Fun Fall Activity From Nature’s “Craft Store”

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Excited2Learn

As crisp air replaces hot, humid days we’re making sure we spend as much time as we can outside, giving our little ones the opportunity to explore and engage in their surroundings. Add a little creative arts and crafts to that and we’re one happy family! That’s why I just loved an idea I recently came across about making and using “nature’s paintbrushes” by Dirt Girl World. We decided to give it a try and we now have a go-to weekend activity for the season!

Here’s our take on it:

Nature Walk

I explained to the kiddos what types of materials we were looking for—anything that would help us paint and/or make crafts once we got back home—and then set out on a walk with a few containers. We collected easy-to-handle sticks/twigs, acorns, leaves and pine branches/needles.

Tool-Making

At first, we concentrated on making paintbrushes with our materials. The older children used pine needles and attached them to a twig with a little hair elastic. For the younger ones I found it easier to simply cut off the lower pine needles on a branch and leave the top ones.

Next, we used a variety of items from nature to make prints and other crafts. My favorite was the wonderful “watches” L. made for her friends out of acorns and ribbons.

Painting

We took out some paint and paper and let the kids try out their new “paintbrushes.” They not only enjoyed the painting process, but an added treat was the realization of what they were using as paintbrushes gave them a good giggle!

As we continue to do this throughout the fall I know we’ll be sure to share more ideas on ways to get out, collect and use tools from nature’s “craft store.” Stay tuned and feel free to share your ideas below in the meantime!

Garden Stones

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Excited2Learn

Whether you’re a seasoned or novice gardener, labeling your vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs is not only practical and educational for children, but if done creatively, can also add character to your landscape. So instead of using typical wood markers on our organic garden this year I decided to create custom stones for each of our fruits and veggies.

First I used watercolors to illustrate fruits and veggies. L. helped me do some of the easier designs :) Then, I scanned them into the computer and printed them on regular printer paper.

Next, I cut the images out and wrote labels with permanent marker.

I selected medium sized, rounded, flat stones and cleaned them up (you can buy these or of course select them from your yard). I purchased mine at a local nursery for less than $10. L. had a great time giving all the stones a “bubble bath”. Then I covered the stone with nontoxic Mod Podge. Immediately after covering a stone with Mod Podge, I put the label and the picture on the stone and pressed lightly. I covered the stone with a thick layer of Hodge Podge. After it dried, I turned it over and did the back side. I am not sure how many coats you really need to make it waterproof…but I did three coats just to be safe!

My daughter helped me throughout the process, although it is primarily an adult craft. I create them with L. & B. in mind. I wanted to make sure they knew as the seeds grow into plants, which veggies and fruits they would become.

I love how they came out and can’t wait to put them in the garden! After all this hard work making the illustrations I figured it would be nice if others could enjoy them as well, so…

Like this post for your free download of our vegetable illustrations and labels, and make stone markers for your garden. Enjoy!

Happy Birds: 5 Creative Bird Feeders

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Excited2Learn

Although everyone seems to love Angry Birds lately–we like to keep our birds happy! In fact, after Christmas each year my grandparents always let their 10 kids transfer the popcorn decorations from the Christmas tree to a tree outside for the birds to snack on.

So to carry on this family tradition we’ve taken to creating bird feeders with our children. Here are two we’ve tried out so far:

FRUIT FEEDER: We made this bird feeder with oranges, limes & grapefruits. I simply cut them in half and scooped out the inside. Then my daughter poked a wire through the top and twisted it to make a loop for hanging it. My daughter filled all three fruits up half way with peanut butter and then filled them with birdseed. We then found “perfect” trees to attach the feeder to for the birds.

PINECONE FEEDER: My daughter and her friends really enjoyed making this simple bird feeder. They took a large pinecone and smothered the outside with peanut butter. Then they rolled the cone in birdseed so it covered the outside. Lastly we tied yarn around the middle so they could hang it on a tree outside.