Tree Leaf Identification Nature Journal

Grandma's Nature Journal

Many years ago, Papa’s grandma made this nature journal in school. It is full of watercolor paintings of plants and leaves. I just love it so much.

Nature journals brought young people outside to observe the natural happenings of the season and record their observations in a creative way through drawings, paintings and samples.

How to Make a Tree Leaf Identification Journal

As summer begins to shift to fall, a tree leaf identification journal is a great way for your little scientists to observe the many types of trees that are in the area where you live. They can take samples of the leaves and create their own journal.

Find a Tree Identification Book

A book on tree identification or the wonderful resource of the internet can help you learn the names of those various trees in your area.

Look for Help Along the Way

If you really get “stumped” (get the pun, ha) you can contact your area horticultural extension agent for help. They are a great informational resource. It is good for kids to know about them and know that an extension agent is available to contact for various reasons.

Adapt the journal for any age

This is a project that can be as easy or as involved as you would like to make it and can be adapted for every age level. For a budding scientist (another pun, boy am I on a roll), you may want to make this a project that can be added to as time goes on.

Take a Fun Walk to Collect Leaves

So, the weather must cooperate a bit with this part! Grab a container of some sort to gather leaves, like a basket or tote or even a plastic bag.

Head outside for a nice nature walk with your favorite kiddos. Explain what you are looking for, that you want to find leaves from all kinds of trees that live in your area. Later, you will identify what kind of trees they are from. (This is a great time to gather what you need for a Treasure Hunt Nature Mobile as well! This is just too much fun.)

Depending on their age you may not get far on your walk!! The kids may want to expand this to bushes and flowers as well. That’s totally up to you, of course, but it can easily get to be too big a project. You can always take another walk later to see flowers or bugs or anything else that strikes your fancy. The important part is being together, peaking curiosity and nurturing a love for learning.

Check out the Vein Patterns!

After your walk, spread out the leaves on your table. Take a few minutes to just observe how they are different as well as how they are alike. Aren’t the vein patterns amazing?

Make a Simple Tree Leaf Identification Journal

Make a simple journal by taking several pieces of copier paper and folding them in half, as a group (hamburger fold). Slip these papers inside of a folded piece of construction paper. Staple the booklet together along the fold.

Make a Permanent Nature Journal

For a more permanent and long term nature notebook, place plastic page protectors inside of a three ring notebook (I prefer a "D" ring style as the pages lay better in the notebook). You will slip the paper inside of these page protectors of course.

Mount the Leaves

Tape or glue a different type of leaf on each page of your journal or piece of paper for your notebook.

What kind of tree do the leaves come from?

Use the tree identification book to look up what type of tree the leaf came from. Label the leaf on the page. Add any additional information you would like. We noticed the bark type as well, each are different looking and help to more easily identify a specific tree.

These tree leaf samples won’t last a long time as they will dry and are prone to crumble. You may want to cover them with a piece of contact paper or with clear packing tape to preserve them longer.

Tree Leaf Rubbing

Another option is to make a leaf rubbing. Place the leaf under the paper and color over the leaves to make a leaf rubbing image. You can still see the leaf shape and design but it won’t crumble when dry!

Thanks Grandma-Great...sweet memories...

My mother (who my grandkids called grandma-great) was always calling attention to the various trees and pointing out how beautiful they were. That is how I began noticing the variety of tree leaves, barks and tree shapes as a child. What a sweet memory.

Go and enjoy making some memories with your grands!

More Nature Activities for Kids

Want to head back outdoors with the kids? Check out these fun nature crafts and activities found around the blog:

Supplies for a simple tree leaf identification journal:

Supplies for a more permanent tree leaf identification journal:

ENJOY!

If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.

Come join the fun at https://welcometonanas.com

Tree Leaf Identification Nature Journal

Grandma's Nature Journal