Teach your kids about the northern lights (and science) with this hands-on activity
Sensory Play
Flower Pounding Craft + Wildflower Nature Study
It's wildflower season here in Colorado - my favorite time of year to hike in the mountains surrounded by color! Last week we went up to one of our favorite spots and collected the most gorgeous bouquet, including some of my favorites: chiming bells, larkspur, Indian paintbrush, lilies and geraniums. I've already pressed these beauties…
Continue reading ➞ Flower Pounding Craft + Wildflower Nature Study
A Roundup of Our Best-Loved Spring Nature Crafts
Don't you just love this time of year? Here in Colorado, March tends to be more of a battle between winter and spring, as the first flowers bravely peek out from fresh waves of snow. Nature crafts are a fun way to celebrate the new season while we wait for things outdoors to thaw. I've…
Continue reading ➞ A Roundup of Our Best-Loved Spring Nature Crafts
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…
Continue reading ➞ Autumn Activities to Celebrate the Season
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: Nature Playdough Caterpillars Nature Butterfly Symmetry Nature Weaving Craft Nature Salt-Dough Pendants Nature Scavenger Hunt Nature Bugs Grass Weaving Sun Catchers Nature Letters…
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…
Continue reading ➞ Night Sky Playdough; Our Favorite Way to Study Space
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…
Salt-Dough Nature Pendants
The boys and I needed a handcraft to make for the Wild + Free handicraft fair and this was the perfect little project. While I plan on teaching my boys practical handcrafts - like sewing and woodworking - this time I needed something simple enough that my three year old could participate in. Salt-dough is…
Spring Nesting Bird Study and Egg Craft
This week we studied all things birds with our nature study curriculum, Exploring Nature with Children. We are crazy about birds over at our house, so I thought I'd share our activities and resources here. Bird Study Activities Nest Building and Egg Painting This spring craft is a bit messy but worth it! The boys…
Spring Pond + Frog Life Cycle Study
Last week we learned about the spring pond with our Exploring Nature with Children curriculum. The boys learned about the ecosystem of the pond and the lifecycle of a frog through play-based learning, lots of good books and outdoor exploration. Here's what we did: Spring Pond Loose Parts Play For this activity, I set out…