We thought the birds could use a little love this time of year, so we made a fresh batch of bird seed cookies! While we were “baking” these, we could hear birds chirping loudly outside our kitchen window. Emily kept telling them to be patient! First, Emily traced a heart shaped cookie cutter onto corrugated […]
Beautiful Autumn Leaf Garland
October 26, 2009 by
We thought the dining room (aka sewing studio) could use some decorating this season, so Emily gathered up some leaves earlier in the day and we got to work on this beautiful garland for some late night crafting. Emily had been begging me to do the waxed paper leaf collage for a long time, but […]
Fun Autumn Treasure Hunt
October 22, 2009 by
We went on an Autumn treasure hunt at our local nature conservancy! It was so much fun! Emily used a clipboard with the list of treasures we were looking for. In mind were these playground scavenger hunt cards. We used our own non-illustrated version, since Emily’s working on her reading skills. Here are just some […]
Tiny Pumpkin Patch Playset — Cuteness Overload!!
October 17, 2009 by
We had so much fun creating this tiny pumpkin patch playset for our little friends (in this case, Calico Critters). Emily has been busy helping me make this, and then playing with it all day! First, we made tiny pumpkin seed packets with some paper and flax seeds. Dog got to work planting the pumpkins […]
Fall Treasure Bag
October 6, 2009 by
Emily’s garden goody bag has now evolved into a Fall Treasure Bag! She loves to collect colorful leaves, acorns or interesting seed pods while we go on nature walks, and I love that she has such a special bag for all her Fall treasures. We have lots of crafty plans for these pretty leaves! Now […]
Sunday Snapshot — Puddle Jumper
September 27, 2009 by
Jumping in puddles is so much fun… …even more so when Mom jumps in too!
Fishy Fun on Friday
September 18, 2009 by
We decided to have some fun with a “fish day”, so I took the girls to the local fish hatchery to learn all about the life cycle of trout. For just $1, you can buy a bag of fish food. Emily loved feeding the fish…. and ducks! Both of the girls had a great time! […]
DIY: Bamboo Knitting Needles
September 16, 2009 by
The arrival of Fall always makes me want to start knitting again, and I love the feel of bamboo knitting needles (although the store-bought ones can be rather pricey). Fortunately, I found an easy, and practically free way to make your own! These would make such cute gifts for any avid knitter. To make your […]
10! Show Nature Craft Round Up
August 18, 2009 by
What a fun day at The 10! Show in Philadelphia! Turns out their site is being completely re-done, so no clip is available online — Boo hoo!! But here’s the recap of the crafts that were featured: Strawberry Necklaces Leaf Prints Garden Stones Clover Collage Three Little Pigs Playset I love nature crafts because they […]
Picking Peaches
August 8, 2009 by
We were blessed with beautiful weather here today, so Mark and I took the girls to go pick peaches this afternoon. It was so much fun and the peaches were delicious! I can’t wait to make some yummy peach cobbler with them… Mmmmm…. It doesn’t get any fresher than this, and at $1.35/lb. it was […]
Strawberry Necklaces at the Park
August 3, 2009 by
We were blessed with gorgeous weather here, so the girls and I spent as much time as possible outside. A few weeks ago, we found this craft idea in the book Crafts to Make in the Summer. Sure, we could just go out and buy a bag of walnuts, but I used it as an […]
Garden Stones
July 29, 2009 by
At this point, our garden could use all the hope, prayers, and well-wishes it can get, so we spent this afternoon making some garden stones using quick dry cement (very inexpensive, and we had some leftover mix in the garage), empty cereal boxes, sea shells, and some glass gems from the dollar store. I had […]
Clover Collage
July 10, 2009 by
Here’s a great nature project that even the littlest crafters can participate in! Emily enjoyed finding different patches of clover, picking them and sticking the leaves and stems to the lint brush. She could easily carry the lint brush with her, and spent a lot of time finding small leaves, blades of grass, and tiny […]
Three Little Pigs Playset
July 7, 2009 by
One of Emily’s favorite stories is The Three Little Pigs. When we were done making this playset, she could hardly wait for the glue to dry before she ran off to play with the set! She had lots of fun re-enacting the tale over and over, and then started to perform her own versions of […]
Garden Update
June 10, 2009 by
This summer our family signed up for a garden plot through our township. It was a bargain. Six hundred square feet for just $10 for the year! Plus, it was already tilled for us. They might as well have just planted the seeds for us, and given us a garden. It sounded ridiculously easy. We […]
Nature Hike…with a stroller?
June 8, 2009 by
In the days before we were inundated with rain, Emily asked if we could go on a nature hike. Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes, but Clara is at that awkward stage of not really walking, but a little too big for a sling. This nature hike would have to involve a stroller. Strollers […]
Leaf Prints
May 13, 2009 by
I love incorporating elements from nature in our art projects. Nature provides free art supplies, and I feel it’s important for kids to connect with nature on a regular basis. Emily enjoyed gathering leaves from the yard for this one. I have a feeling we will be doing more block-printing type projects in the future, […]
3-D Spring Art
May 11, 2009 by
Today we used Q-tips and twigs for a 3-D Spring craft — catkins (a.k.a. pussy willows) in a vase! These buds are one of the first signs of Spring. The one in our front yard has since bloomed, but this was a nice way to remember how the buds looked. Have your child mix black […]
