Picture Book Buds are a fun and easy way to incorporate literacy into nature study. Read a book (you can even read it outside!) and then enjoy the related activity and snack suggestions!
Owl Moon
Written by: Jane Yolen Illustrated by: John Schoenherr
Owl Moon is a classic winter story about a young girl and her father going for a walk at night. They are hoping to see some owls and her excitement at staying up late like a big kid is palpable. I am also always struck by her desire to keep quiet so as not to scare off potential owls, that struggle for a young child to be quiet and observant is something so many parents will immediately recognize, and it’s so beautifully detailed. This one is a classic that holds up– perfect to read on a winter night, before a winter walk or night time owl prowl and also a good all around quiet book to calm down before bed.
Night Hike
So of course the most obvious activity to support this book is to bundle up and go for a night hike looking for owls. Do some research and figure out what types of owls may be in your area so you know what to look and listen for. (And don’t think you have to live somplace super rural, we have barred owls right in our neighborhood.) The book does a beautiful job of setting expectations for quiet, which is always, in my experience, the hardest part of taking kids on this tupe of hike. You can also check local nature centers who often host night hikes and owl watching hikes if you want a little more support.
Owl & Moon Garlands
Make these sweet herbal owl garlands with air dry clay and twine. Get the full tutorial here.
Winter Forest Moon Milk
What better drink after a chilly moonlight hike than moon milk? Warm up and relax before bed. I wanted to keep this simple to make and kid friendly so I mostly used tea bags, but also included pine for some woodsy flavor. You can of course leave it out, but it’s delicious and nutritious and brings the winter walk flavor. When I close my eyes and think of Owl Moon I think of blue, so I made this moon milk blue with the aid of dried blue butterfly pea flowers. They have very little flavor, so you can skip them if you don’t mind it not being blue. I am pretty sure it’s because of the blue cover, but kids always seem to love blue drinks regardless. Moon milk is meant to help you wind down before bed so all of the ingredients have been chosen with peaceful sleep in mind; oats contain more magnesium and melatonin, mint eases relaxes your muscles and is supposed to help you sleep for longer, and chamomile is well known for helping with sleep and relaxation. Most moon milk recipes are decorated with a moon shape pf dried herbs which looks beautiful, but most kids will turn their noses up at. Honestly, while I appreciate the aesthetic, I don’t really like dried flowers floating in my drink either. This recipe serves two, scale it up for more portions.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups plain oat milk (or your milk of choice)
- 1 herbal peppermint tea bag
- 1 herbal chamomile tea bag
- a spring of white pine (clean and unsprayed)
- 1/2 tsp blue butterfly pea flowers
- honey to taste
- sprinkles or wafer paper to decorate (optional)
Method:
Add the tea, pine and flowers to the oat milk to a pot and warm slowly over the stove. (Many plant milks split if you boil or heat them too high so err on the side of caution unless you are using cow’s milk.)
Once you see the blue color and the flavor has infused into the milk, strain the herbs and pour into mugs. Add honey to taste.
Decorate in a moon shape as desired.
