Recycled Nature Suncatcher

This is a fun activity to do anytime of the year. I also got the idea for this project from the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Finished project

Materials you will need

You will need two clear take out container lids, a holepunch, yarn or ribbon, and a variety of fresh natural materials. I did this project on a cold February day, so the green materials that were available to me was very limited. I found winter rye, moss, and some Azalea leaves in my yard. As well as some dried flowers left from the fall.

Slip the holepunch on the side of the lid and punch one hole. You will need to wiggle the holepunch.

Be sure to put the hole in the exact same spot on both the lids.

Now, place your natural materials on the "deep" side of the lid. Tear up the natural materials so they are small bits. Don't overload it otherwise it will mold later on.

Place one lid over the other in the exact same orientation (shallow side of one will rest on the deep side of the other).
The holes MUST line up!

Snap the lids together.

Hang & enjoy! The natural materials will dry out over time, but as long as you haven't but anything really thick inside, such as flower centers, it will not mold.

Make a Wish for Earth Day...on a twig!

Wish sticks are the idea that you decorate a stick and imagine it to be a variety of items, including a magic wand, sword, tail, dumbbell, marching baton, etc. I first came across this idea from the programs at Garfield Park Conservatory. This idea came from another artist before then that specializes in nature-based art. So, now I share this with you, with a festive Earth Day twist.

Below is a picture of my Earth Day wish stick. I have made a wish for Earth Day, that more people will ride their bikes instead of taking their cars, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. I have written it on a piece of paper and tied it to my stick. Then, to make sure my wish comes true, I decorated the stick "in homage" to Earth Day. I used a variety of craft and recycled materials, including ribbon, pipecleaners, beads, fabric scraps, an acorn I found, etc.

A completed Earth Day Wish Stick

My materials

A Magic Twig Wand

Another fun idea is to make a magic wand from a twig. This is as simple as spraying a twig with glitter spray (right hand side). You can decorate it with additional materials if you wish, but is not necessary. Just add imagination and play!

Twig Looms

Here is a photo of a twig loom made by play facilitators at the Brookfield zoo. Just find some twigs, cut them the same length, tie about 2-3 inches apart, and hang! Now it is ready for kids to add their decor by weaving. "Over-under-over-under" is a fun song to sing while you work! Ribbon, fabric, plastic bags, bead strands, and more can be used to make this twig loom. You may even choose to insert natural debris or "treasures" that you find.

Recycle your Christmas tree into play gear for your tot!

There is nothing sadder to me than seeing perfectly good chopped down evergreen trees tossed to the curb or alley in January. One, because this beautiful tree is no longer being loved as soon as we have "used it up", because this is a great play opportunity gone to waste!

Clip small evergreen pieces and mix with tree parts and toy woodland animals.

SUPPLIES

#1 SAND AND WATER TABLE
I purchased a toddler water table from an online school furniture supplier for my daughter's Christmas present this year.  http://www.bizchair.com/s8018-cb.html

This was rather expensive, and you can always use a cheaper version-the Step2 sand and water table Step2 Adjustable Sand And Water Table (Google Affiliate Ad). You can find these cheap used, too. The reason I like mine, is because there are no wheels or pathways that will dictate how my daughter plays with the space (it is more open-ended). Plus, the one I got is more compact for indoor use. I have a Step2 sandbox for outside. I wanted one for inside that I can easily change out the medium and contain the mess. The bin where all the materials are in can be lifted out and dumped easily. You cannot do this with the Step2. Also, there is a flat cover that allows the table to be used for art projects, etc. when not in use.

#2 EVERGREEN BRANCHES
Next, I used a pair of garden shears to cut off small pieces of evergreen. We had cut down a spruce for our Christmas tree from a local tree farm. The needles were not sharp, but very soft and short. This project won't work if you happened to select a Christmas tree with very sharp needles. Pines usually have soft needles.

#3 TREE PARTS
Then, I threw in some "tree parts." I have a collection of tree cookies and tree blocks (see my earlier post from July 2012). Also, add some pine cones, of course.

#4 TOY ANIMALS
Also, add some toy woodland animals. I used plastic ones here purchased from our local zoo, but you could make felt woodland animals or use small stuffed animals. I think it's best to use the actual animals that would be living in this type of environment (with evergreen trees).

A 13 month old plays with the evergreen dig here.

 The 13 month old in this picture loved tossing the branches around into piles and pulling out the toy animals as well as exploring the tree parts. We also had a 7 year old playing here who enjoyed telling stories about what was happening with the animals. She also hid them and made homes for the animals. This is an all ages fun play opportunity!

Close up picture of the dig.

Get creative with fall gardening scraps!

Fall is a time to put things to bed in the garden. But don't put all those flower heads and herbs directly in the compost, play with them first! Repurposing your items normally headed for your compost or yard waste receptacle presents a unique opportunity for kids to get truly hands on with nature, even if that means tearing a flower up! This is a great way for kids to learn what's inside of a "dead flower"...seeds!

Mature marigolds provide a great opportunity for viewing mature seeds. 

You can save these, too, to grow next season! Just fold inside of a packet made out of paper. (I will post these instructions, too).

 In the photo above, we gave each child a pair of scissors and told them to help cut all the flowers off. I was hoping to make a giant pile of marigolds to toss around. This kids were really excited about actually getting to "pick" flowers and open them up. I think we entertained this 2, 3, and 4 year old for a good 40 minutes just cutting off flowers.

Even babies can get into this! Great opportunity
 for filling in dumping practice, just add a bucket!

Great cutting practice.

We made a garland from the marigold flower heads.

To make marigold garland, you just need a needle and thread. You can get a quilting needle (more dull) for kids to try out. You can also make a marigold crown, as pictured in the leaf crown blog post last week.

