Category: Kindergarten

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Autumn Activities to Celebrate the Season

Fall is here! It’s my very favorite season, and because of that I tend to go *slightly* overboard with all of the fall things. (Can you relate?)

I put together a list of all the things the boys and I have done over the past few years, as well as some on our list for the future. All of these are simple, no-fuss activities, and a great way to lean into the season.

Leaf Masks

A fun way to use those beautiful leaves gathering up in your yard. Find the tutorial here.

Cinnamon-Scented Playdough

Seasonal playdough is always a hit around here. Add autumn nature finds and you’ve got yourself a winner! Get the recipe here.

Beeswax Leaf Dipping

Our favorite way to preserve and use those stunning autumn leaves – beeswax dipping is simple and fun. Here’s how to do it.

Mushroom Spore Prints

This is a great time of year to hunt for mushrooms, and making spore prints is a fun way to observe your finds.

Leaf Lanterns

With the nights getting longer, these sweet leaf lanterns add a bit of cozy magic. Here’s how to make them.

Bat Study (Free Printable)

My boys always want to learn about bats this time of year, and we always try and make a visit to our local bathouse to watch these little furry creatures. Download the free bat printable.

Leaf Animals

Some glue, googley eyes and leaves are all you need to make these adorable leaf animals.

Leaf Ghosts

I mean, how cute are these? If I could choose one Halloween decoration to display in my home, this would be it. Check out the tutorial.

Leaf Symmetry

Leaf symmetry combines math, art and nature study – plus, it’s fun!

Maple Syrup Playdough

Mmmm, I can almost smell it now. Check out this recipe for maple syrup-scented playdough.

Leaf Crowns

Dandelion crowns in spring, flower crowns in summer… and these leaf crowns are so perfect for your autumn prince or princess.

Exploring Moss and Lichen (Free Printable)

When the weather turns cooler and damper, it’s a great time to study moss and lichen. Go on a nature walk, bring a magnifying glass and see what you can find. Bring this free moss and lichen printable with you.

No-Carve Pumpkins

I love this alternative to carved pumpkins. Learn how to make these sweet, nature pumpkins here.

The Autumn Journal is Here!

A complete nature study to embrace the season.

Buy Now

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12 Nature Play Ideas for May

Now that our yard is waking up and everything is blooming, I though it would be fun to do a roundup of nature play ideas you can do from your own backyard:

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Nature Playdough Caterpillars

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Nature Butterfly Symmetry

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Nature Weaving Craft

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Nature Salt-Dough Pendants

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Nature Scavenger Hunt

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Nature Bugs

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Grass Weaving

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Sun Catchers

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Nature Letters

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Nature Mandalas

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Leaf Shape Match

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Flower Mud Kitchen Play

You don’t need anything fancy to do these fun nature crafts – in fact, simpler is often better.

I would love to hear if you try any of these!

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Night Sky Playdough; Our Favorite Way to Study Space

Let me begin this post by saying we made this night sky playdough NINE MONTHS ago and it is still going strong!

I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but this playdough lasts forever. (We store it in a ziploc storage bag inside a cupboard inside a cool room).

We’ve used it to study constellations, galaxies, planets and for just plain fun. The glitter – which was my main concern – magically stays contained inside the playdough.

Again, I don’t know how. It’s just plain magic, folks.

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Here is the Recipe for Night Sky Playdough:

Mix together:

  • 2 cups white flour
  • 1 cup fine salt
  • 3 Tbsp cream of tartar (helps make it smooth and elastic)

Stir in:

  • 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cups of boiling water (carefully!)
  • 5-10 drops blue or purple food coloring

Knead it together until it’s nice and smooth. Then, pour a small amount of glitter in the center of the dough, and knead it in a little at a time.

Add star sequence or beads and press them in to make constellations.

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Or, use stars or marbles to make galaxy spirals.

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Use different colors of playdough to form planets and create a solar system.

There are so many ways you can play with this playdough!

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New! The POND Nature Journal is here

Friends, it’s here! The Pond Guided Nature Journal is in my Etsy shop and ready for your little explorer.

