Wonder Wednesday 135: Wheel of the Year
This Wonder Wednesday 135, we're talking seasonal celebration all year long! And the nature journal is the perfect place to celebrate! The Wheel of the Year is a cycle of seasonal festivals celebrated by many groups of people over many centuries.
The wheel's dates correspond to the solstices, equinoxes, and the days that fall exactly halfway between each.
These days are super times to remember to observe and document the nature around us. Plus the specifically seasonally timed dates are great for documenting seasonal pattern awareness in the nature journal - as well as just a reminder to take a moment to connect with the wonders of nature outside our doors.
And it's easy to do! Just put the dates on your calendar and draw or write a nature observation in the slice!
How cool would it be to have these over a series of years to bind into a book? What an awesome way that would be to track the patterns of nature around us.
I started mine back in October, but you can start yours at the Solstice. & I've even included the 2023-34 dates on there for you! (If you're in the southern hemisphere, just add 6 months to the date).
I'm going to focus my wheel on documenting what is ready for harvest in my garden (such as kale & sorrel in December, and the bok choy I drew back in October), but you could focus it on anything such as birds, a particular sit spot view, or nothing in particular and just put whatever strikes your fancy that day.
Or you could even make a few wheels with different focuses! Best of all to get you going, I created a Wheel of the Year pdf for you to download and print!
Wonder Wednesday 135
Wheel of the Year
Materials
Paper on which to print a copy of the Wheel of the Year pdf.
(Card stock can be nice for keeping nice and sturdy throughout the year. Or you could even draw your own wheel into a journal or on a big piece of paper or canvas)
Print the Wheel of the Year pdf here
Any art supplies you like - color pencils, pencils, pens, markers, paints...just be sure your chosen paper can handle the medium.
Optional - glue and scissors if you want to print out and then glue the wheel of the year pdf into a journal.
Preparation
Mark the seasonal dates from the wheel into your calendar so you don't forget as the year rolls on.
Before you draw on each date, take a wander in your nearby nature to connect. You may want to use a sensory observation, take a photo walk, or connect in any way that is authentic to you personally.
Check out the Seeds to Sprout section below for the Wings, Worms, and Wonder Guided Sensory Observation audio link.
Procedure
After printing your wheel, fill in the December 21, 2023 Winter Solstice slice with an image, words, whatever you like to document and connect with the seasonal milestone and welcome the first day of winter!
Then, do the same on each of the following slices throughout the year.
Enjoy your time creatively connecting with nature throughout a full year cycle on a very seasonally systematic schedule.
Seeds to Sprout
Wonder Wednesday 102
Want to draw slices of nature each and every month? Then start a Phenology Wheel too! This project is inspired and in collaboration with I Believe in Montessori
Wonder Wednesday 125
It's a spectacular Solstice roundup to 15 of the Wonder Wednesday Winter solstice projects from over the years - plus the celestial science behind the solstice! & In this post you'll find my favorite sorrel drink recipe too!
Sensory Observation
Here you'll find my Guided Sensory Observation Audio, plus some tips on the how's and why's of sensory observation.