Speaking of piles of garden things, this idea also worked great with a bunch of oregano I had to cut from my garden. Frost was coming, and I had tons of oregano that needed to be harvested and dried. It was rainy the day we did this, so I set up the activity indoors for my daughter to help.

Big big pile of oregano-smelled wonderful and very tempting to a baby!

Baby had fun rifling through the pile.

Supplies you need: paper bag of any size, yarn, scissors, stapler.

Step 1: Cut off any flowers.

Picture after cutting flowers off.

Also cut off any yellowing or sickly colored leaves. 

All herbs used for drying should be vivid green. Otherwise, you risk mildewing/molding.

Gather a bundle depending on the size of your bag.

 The larger the bag you are using, the larger and more bundles it can handle.

Wrap ends with yarn, just a few times.

Ready for hanging inside bag.

For fun, you can make a mini bundle and wrap it more heavily on the bottom.
This makes a fun kids' necklace!

Baby liked wearing her herb necklace-smelled great!

Staple each bundle to the edge of the bag.

When you're done, staple the top shut.

The last step will be to find a dry place. Temperature is not too important here, just as long as it is dry. An attic works great. If you use an old shopping bag like I did, the handles are perfect to hang on a random nail or hook.

Autumn Crowns with Leaves and Marigolds

Fall is a fantastic time to get creative with leaves. This week in our nature play session, we made leaf crowns. I tried and tested this popular craft activity using several different methods. My goal was to find something that was easy for the kids to affix the leaves onto and didn't involve glue, tape, or staples.

Supplies: Elastic cording, pretty-colored fall leaves or flowers (I used marigolds but mums would also work nicely)

Preparation: Braid three pieces of the elastic cording together. Knot at the end to fashion a crown shape.

ACTIVITY

Step 1-Have kids collect the leaves they would like to use (we used fun apple orchard buckets), then dump them out and pick through the pile to find their adornments. 

Step 2-Participants (child assisted with an adult) can push the stems of the leaves through the braided portions of the elastic crown.

This Dad and tot work together to push the leaves through the braided cord. 

I did these crowns with Marigolds as well. This photo shows a good shot of what the cording looks like.

This is an action shot of me pushing a marigold stem through the elastic cording.

 Depending on the age of the child, they will be able to do more or less of this. Selecting the leaves is always a portion of this activity that any age can do. If an adult holds the elastic open, a young child can push the stem through. The 8 year old pictured below had absolutely no problem doing it on her own! Younger children will need more assistance, but less so compared to stapling or gluing in my opinion.

The leaves crown turned out earthy and beautiful!

This is a crown version with marigolds. Also great autumn colors!

Adorn yourself with samaras, flowers, moss, leaves and more!

This is a fun activity to use just about anywhere-your backyard, on a hike, inside on a rainy day, walk around the neighborhood, etc. Just take a roll of tape with you! I have chosen to show how you would do this inside on a rainy day.

Supplies are minimal.

Supply list:  1. You will need scraps from your yard, garden, neighborhood sidewalks, forested area, etc. I have included, moss, dried grasses and field flowers, fresh marigolds and cosmos, fresh herbs (smells great!), small twigs, acorn caps, samaras. These are just a few, the possibilities are endless! This is a great way to use up the flowering heads of herbs. 2. Duct tape or masking tape (duct tape is stronger for heavier objects). 3. Your hands!

Step 2: Tear, rip, shred!

This is probably the most fun part of the whole project for kids. Tear your plant material into smaller pieces. This can be a rather liberating  and exploratory experience for the little ones, especially if they've been told "No" to picking flowers and leaves off plants in the past. Destruction can be good for learning!

This time it's ok to pull the petals off the flowers!

Next, wrap a piece of tape around your wrist.

Roll your wrist in the tray of natural materials.

The finished product.

This project can be done just by simply rolling your wrist on the ground in a park, forest, etc. See what natural materials you can pick up!

This "nature bracelet" idea was taken from this book full of great ideas!

Activity write-up can be found on pg. 391.

Trees & Leaves Nature Play session

 For this session, we focused on exploring leaves and trees. Our first activity was building forts out of sticks. We used silkies as the roof and walls. We neglected to take pictures of this (having too much fun), so I will post some photos of this later.

Our first craft entailed making a sketchpad with a cloth cover. This sketchpad idea was inspired by programs at the Garfield Park Conservatory (http://www.garfieldconservatory.org/families.htm). This is similar to the bookmarks I made on an earlier post in July, except that we used rocks to pound out the pigments in the leaves (worked pretty well although you can't see details of the leaves, just color). It is a safer option for smaller kids than using hammers). I selected herbs and some weeds growing in the forest preserve to use as pigments.

A Mom ties on the sketchpad as a necklace
 to make it easier to take along on the hike.

We also made art using tree cookies and colored pastels. The tree cookies were sliced pieces of a log I had lying around my yard. The oil pastels hold up during rain, so this makes a fun garden decoration.

Endless color and design variations with the tree cookie art!

Even the smallest little ones can participate. 

For the really young ones, the tree cookies would still be fun (a great keepsake) but we also provided sensory buckets. A bucket full of large river rock was fun to explore for little fingers. I used the toilet paper tube test to determine choking hazard size.

Then it was time to take our nature sketchpads out on a hike. Each child received a bag full of chubby rubbing crayons to take with.  We were hunting for interesting bark to make a rubbing.

We took our sketchpads on our hike
 and made bark rubbings. 

Some families got really creative and
found amazing trunks to experiment with!

Sample of a bark rubbing-I think this is a black oak tree.

A parent spotted this tree struck by lightening
-notice the branches hanging upside down!

I believe this is a White Ash tree.