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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Keeping Company :: May Invitation

I'm so enjoying how the monthly link-up gives me a look into the Keeping happening in all of your homes each month.  Mapping, commonplacing, sketching, nature journaling, and more! There is diversity in our practices but we share a common goal and method, and I love seeing how that plays out within the context of individual families.  As always, the April link-up has been full of wonderful entries.  Please do go take a look if you haven't had a chance to catch up in a while!

Monthly Feature

This month, I want to highlight April's nature journal-related posts as inspiration for May's optional prompt...

from snowfall academy

Are you feeling overwhelmed at the thought of taking a weekly "outing"?  Jen at Snowfall Academy writes about their very simple and doable at-home gardening experience and the journals they have been keeping along with it: The Garden Project, or We Actually Grew Some Tomatoes!

Tasha at My Graceful Life shares her first steps toward learning alongside her young daughters in Getting Started with Nature Studies.  I recognized myself in so much of what she wrote, and if you're a nature newbie, I think you will too!

Shirley at Under an English Sky has a beautiful journal--here she shares some pages from April, full of sketches, observations in list and prose, and poetry.

from jouney-and-destination

The careful notebooking at Journey and Destination is such a joy to see!  Carol and her older children are Keeping veterans and their detailed work is always inspiring.

Lisa at Olive Plants All Around My Table describes her family's nature-Keeping routine and shares lots of real-life examples from her children's work.  I love how her children's personalities shine in what and how they choose to record--the same thing happens here too. :)



This month's optional prompt

As promised, let's talk about the moms' nature journals this month!  I know many of you keep notebooks alongside your children, whether they be full of quick lists, detailed narrations, pencil sketches, or dry-brush illustrations.  There are so many different styles, and I'd love to get a peek at yours.

Feel free to share pages from the past or what you're currently working on!  What are your favorite materials and media?  What do you most enjoy journaling about?  How has the practice enhanced your study of nature?  What styles of Keeping do you like best when it comes to nature, and how does that reflect your personality?  What are some of your nature study goals?



And if you don't yet keep a nature journal, now would be a great time to start!  It can be as simple as a paragraph or list of sights from a spring afternoon in the backyard, or you can break out the paints and brushes and face your artistic fears.  I always find that time observing and recording is time well spent, and best of all, it's a great inspiration to our children too.

I'll be back here next Tuesday, May 12th, to post the link-up.  In the meantime, the April link-up will still be active until then, so feel free to continue sharing your posts there.  Thanks for your participation!

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