Simple Folded Nature Journal
Recently I went through an old dresser and found my original nature journal templates and my oldest's child's first nature journal. The templates were paper that I had drawn on and had made cut-outs to insert ruled lines. I assembled the pages on our copy machine. This was my pre-windows computer days. So today, I made a very simple nature journal that is very much like the first one that my son used.
Image of the Simple Folded Nature Journal
the two pages of the file: "The Cover" and "The Pages"
This is a folded nature journal. It asks questions such as, "What do you see?, smell?, hear?" . Each "field trip" has a two page spread. The left side is for written observations and the right side has a place for a drawing or gathered samples. At the bottom of the right side page is a place to take note of the moon phase.
Print on paper that is 24 lb and heavier - 28 lb. is nice and 32 lb is very nice.
Reason: the files are printed back to back and the heavier the paper, the less likely the other side will show through.
How to Print and Stack
- Print ONE cover and then set the cover aside - face down.
- Print ONE page and then set the page aside on top of the cover. Place the page face up.
- For The Rest of The Pages Do This
-- For two more field trips, print the Page on both sides of one sheet of paper.
- For an 5-day journal - Print "The Pages" on both sides of 2 pieces of nice printer paper.
- For an 9-day journal - Print "The Pages" on both sides of 4 pieces of nice printer paper.
- For an 13-day journal - Print "The Pages" on both sides of 6 pieces of nice printer paper.
Lay the printed "pages" on top of page that was printed in step two. Fold the papers in half and staple along the middle.
Each 2-page spread has a place to observe the moon and what stage it is in and asks the question, Is the moon waxing or waning. Waxing is when the moon is "growing" and waning is the opposite.
From Wikipedia: "In the northern hemisphere, if the left side of the Moon is dark then the light part is growing, and the Moon is referred to as waxing (moving towards a full moon). If the right side of the Moon is dark then the light part is shrinking, and the Moon is referred to as waning (moving towards a new moon). Assuming that the viewer is in the northern hemisphere, the right portion of the Moon is the part that is always growing (i.e., if the right side is dark, the Moon is growing darker; if the right side is lit, the Moon is growing lighter)."
Offsite Tool: View the phase of the Moon for any date and time [1800-2199 A.D].