Category: Nature

Snow + Hot Water

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Snow day! How could I not instantly brainstorm the best way to use Mother Nature to our advantage?

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As you can tell from the picture, Travis was not a fan when I bundled him up and trundled him outside to see the flakes, but I was thrilled; the snow was the perfect fluffy consistency for what I had in mind. I spared Travis any more time outdoors and shoveled snow into buckets to bring upstairs.

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He loved what came next! I asked him what he thought would happen when hot water was poured over the cold snow, and now it was time to found out.

First we tested a watering can. Travis was so delighted at the holes that melted in our snow mound that he asked if he could get right in the tub – why not?

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He wanted to test everything, from a baster and a cup:

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to a shovel:

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to poking it with his finger.

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Then he decided we needed to fill buckets of warm water from the tap and pour over the snow (which at this point was like hard slush).

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All too soon, our last little chunk of icy snow melted away, but luckily winter has just begun!

Bird’s Nest with Miniature Speckled Eggs

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Adding natural elements to a make-believe bird’s nest makes it all the more special – both as a project and to play with! We used air-dry clay to shape our nest, but if you really want to be authentic, try using mud after a rainy day, or make mud by mixing dirt and water at home. Just be sure to place a piece of poster board under your creation to contain the mess!

To start, I helped Travis shape clay into a nest shape, and then we pressed on finds from a recent nature walk – pine needles, grasses, and leaves – for a realistic look.

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Travis loved selecting the items to use!

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As a finishing touch, we made clay eggs. Travis enjoyed rolling the clay between his palms to make egg shapes, but then also loved smooshing them, so I ultimately shaped the final eggs we used!

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I thought it would be fun to speckle the eggs blue, but the mechanics of this were a bit advanced for Travis. Instead, he smeared blue paint on some while I speckled a few others, and then rolled them between my hands for a more realistic look.

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Once everything dried, he loved playing with a clay bird inside the nest!

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We drew a tree on our poster board base to give his playtime a background as well.

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Overall, a very fun way to use our clay!

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Trail Walking Stick

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Travis could happily spend all day simply walking outside, digging in the dirt, looking for bugs. It has inspired me to slow down, to appreciate nature in ways I never imagined before being his mom. He also motivates me to get out even in chilly weather – something that never happened before his birth! – so we didn’t let a cold snap deter us from making a walking stick this week.

The first step is to find a good sturdy stick on one of your excursions. We brought it home and the next day I pulled out multi-colored yarn.

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Although the actual mechanics of wrapping the yarn around the stick are a bit advanced for Travis’ age, he insisted on helping every step of the way. I would tightly wrap one section, then he would “wrap” the next section before we took turns again.

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His eyes lit up when he saw the plain brown stick transform into a pattern of purple and white, and he took the whole business very seriously until our stick was complete!

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I added a smaller stick towards the top for a handle, but a simple straight stick would work just fine. And as I mentioned, a little cold weather didn’t deter Travis from testing it out!

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Leaf Glitter

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Turn autumn leaves into a masterpiece with this simple but delightful project!

Half the fun, of course, was just heading outside to select our leaves. With a warm and dry fall so far, the color wasn’t as vibrant as I hoped, but I set Travis the task of finding leaves in all the possible colors – greens, reds, oranges, yellows, and browns – and we came away with a better collection than I expected. Travis loved the adventure in the park!

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We let the leaves dry at home for a couple of days, and then it was time to turn them into “glitter”! What toddler can resist ripping leaves into tiny pieces?

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Exercise those little hand muscles and let your child squeeze glue all over a piece of construction paper. You can sprinkle on the leaf glitter almost like confetti, pressing down to adhere.

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We shook our creation off a few times to figure out which leaves weren’t stuck yet, and then added more glue as needed.

 

Leaf Rubbing

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It’s Columbus Day weekend, and the perfect time of year for fall-inspired art. We took Travis on his first hike over the weekend, and returned with a few treasures for a craft at home.

Choose a variety of leaves, preferably in different shapes and sizes, and tape down to a sheet of construction paper (the bumpy veins should be facing up).

Cover with a second sheet of paper, then show your toddler how to rub crayons over the leaves to reveal the bumpy veins and stems underneath.

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Travis needed a bit of help, since his crayon squiggles weren’t always precise enough to reveal the leaves, but he loved the magic of it, lifting up the top piece of paper to check on the leaves underneath a few times. He was very excited every time our crayons “discovered” a new leaf.

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Make sure to hang in a prominent place on the fridge for the rest of the fall!

Update: The first time we played this game, Travis had a hard time getting the knack of holding a crayon sideways. Try it again in a few month’s time, and your little one might be better able to reveal the shape of the leaves!

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Nature Treasure Hunt Bracelet

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While in the park recently collecting treasures to paint, Travis and I also made a nature collection bracelet. I was surprised that he didn’t want to wear it himself, since he usually loves things around his arm – my watch, his father’s elastic wrist bands – but apparently he draws the line at duct tape! So I was the bracelet model, and Travis helped build our collection.

