedding, illustrated by Lucia Soto. Uncle Bobby's Wedding

was named one of the 100 best children's books of the last 100 years

by Booktrust in the UK. 

 

​Recent books include Miles Comes Home, an adoption story and

companion book to Uncle Bobby's Wedding, and Lolly on the Ice,

about an anxious little figure skater. Monarch and Mourning Cloak:

A Butterfly Journal, written by Melissa Stewart, will be published

March 3.

 

Sarah also wrote and illustrated A Perfect Day, Bear Needs Help, Madame Martine, and Madame Martine Breaks the Rules. She illustrated Seashells: More Than a Home and the ALA Notable Book Feathers: Not Just For Flying, which won the Riverby Award and the Crystal Kite Award; both books were written by Melissa Stewart. Sarah illustrated the 40th Anniversary edition of All Kinds of Families by Norma Simon, as well as many other children's books. Her books have been translated into 12 languages. 

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Contact Sarah