Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Super Simple {and really fun} Nature Craft

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Leaf for nature craft

curtesy of FreeFoto.com

Yes, it’s me again — the reluctant crafter. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, then you know I have publicly admitted that I am not one of those wonderfully crafty mommies. I do my best — and my kids seem okay with my limited ability, in this area of Mommy-hood. However, they really do love crafts (even the really simple kind), so I often peruse crafting websites trying to find easy – and not terribly messy – things to do with the kids.

One Saturday morning, I was watching TV and there was a craft show on. It was all centered around fun things to do with the kids. The host of the show, is like the Macgyver of making toys for kids, by re-purposing just about anything (milk cartons, egg cartons, cans, butter containers, broken wooden handles, etc.). Some of the things she made — the boys would have broken faster than it took to actually make. However, she also had some annoyingly creative ideas as well. There was one thing she made that stuck with me and I just tried it the other day.

Nature Walk Craft

I am always looking for fun things to do with the kids — and ways to provide opportunities, to help them learn about the world around them. Admittedly, some days I am better at this than others. On this particular day, I was running out of things to do with the kids, they were wanting to do a craft (I couldn’t talk them into doing watercolors again) and we all really needed to get out for a walk. It was almost lunch/nap time though, so I didn’t have a lot of time to put anything together but I knew I had to think of something — and fast.

That is when this craft came to mind. It’s simple:

What you need:

  • Sandwich bags
  • Yarn
  • A hole punch
  • Construction paper
  • Glue
  1. Take the sandwich bag and punch a hole at the top on either side
  2. Cut a piece of yarn and tie each end into a hole — this makes a collection bag. (The boys wore their collection bags during the walk)
  3. Go on a nature walk. This can be as simple as walking through your own backyard, neighborhood, local park, or taking a hike.
  4. Let the kids look at discover all the things they see. They will stop and examine items and put things their bags. I honestly thought the boys would stuff anything they could see in their bags, but they were pretty selective.
  5. After you are done with your walk — get the construction paper out. You can either let the kids glue their items on their paper, or (this is my favorite method) squeeze out a bunch of Elmer’s glue onto the paper and let the kids glue their items on. They did this while I was making lunch.
  6. Let Dry the picture dry.

This was such an easy thing to do, and I really had no idea how much the kids would love it. The whole time we were on our walk A. was singing “We are going on a nature walk. We’re going on a nature walk.” It was so cute. It was also, the first thing the boys told their Dad about when he got home. They had a blast, got some fresh air, good exercise, and made a craft like they wanted to.

It’s the simple things that make life so sweet. My kids have definitely taught me that! 🙂

Do you use crafts to make everyday experiences memorable? What other nature crafts can you recommend?

Seeing Spring Through Children’s Eyes

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Spring Flowers

Picture from: B. Monginoux / Landscape-Photo.net (cc by-nc-nd)

As much as I want the warm weather my kids want it more. I love to see how excited they get when the bikes are being pulled out and they want to be off and riding. My kids have always been the outside type and the older they get the more they love the outdoors.

I was brought up the same way. Living in the country on a farm I had to be outside whether I wanted to be or not when the animals needed to be taken care of. In the summer there was no such thing as hanging out on the couch and watching television unless it was really raining.

The joys of spring

Nature has a way of having us see things differently. Being outside and watching how fast the trees are budding and the grass actually turns green and grows is amazing. Doing yard work can be exhausting but at the end of the day just seeing what has been accomplished gives us a good feeling.

Spending time outside in the warm weather with our kids doesn’t even cost anything. Just sitting and talking or if the kids are younger blowing bubbles or drawing with chalk costs next to nothing. Being able to see the little bugs like the bees out and about boosts our spirits and makes us smile and tired all at the same time. I find it breathtaking at times how my kids see things that we adults seem to overlook. That one little blade of grass growing in the pavement..seriously? How many of us adults would have noticed? The sun warms us just about as much as our kid’s smiles and enthusiasm.

At the end of the day when it begins to cool we all go inside and clean up. We have dinner and everyone is full and happy. The thing is we all had a great stress free day and we are all content and happy. Total cost? The yard had to give up some dirt for my kids.

Are you and your children ready for spring?