Make Your Own Nature Journal
Phenology wheel
This page is designed to track changes throughout the year. Once a month come back to this page and draw something you are observing. You can either draw something that represents that month to you or draw the same thing (like a flowerbed) changing over time.
Phenology Wheel from Hatching Curiosity
To make your own: Use a compass or trace a large circle on your page (or mirrored half circles if it is split between the binding) Using a protractor mark every 30° and draw a line out from the middle of the circle to the edge. Write the months of the year at the top of the slices of the circle and draw your observations below.
Or if you’d rather keep your phenology wheel separate from your nature journal you can purchase this one below at my Teachers pay Teachers Shop.
Calendar of firsts
Calendar of firsts
This is where you record the first frost, ripe raspberry, or robin of the year. You make a special note here whenever you notice something for the first time. This is a great section to look back on in future years to get an idea of what you can look forward to a month-to-month as seasons change.
To make your own: Set aside 12 pages and write the names of the month at the top. Then as you make your observations line up the dates on the left side of the page or write them next to your drawings.
Birds/Wildflowers over time
Birds/Wildflowers over time
This is where you can keep track of and learn the names of local birds and wildflowers and track when they arrive/depart each year. Record your observations by writing the name of the bird/wildflower/etc that you observe, looking up and recording its scientific name, and checking the boxes every month you see it throughout the year.
To make your own: Using a ruler make two wider columns and 12 narrow columns and however many rows you would like. Lable the first two columns “Common Name” and “Scientific Name” and the next 12 columns the months of the year.
Changes over time
Changes over time
This section allows you to make comparisons side by side as things change over time. Write the title of what you are observing at the top of the page, the date/time in the narrow row above the columns, and your observations within the columns. Easily see change progress over time with side-by-side comparisons.
To make your own: Leaving space at the top of your page for a title, use our ruler to draw two rows fairly close to one another and four lines to create 5 columns coming down from the rows (see example).