Inside are posters, flash cards, coloring pages and journaling prompts covering 5 different topics (frogs, dragonflies, turtles, aquatic plants, aquatic minibeasts), and I’ve also included ideas for activities, sensory play and a book list.

Head over to Etsy to check it out!

 

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Rocks and Mineral Properties – FREE Activity

rocks and mineral download

Here’s a little boredom buster that’s sure to keep the rock-lovers happy in your house. This is a FREE Rock and Mineral Properties Activity Sheet for immediate download. My boys loved testing the rocks from their collection – I hope your kids love it, too!

Rocks and Minerals – Free Download

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The Ultimate Nature Themed Holiday Gift List for Kids

Field Supplies


Huckleberry Dual Wooden Magnifying Glass

Child-Sized Binoculars

Wooden Digitial Camera - Point and Shoot

Wooden Digital Point-and-Shoot

Hiking Rucksack

Explorer Backpack

Explorer Backpack


Stellarscope Star Finder

Lensatic Compass

Blank Watercolor Nature Journal


Beginner watercolor Paints and Brushes

Watercolor Paints Pocket Box

Audubon Bird Caller Necklace

Audubon Bird Caller Necklace

My First Pocket Knife

Pocket Swing/Portable Hammock for Kids

Educational Toys and Puzzles


Insect Specimens Pack


Catch and Release Bug Catcher

Flower Press

Animal tracks play dough stampers animal track stamps image 1

Animal Track Stampers

Life cycle of a monarch butterfly butterfly life cycle image 2

Butterfly Life Cycle Puzzle 

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Honeycomb + Bee Life Cycle Puzzle

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Wooden Leaf Puzzle


Kikkerland Wood Magnifier

National Geographic Break Open Geodes Science Kit

Nature Games

Bird Bingo

Bug Bingo

Match A Track Game

Ocean Bingo

Books and Field Guides

The Backyard Birdsong Guide

Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

On the Nature Trail

Cavallini Nature Posters

Curious Kids Nature Guide

 Curiositree: Natural World

Wild Tracks: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints

Fandex Butterfly Cards

Fandex Bug Cards

Fandex Wildflowers Cards

The Big Book of Bugs

The Big Book of Beasts

The Big Book of Birds

National Parks of the U.S.A.

Sounds of Nature: World of Birds

A Year of Nature Poems

I am the Seed That Grew the Tree

 

 

**Note:  I’m an affiliate of Amazon, which means every purchase from product links helps keep this website going. I only write about things I’m truly passionate about, and products I actually recommend and use for our family.**

 

 

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Little Brown Bat FREE download

Little Brown Bat Printable

What with Halloween approaching, my kids are currently obsessed with bats – and after watching the Wild Kratt’s little brown bat episode – well, now we are the proud owners of a backyard bat house.

What can I say. Nature is my weakness.

I’ve created these Little Brown Bat nature study pages, if you and your littles would like to study bats along with us.

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And here’s a fun craft to go along with it, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Download the FREE Little Brown Bats Printable

 

 

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The Forest Guided Nature Journal

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It’s finally HERE!

The Wild Child’s Nature Journal ~ The Forest is done and up in my Etsy shop.

This project feels a bit like my fourth child, and I hope it’s something that can be a blessing to you and your kiddos.

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Inside The Forest, I’ve included 8.5×11 posters, flash cards, coloring pages and journaling prompts for eight fascinating organisms you can find in the forest:

Autumn Leaves
Forest Beetles
Fungi
Conifer Trees
Woodpeckers
Ferns
Forest Animals
Moss and Lichen 

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This guided journal is a great option for those of you who have kids just getting started with nature study and nature journaling. It presents a variety of information on species, nature anatomy and life cycles, while keeping it simple and non-intimidating (is that a word???).

Use it alongside your favorite nature study curriculum, or bring it along on your nature walks. 

