See Also: Nature Journaling | SEL Idea Hub | Emotional Weather
Connection Chart | Journal Questions | Color | Sound | FAQ
SEL nature journaling for kids combines traditional nature observation with social-emotional learning (SEL). Children explore the outdoors using their senses while also paying attention to their emotions, thoughts, body sensations, and responses to what they experience.
Instead of simply recording, “I saw a bird,” an SEL nature journal encourages children to go a little deeper: What did you notice about the bird? How did you feel when you stopped to watch it? Did listening to its song make you feel peaceful, curious, excited, or something else?
Kids might use an SEL nature journal to:
- Notice colors, sounds, smells, textures, weather, plants, and wildlife.
- Identify emotions before, during, and after spending time outdoors.
- Practice mindfulness by slowing down and concentrating on what’s happening around them.
- Develop body awareness by noticing breathing, energy levels, tension, warmth, movement, or relaxation.
- Explore sensory preferences, such as which sounds, textures, smells, or environments feel comfortable or uncomfortable.
- Make emotional connections by finding things in nature that represent their mood.
- Reflect on whether spending time outdoors changed how they feel.
A simple way to explain the concept to kids is:
Notice what’s happening around you. Notice what’s happening inside you. Then explore how the two connect.
A Few Notes
I reference nature walks and journals a lot; variations to those concepts are completely flexible. For example, a nature walk doesn’t need to be a full-day exploration of the Alps; make it bite-sized and doable. A walk around the school perimeter, sitting in a circle outdoors, or a wander through the school garden.
Can’t go out? Try nature documentaries, arranging seats to face the windows, studying potted plant arrangements, terrarium or aquariums. You can also create the mood with nature sounds – birds, rain, whale songs- to get the group in the right frame of mind
Journals demystified! A nature journal can be anything – scrap paper, a section of a science notebook, leftover cardboard, art or sketching paper, or notes painted on a rock 🙂 A favorite way to conserve resources is to start a science journal in a notebook going back to front, and then flip it to the back and turn the book over – now you can write back to front in the same book while keeping all your data together!
Reference Chart
| Sense | Nature Observation | SEL Connection |
|---|
| See | What catches my eye? | Attention & mindfulness |
| Hear | What sounds can I separate? | Focus & calming |
| Smell | What scents do I notice? | Memory & emotion |
| Touch/Feel | What textures/weather do I feel? | Grounding & body awareness |
| Body | What is happening inside me? | Interoception & self-awareness |
| Emotion | How do I feel right now? | Emotional vocabulary |
| Reflect | What changed? | Self-regulation |
Quick Start Questions
Last-minute prep before heading out on your nature walk? Sunscreen, bug spray, notebooks, colored pencils… but what are we writing about? Here are a few quick questions you can ask during the walk, or have students label sections of their journals beforehand.
OUTSIDE ME
I SEE ______
I HEAR ______
I SMELL ______
I FEEL ______
↓
INSIDE ME
MY BODY FEELS ______
MY EMOTIONAL WEATHER IS ______
↓
MY NATURE CONNECTION
Something outside that matches my mood: ______
↓
TAKE IT WITH ME
One thing I want to remember from this moment: ______
The Importance of Color
Why is color important to SEL nature journaling?
Color is especially useful in SEL nature journaling because it creates a bridge between what a child observes outside and what they notice inside themselves. It gives children another way to communicate feelings without relying entirely on words.
Here are several ways color supports the SEL side of nature journaling:
- Emotional expression: Children can choose colors that represent their current mood. “Today I feel yellow” may be easier than explaining why they feel excited or energetic.
- Mindful observation: Looking specifically for color makes children slow down. Instead of seeing “a tree,” they begin noticing lime green leaves, gray-brown bark, yellow lichen, or a red insect.
- Emotional vocabulary: Color can be a starting point for richer language. Blue → quiet → peaceful → relaxed. Or red → energetic → excited → impatient.
- Self-awareness: Comparing colors chosen before and after a nature walk can help children recognize that emotions change.
