One of the most fun and most fulfilling ways to get your kids connected with nature is by having them help in caring for a pet.  They are probably already asking for a pet of some sort.  Or begging, or wheedling, or bargaining for that cute little puppy. 

The evidence in the medical community of the positive results of caring for an animal back up the anecdotal evidence in my own home and from friends. 

It is fairly easy to make the connection of caring for a pet to our belief of God caring for us, as well as the concept of our command to be caretakers of the world and all of its creatures found in the first chapter of Genesis, as well as the story of Adam naming all of the creatures of the earth in Genesis 2:19. 

A few important things to remember:

• Pick a pet that is appropriate to your home and lifestyle.  
• You may end up doing much of the care of the animal, especially if your children are young, so only choose an animal that you would be willing to care for.
• A pet is for life- be sure that you are ready for a commitment of a pet's lifespan.
•  Pets may bite you or your furniture or cause other destruction in the home. Be ready to deal with this with grace.  

We experienced some of these issues here in our home with a rabbit we rescued.  Because he  came to us unexpectedly, we were not ready with all of the supplies we needed, and the bun ended up living inside our home, which resulted in chewed on furniture, as well as a nipped finger on my son's hand.  However, this did little to dampen his love of "Fred" and with some adjustments and purchases, Fred was able to happily live outside, munching on the grass instead of our shoes. 

Children learn through caring for a pet.

My three year old son was easily able to assist with feeding the bunny veggies from our garden or the store, giving affection to the bunny (and eventually got better at gentle touches) and loved to come up to Fred and tell him, "I'm eating a yogurt, bunny!"  My son was also very helpful at picking Fred's favorite greens from the yard-- clover and dandelions and feeding them to him.  

This has prompted many conversations about what is good for a rabbit to eat-- Timothy Hay, and what is not-- my son's cereal bar.  This, in turn, prompted discussion of how many different animals were created to eat different things, and that we are responsible to make sure that he has these good things that are designed for him to eat.  

Nature journaling?  Why am I writing about nature journaling when my son cannot yet do the traditional form of journaling? Or maybe you are simply asking-- what is nature journaling?  It is simply the act of writing and sketching observations from the natural world around you.  It can be an action to stave off writer's block, or a way to practice your artistic talents on new subjects.  Recently it has become more popular as a way to encourage scientific observation and insight in children. 

Although my child cannot yet write in words what he sees, he can still observe the natural world around him and put these thoughts to paper. Typically on a hike we take along a small backpack that Noah can carry on his own, which has things like snacks, diapers/ underpants and more fun things like his binoculars (an old pair that are broken, but he doesn't care) and an old Babar pencil case and a small notebook.  After a walk or a visit to the nature center Noah will grab this and color his versions of what we have just seen and done.

A few of my favorite articles on nature journaling:

Simple Homemade's recent article.

The Sierra Club has a template for a nature journal, but it is not necessary to print something-- any notebook or paper that you have on hand is perfectly fine.  Their article that accompanies this pdf is worth a read, however, and compares the practice to the historical figure John Muir's practice of observing the natural world.

The Handbook of Nature Study has many wonderful resources for parents looking to introduce the natural world to their kids, and nature journaling is a big part of this.