Craft Project – Wineberry Wood Press

13Mar 2025 by catbird No Comments

“What the Crow Saw Below”

Book Buds, Craft Project, Learning, Picture Book Buds, Play, STEAM

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! What the Crow Saw Below Written by: Robert Tregoning, Illustrated by: Greg Stobbs What the Crow Saw Below is a new book that I was able to read as an arc copy. I was excited to get my hands on it because I love crows and the illustrations are freaking awesome. For some reason there have been a whole slew of crow picture books lately and I haven't been terribly excited with any of them until now. (In fairness I haven't gotten to them all yet..) But, back to this book, honestly I would recommend it based…

30Jan 2025 by catbird No Comments

“Over and Under the Snow”

Craft Project, Hike Ideas, Learning, Picture Book Buds, Picture Book Hikes, Play, Recipes, STEAM, Winter

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! Over and Under the Snow Written by: Kate Messner, Illustrated by: Christopher Silas Neal Over and Under the Snow is a classic winter time picture book read. It manages to be both fun to read and packed with information about what various animals do to survive during the winter, making it great for mixed age groups. I always include it in my hibernation study recommendations, but where is really shines in my opinion is in it's description of the Subnivean Zone. The hibernators seem to get all the love this time of year, and all while the shrews, mice…

29Dec 2024 by catbird No Comments

“Yours, Befana: A Letter from the Winter Witch”

Craft Project, Folklore, Picture Book Buds, Play, Recipes, Twelfth Night, Winter

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! Yours, Befana: A Letter from the Winter Witch Written by: Barbara Cuoghi, Illustrated by: Elenia Beretta, Translated by: Genni Gunn Yours, Befana: A Letter from the Winter Witch is a picture book that has been translated from its original Italian which tells the story of Befana the Winter Witch. If you have read my blog before you may know that I am a huge fan of Befana (check out my Befana bread here) and always include her in our Twelfth Night festivities, I have even considered writing a picture book about her because all of the ones that…

26Dec 2024 by catbird No Comments

NYE Activity Tree & New Year’s Eve with Kids

Craft Project, New Year's Eve, Play

New Years Eve. To be honest I have never been that into this holiday, it just feels like a lot when every fiber of my being is telling me it’s time to rest. I actually enjoy it more now with kids than I ever did when I felt pressure to be out and about though. At first glance it brings to mind champagne and party dresses, but as we have established our routine over the years, its gone from being something I don't want to deal with to one of my favorite family celebrations. New Year’s Eve for us has evolved into a night of family games, nature and fun fortune telling activities. We started off years ago with one of those "do an activity every hour countdowns," that are…

11Dec 2024 by catbird No Comments

Tomten Scavenger Hunt

Craft Project, get outside, Scavenger Hunt, Scavenger Hunts, Winter, Winter Solstice

For a fun and easy "elf shelf" type of activity without the all the work and the weird surveillance. My kids have been loving it and I have been loving not moving an elf around every night. (Not that we ever did the popular version) I used Astrid Lindgren's classic book The Tomten as a jumping off point, but I don't think you necessarily need it. It did inspire some of my hiding places and I think it helped the kids figure out some of the clues. I made my little tomte from sticks-- if you have been thinking about learning to whittle this the easiet project to try. All you do it make a point of one end of a stick. There's no shaping or complicated cuts, just make…

10Dec 2024 by catbird No Comments

“Greenglass House”

Craft Project, Learning, Middle Grade Book Buds, Recipes, Winter

Next up in middle grade book buds, is Greenglass House. I have been reading a ton of middle grade books lately, but would love to hear your suggestions for more book buds! Middle grade books are substantially longer, so I have broken the middle grade book buds into a lesson, a craft or two, and a snack. All are driven by the themes and ideas in the respective book. These could be the jumping off point for a more in depth academic book study, or just a fun project to further immerse yourself in the worlds of your favorite books! Greenglass House Written by: Kate Milford Greenglass House is sort of an unusual choice for me, it's not particularly nature focused and it falls pretty solidly into the mystery genre, but there…

04Dec 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Pomander Mushrooms

Craft Project, Nature Art, Winter, Winter Solstice

I started making dried orange mushrooms to use up the rounded parts of the orange when making dried orange garlands. They are super cute just left plain, but I had a brainstorm while I was making pomanders recently-- if I stuck cloves into the "cap" before drying them, they would look super mushroom-y and even better, smell amazing. They make lovely winter holiday decorations, great handmade gifts, cute ornaments, and super special gift tags. They would even be adorable nestled in some potpourri or a winter wreath. A perfect craft to spruce up and make your home smell like the holidays! Pomander Mushrooms Materials: oranges or clemetines knife whole cloves toothpick sticks glue dried moss twine (optional) Method: First prepare and dry the oranges. If you are using clementines just…

02Dec 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Pretty Plentiful & Pleasant Pomanders

Craft Project, Play, Recipes, Simmer Pot, Winter, Winter Solstice

Sorry! Sometimes I have to give in to my terrible alliteration tendencies. This post is all about pomanders in every form. I love the smell of oranges and cloves together more than most things-- it's one of those things I never get tired of. So I decided to go nuts and collect a whole bunch of the various pomander projects I've done over the years in one convenient place! Pomander balls have been associated with Christmas and/or Winter Solstice for some time, but that isn’t how they originated. We think of them as oranges studded with cloves, but in medieval Europe, people would keep little satchels of herbs on them because most everyone and everything smelled bad. They became a status symbol and the wealthier you were the fancier your…

19Nov 2024 by catbird No Comments

“Owl Moon”

Craft Project, Picture Book Buds, Picture Book Hikes, Play, Recipes, Winter, Winter Solstice

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…

18Nov 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Peppercorn Owls

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Table, Play, Winter, Winter Solstice

When I saw that the Plant Wonder Collective November plant of the month was peppercorn I was a bit stymied. I have committed to making a craft with each plant each month and the more culinary herbs are often tough. I had used tri-color peppercorns in my spice mosaic ornaments a few years ago, so I decided to make a twist on those. As I was sifting through cookie cutters looking for inspiration, the owl cutter jumped out at me-- the colors were perfect and it would make the cutest winter decoration! And so peppercorn owls were born. They are adorable as ornaments, make the sweetest gift tags, and my favorite way to use them was the owl moon garland I made by stringing them with dried moonwort seedheads. The…

Category: Craft Project