Self Directed Nature Journaling - Eva Varga

After bedtime, my little guy will frequently get out of bed.  When he was younger, he used to sneak into my bed to sleep with me.  Often times, I’d awake in the morning to discover he had also poured himself a glass of orange juice.  The evidence?  He always left the carton and his glass on the counter.

Recently, his modus operandi has changed just a little. Instead of climbing in with me – though he still tries on occasion, but I insist he return to his own bed; afterall, he is getting older – he has pulled out his nature journal and colored pencils.

To relax and help him to fall asleep, he has discovered that sketching in his journal is very calming.  This past week, he has been quite prolific in his illustrations.  All of the pages shown here were done on his own with no assistance or suggestions from me.

I am delighted that he has shown such an interest in nature journaling.  I have encouraged him to pursue this new passion.  I’ve even found photographs in field guides of insects and critters with which he’s had personal experience.  I look forward to seeing more in the years to come.