To make the bracelet, wrap duct tape around itself in a loose circle, big enough to slip on and off your wrist easily.  You want the sticky side facing out.

As you walk, loosely press your nature finds onto the bracelet.

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Travis adored this part, hunting for flowers and leaves, and helping me stick our treasures on. It was a great way to talk about some new items, too, like pine needles and a bird feather.

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Once you decide your bracelet is complete, cut a strip of clear contact paper just a little wider than the duct tape. Remove the backing and place the contact paper, sticky side down, over the bracelet. Fold the overhanging edge over the duct tape to seal.

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Another magical creation here in late summer!

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Nature Painting

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Travis and I had a magically different afternoon. We don’t exactly live anywhere near a forest trail, but that didn’t stop us from going to our town’s Village Green and searching for “treasures.” Once back home, we turned our treasures trove into an unconventional canvas for painting!

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I didn’t even have to explain to Travis what we were doing. He saw the paints and brushes and began eagerly painting a leaf.

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His favorite by far was a large stick we found. First, he painted it blue, making sure he got all the way to the edges:

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He was quite serious as he worked, and once finished with the blue, he dipped his brush in all the different paint colors and turned his stick into a “rainbow.”

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This project was a delight, especially because painting on the various textures felt so different from flat paper – especially the bumpy pinecone! I confess I joined in just for the fun of it.

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Feed the Baby Bird

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We’ve had fantastic tenants at our apartment recently – a family of barn swallows decided to make their nest on our balcony, and we’ve been honored to watch the mommy and daddy bird grow their family!

It all started with a flutter of activity one morning in June – no doubt daddy bird scouting his nest-building location. We woke up the next morning to the nest! Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting photos, as the balcony corner is dark, but hopefully you can see a little here:

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The next few days were quiet. Daddy bird would sit on the balcony railing or wind chimes, and give a signal of alarm for any noise or worry, sending mommy bird flying from her cupped nest.

We departed on vacation, and I worried Travis would miss the chance to see the birds hatch, but nope! It wasn’t until early July that we saw little beaks appear above the rim of the nest. We got to watch mommy and daddy bird swoop in to feed them many times over the next few days. Travis loved the excitement, calling out whenever he saw “Daddy bird.”

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I was amazed how long the four chicks stayed in the nest; they looked awfully cramped up there by the end. Then one day, we looked outside and saw that two of the fledglings had taken their first flight! They were perched on the balcony, looking very downy and adorable and uncertain.

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A torrential rain storm swept through right after, unfortunately. We were very relieved to see at least one of the fledglings had returned to the nest after, and I’m hopeful the other one made out okay in the storm. Meanwhile it was touching to see mommy and daddy bird swoop in during the storm to make sure their chicks were okay!

Travis and I continued the fun at home with mommy and baby bird play. He sat in a little nest made out of brown blankets, and I “flew” in to give him bites of Surf Sweets gummy worms (a leftover birthday treat!) as a snack. He gets a kick out of the fact that birds eat worms, and now probably believes all worms taste gummy and fruity.

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We’re still waiting for the final two chicks to leave the nest, and are honored to have shared in the birds’ journey!

Update: Here are the three surviving chicks, on the day before they left us for good. I had heard swallows didn’t return to the nest after their first flight, so was delighted that they lingered for nearly a week, playing on our balcony by day, and sleeping in the nest at night. So glad we were able to give them a safe place to begin their life’s journey.

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Coffee-Filter Butterflies

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I decided last minute to put together this craft today, but I’m so glad we did! Because there are various periods of drying involved (for paint and glue), we spread it out over most of the day.

First, lay coffee filters flat (I recommend a layer of newspaper underneath), and have your child use a dropper to apply food coloring in various colors. I only had yellow and red left at home, but I liked the uncomplicated designs that Travis achieved as a result. Squeezing the dropper to apply the color was great fine-motor practice, which Travis took very seriously!

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We finished with a paintbrush to apply the color more deeply in a few places.

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Make sure you let the filters dry completely before moving on to the next step.

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As a side note, extra coffee filters make for a fantastic toddler distraction while you get something else done around the house!

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I found various methods online for pinching together the “butterflies” around clothespins, and liked the following method best. You’ll likely have to do this part yourself, unless your child is pre-school age or older. Pinch the coffee filter in the center, and clip a clothespin vertically to the filter. Fan out the “wings” of the butterfly on either side.

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Clip pipe cleaners into 1-inch pieces, and let your child dip in glue before applying to the butterflies for antennas. (I had to help here as well, as the surface was very uneven for gluing, but Travis enjoyed dragging pipe cleaners through the glue nonetheless).

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Once the glue dries, you can finish your butterflies with marker designs. Travis had a little fun coloring randomly on one butterfly, but I added the faces to the others.

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The clothespins provide the perfect handle so your toddler can flit the butterflies all around your home. And they were quite simply magical in the window at sunset.

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