- Creative expression: There isn’t a single correct emotional meaning for a color. One child may associate green with peacefulness, while another associates it with excitement or adventure.
- Memory and connection: A child can connect an emotion with something tangible they observed: “The orange sunset made me feel warm and safe.”
You can add color specifically to your journal questions as:
COLOR I NOTICED: __________
WHERE I FOUND IT: __________
IT MADE ME FEEL: __________
WHY: __________
If my feelings were a color right now, they would be __________ because __________.
For younger students, they can simply color a circle instead of writing the color name.
Or simply have colored pencils available for their journaling exercises. This allows them to create on an emotional level while observing the world around them.
Free- SEL Nature Journal for Kids | Social Emotional Learning Nature Activity
The Role of Sound in Nature Observation
Sound is important to SEL nature journaling because listening encourages children to slow down, focus their attention, and become aware of both their surroundings and their internal reactions. Unlike looking, which we do almost constantly, intentional listening requires children to stop and pay attention.
A few particularly useful SEL connections are:
- Mindfulness: Listening for birds, wind, insects, water, leaves, or distant sounds brings attention to the present moment.
- Emotional awareness: Sounds can produce different emotional responses. A crashing wave might feel exciting to one child and overwhelming to another.
- Self-regulation: Focusing on a quiet or repetitive natural sound can provide a calming point of attention.
- Sensory awareness: Children can notice which sounds they enjoy, dislike, find distracting, or find comforting—useful information for understanding their own sensory preferences.
- Focused attention: Trying to identify several individual sounds encourages children to tune out distractions and concentrate.
- Body awareness: Children can notice whether a sound changes their physical state: Did my shoulders relax? Did I become more alert? Did I want to move closer or farther away?
Ways to incorporate sound into your SEL nature journaling:
SOUND I HEARD: __________
IT WAS: quiet / loud / steady / sudden / near / far
MY BODY FELT: __________
IT MADE ME FEEL: __________
I WANTED TO: move closer / move away / keep listening/find the sound
If you are working in an indoor setting, consider using a nature soundscape or nature meditation track as background ambiance.
Stuff We Love
Nature Sounds: Ocean Waves, Forest Sounds, Rain, Wind, Thunder, Wilderness Stream For Deep Sleep, Meditation, & Relaxation
Galaxy Projector Sound Machine Aurora Night Light Projector with 30 Sounds,16 Colors Star Northern Lights Projector Bluetooth Speaker, Remote Timer Teen Gift Led Lights Mood Sensory Light for Autism
Bug Catcher Kit for Kids,STEM Outdoor Exploration Set（Ages 3+）
FAQ – SEL Nature Journaling
Nature journaling can help children practice self-awareness, mindfulness, emotional vocabulary, sensory awareness, reflection, and self-regulation. It encourages kids to notice both what is happening around them and what is happening inside them.
Try simple prompts such as: What do you notice around you? What sound catches your attention? What color matches your mood? How does your body feel right now? What in nature matches how you are feeling? What changed about your mood during your time outside?
Yes. SEL nature journaling can be incorporated into morning work, outdoor learning, science lessons, mindfulness activities, sensory breaks, field trips, or social-emotional learning lessons. Even a short walk around the school grounds can provide opportunities for observation and reflection.
No. Kids can observe nature from a playground, school garden, courtyard, window, porch, park, or backyard. Indoor alternatives can include classroom plants, aquariums, nature photographs, nature videos, or recorded nature sounds.
Nature provides concrete things children can use to describe abstract feelings. A child might compare their mood to stormy clouds, choose a flower color that represents happiness, or notice that listening to birds makes their body feel more relaxed.
SEL nature journaling can offer flexible ways to explore sensory preferences, emotions, and body awareness. Allow children to participate in ways that are comfortable for them, including drawing, visual choices, movement, short responses, or observing without being required to touch, smell, or interact with particular elements of nature.
It doesn’t have to take long. A quick 10–15 minute outdoor observation can provide plenty of material for reflection. Longer nature walks, field trips, and outdoor science lessons can also incorporate SEL journal prompts throughout the experience.
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