Fun Friday activities are quick-and-simple ways to explore nature in your own backyard.
Ever since I first saw the REI Kids’ Adventure Journal, I’ve wanted to make one of our own.
The REI booklet (which you can pick up for free at any REI store or download here) is a place to record your family’s outdoor adventures, including where and when you go, who joined you, the weather, plus what you saw and heard. The booklet also includes room to draw a picture of something you saw, plus stickers, games and more.
We’ve tailored ours to better suit the big explorer’s current needs. Instead of a smallish book with prescribed fill-ins, he picked out a fancy faux-leather bound lined journal with a compassy-looking design on the cover.
It may be less scientific, but he’s decided he can include whatever might inspire him from an experience – a photo he takes, a drawing, a bit from nature, a list or few words about the best part of an outing.
I love that at the end of the summer, we’ll have a keepsake worth treasuring.
Take-Home Tips
- Create your own. Stephanie of Let’s Go Chipper helped her kids make their own summer adventure journals using recycled paper. They each decorated a cover they & had everything bound together by a local printer.
- Let the kids be inspired by nature. There are no rules for this journal. The big explorer will add entries as he sees fit & structure them in whatever way he wants.
More Ideas for Summer Outdoor Fun
- Go on an A-to-Z nature hike, Your Big Backyard®
- Try sun painting, Restore Your Nature
- Enjoy some good old-fashioned water play, Adventures With Kids
- Or check out Your A-to-Z Guide to Summer Backyard Nature Fun for even more inspiration
This is the first full weekend of summer! What better way to kick off the season than to participate in the Great American Backyard Campout in your own backyard? If you can’t camp this weekend, register and get outside on any night that’s convenient for you.
Happy exploring!
Wow, Sarah, that sounds amazing! What a fantastic way to build excitement & anticipation before a trip. And what a fantastic keepsake to have after. Thanks for sharing!
When we were younger, our favourite activity was to make adventure books for our holidays. Our parents are originally from South Africa, and we used to go on holiday to see family over there, and were usually lucky enough to go on Safari and stay in the game parks. We would spend weeks before the holiday making extravagant diaries to record every single animal we saw! We were a little older than
@Michelle: Thank you for the wonderful idea! 🙂
What a wonderful project and keepsake, how fun to see what moments/experiences in nature your child records from year to year! And thank you for including my post in one of your links!
Thanks, Ben!
Whata fun thing to do and great for learning in so many ways…..great idea
@Catherine: Thanks for all your fun water play ideas! Have fun w/ the journaling.<br /><br />@Bethe: Yeah, it's fun to read what kids have to say about their time outside in nature. Priceless stuff. 🙂
Fun! You know I am a lover of the nature journal, Debi! Happy adventures, all! :o) Bethe
I love the idea of keeping a journal of outdoor adventures. My eldest son is quite keen on journalling and bookmaking at the moment, so I will propose the idea to him for our school holidays.<br />Thanks for the link.