“We are all meant to be naturalists, each in his own degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.” -Charlotte Mason

We bound ours in a pocket folder (minus the flashcards – those hang above our nature table), and when it’s time for nature study we just pull out the folder and it’s all there.

Nature study is something that is really important to our family, and I believe it’s an essential piece of my children’s education.

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Please let me know how you like it! And feel free to share your experience with the journal on Instagram by using #journalingthewild ~ I would love to see and share your photos.

 

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Autumn Play Dough Recipe + Nature Stamps

The Autumn Journal is Here! Explore the seasons with your little one this year with this beautiful, gentle nature study.

Purchase Now

 

Our favorite thing to do now that the weather is cooling off and the leaves are changing is to collect autumn “treasures” on our nature walks.

Pine cones, acorns, leaves and berries make wonderful loose parts to play with – but they make even better play dough stamps! (And, they’re freeeeeee)

This cinnamon scented play dough is velvety smooth and soft, and it smells DIVINE. Trust me, you will want to eat it. (But don’t, it tastes pretty terrible)

Cinnamon Play Dough Recipe

2 cups white flour
1 cup fine sea salt
3 Tbsp cream of tartar (it makes the playdough more smooth and elastic)
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil

  • Mix all ingredients above together in a large bowl
  • Slowly and CAREFULLY stir in 2 cups of boiling water
  • Optional: knead in 5-10 drops of cinnamon essential oil and several drops of orange (or red+yellow) food coloring
  • Keep kneading on a countertop or flat surface until it’s a smooth consistency (this should take a minute or two)

**Note – please be aware, if you add food coloring, some of the color may transfer to your hands and countertop during the mixing process. I was able to easily wipe it off my solid surface counters without it staining, but keep this in mind if you are working on a very porous surface.**

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(This is the brand of cinnamon essential oil I use – you can find it on Amazon and it’s very affordable.)

I hope you try this simple and fun autumn activity! And make sure you take time to slow down and join in on the fun, too. #notjustforkids

😉

 

**I’m an affiliate of Amazon, which means every purchase from product links helps keep this website going. I only write about things I’m truly passionate about, and products I actually recommend and use for our family.**

 

 

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Moss+Lichen Nature Journal Pages – FREE Download

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Click to Download MOSS + LICHEN Nature Journaling Pack

Hello, friends!

I’ve been working on something super exciting (and a little nerve-wracking, truth be told) over the past few months and I am finally ready to share.

First — some background info.

If you follow me over on Instagram, you know how important nature study is to our family. My husband is a forester for goodness sake. 🙂

My oldest just turned six, and he’s at that great age of wanting to discover all nature has to offer, and learn the names of everything and how it all fits together. But nature journaling was daunting for him. The interest was there — but he just doesn’t have the skill set yet to express all of his wonderful thoughts on paper.

That’s why I started putting together these little nature journal guides. My hope is that they will help children journal through subjects within a specific habitat:

The Forest, The Pond, The Meadow, The Mountain, The Garden, The Night Sky.

Each habitat will cover 6-8 subjects, with an 8.5×11 poster and flashcards (hand-painted by yours truly), a coloring sheet and a nature journaling prompt.

(Side note: I love that younger siblings can do the coloring sheet and be included in the lesson)

Sometimes my boy likes drawing his observations right on the page and sometimes he’ll draw in his blank journal. Sometimes he’ll use the illustrations as a guide to sketch out what he’s observing. Sometimes I’ll print the coloring page on cardstock paper and he paints with watercolors.

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We use these a lot of ways — I usually let his interest guide how we use them.

I very much hope these little nature journaling guides can be helpful for others getting started with nature study – and trust me – they have been kid tested!

(Fun Fact: when I presented my son with the first – very different – version, he said it was and I quote, “too boring.” Ouch!! Brutal honesty, folks.)

So – friends – I’d love for you to download this Moss + Lichen pack, use it with your kids and tell me what you think.

Click to Download MOSS + LICHEN Nature Journaling Pack

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The Forest Nature Journaling Guide is Coming Soon!

(We use Exploring Nature With Children for our nature curriculum and love it – I highly recommend!)