Listen Closely to Nature. Invite Children to use all their senses.
As you get more experienced observing the outdoor world and more deeply connected to nature, you will see things in a different way. Your journal writing will change too.
Listen.
Listen to the wind as it blows across your face and arms and legs. Feel the push against your skin.
Listen to the sounds of water as it rushes downriver. See the changing shapes as it swirls and moves up and down.
Listen to the rain falling gently on solid ground or rough pavement. See the mist in the air as it hangs like curtains the sky.
Listen to the soft Ti Too Ti Too of a bird or the throaty call of a rooster.
Watch.
Watch the caterpillar as it moves its body back and forth crossing the road or climbing upon a leaf.
Watch the butterfly as it settles gently on a flower to drink its nectar and fly on to the next one.
Watch the squirrel watching you. It twitches it’s head and listens for sounds of an intruder on the move. It searches for a lost acorn, finds it and then quickly carries it away in its teeth.
Feel.
Feel the rough texture of one leaf and the smooth and shiny surface of another.
Feel the softness of grass under your feet, like walking on a pillow as it bends beneath you.
Delight in the wonder of all living things on the ground, in a tree, in the sky or in your hand.
Watch. Listen. Feel.
Watch, listen and feel until you feel like you are no longer someone who watches nature. You are a part of it. You are the wind blowing leaves across the grass, shaking leaves in trees. You are rain falling gently giving thirsty plants a long drink. You are the trees providing shade on a hot summer day, standing tall against wind and rain.