14Apr 2023 by catbird
Tube Knitting with Plarn

Tube Knitting with Plarn

Craft Project, Earth Day, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Recycled Materials
What you ask is plarn? It's a combination of the words yarn and plastic, so it's essentially "yarn" made from discarded plastic grocery bags. Those plastic grocery bags are a scourge on the environment, they always seem to find their way into woods and waterways, where they are often mistaken for food by wildlife. One of the things we like to do to celebrate Earth Day is to make use of materials that are traditionally discarded and/or littering natural areas. This can be from trash collected during clean ups (my first first public sculpture when I was in high school were giant trees made from trash collected during a big clean up!) or trash from your home and school that you can divert from the landfill and make something useful…
Read More
05Apr 2023 by catbird
A Basket for Bunnies Made from Trees

A Basket for Bunnies Made from Trees

Craft Project, Foraging, Nature Collection, Play, Spring Equinox, Spring Portfolio
When I was researching spring holidays for my spring book I was particularly intrigued by a German custom wherein children build a nest in a field or garden in which a hare would lay colored eggs for them. This idea came to the America's with German settlers and seems to be the precursor of the modern Easter basket and the rational for rabbits laying eggs. Eggs and hares were both of course ancient symbols of spring and fertility that predate Easter. All of that to say... I love the idea of making secret outdoor nests for a magical hare to leave gifts in!! I started making a proper basket, but I wanted to simplify it so that it was do-able for kids (and frankly adults...) What I ended up with…
Read More
29Mar 2023 by catbird
Fast Dyed Natural Easter Eggs

Fast Dyed Natural Easter Eggs

Craft Project, Nature Art, Play, Spring Equinox
I love to make natural dyes and I love to naturally dye easter eggs. When my kids were super little they didn't mind waiting overnight for the eggs to change color, but as they've gotten older and heard the siren song of the grocery store kits, they have lost interest in the natural dye process and requested the tablets more and more. (They usually humor me a little bit anyway...) I stumbled on this method by accident really, when I was making my conventional naturally dyed eggs post I was muttering to myself about how much better turmeric dye bath with alcohol is. I happened to have some already prepared so I tested it out of curiosity. It worked so much better than the water based dye- the color was…
Read More
26Mar 2023 by catbird
Pond Viewer

Pond Viewer

Craft Project, Earth Day, Learning, Recycled Materials, Spring Equinox
This is a super simple project that makes exploring a pond (or vernal pool) even more exciting. My seven year old could not put this down on the way to the pond-- he was so excited. It uses repurposed materials which is always a nice bonus. It will help you see underwater a little more clearly! Recycled Pond Viewer This just uses a handful of materials that you probably already have and take a few minutes to put together! You don't want to substitute cling film for the freezer bag-- it won't hold up to the water pressure. To use the viewer push it below the water level and try and stay as still as possible. Eventually creatures will feel comfortable swimming under your viewer! Materials: half gallon milk or…
Read More
22Mar 2023 by catbird
Recycled Can Garden Markers

Recycled Can Garden Markers

Craft Project, Earth Day, Garden, Recycled Materials, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice
Here is a fun and easy way to make plant markers for your garden out of recycled materials. I use really utilitarian markers for the most part, but my kids always want to make some for their garden and I have been trying to think of a way to make markers that are both beautiful to look at and simple to make. These check all the boxes, they are simple enough for kids to make, they look amazing--almost like enamel I think--and they use repurposed seltzer cans. Kids don't need to be able to write letters to make them, although they work with words as well. (You just have to write them backwards... more on that below.) This is a great project for early spring when there is lots of…
Read More
16Mar 2023 by catbird
Botanical Cascarilla Cascarones

Botanical Cascarilla Cascarones

Craft Project, Garden, Spring Equinox, Spring Portfolio
There used to be a lady in my neighborhood who made hundreds of cascarones every year for the neighborhood egg hunt. I have no idea how she pulled it off-- but it was always magical. She retired and moved away and while I’m not ready to take up the charge for the whole neighborhood I knew I wanted to make some for Spring Equinox and take them to the next level. Eggs are a classic symbol is spring— they start out hard and lifeless as a rock, then almost without warning they burst open with life. There is a clear parallel to winter, dead and gray and then suddenly there is green popping up everywhere and life explodes. These eggs are dyed with cabbage (blue) and turmeric and cabbage (green)…
Read More
25Feb 2023 by catbird
Dying Eggs with Natural Materials

Dying Eggs with Natural Materials

Craft Project, Foraging, Nature Art, Play, Spring Equinox, Spring Portfolio
Eggs are a classic symbol of spring, while they seem fairly ordinary to us these days, they must have felt magical to ancient people. One minute they look like a cold and lifeless rock, the next they explode with life. It's exactly what the landscape if doing, one minute its winter, cold and dead, and then suddenly new life begins cropping up everywhere. Traditions around decorating and dying eggs substantially predate the easter eggs we now think of. It's a perfect way to celebrate the Spring Equinox. There is always a rash of natural egg dying posts this time of year, but I feel like they often fail to really explain the difference between natural and chemical dying. With those grocery store kits you can pop an egg into dye…
Read More
24Feb 2023 by catbird
Singing (Playing, Crafting & Learning) in the Rain

Singing (Playing, Crafting & Learning) in the Rain

Craft Project, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Spring Equinox
It rains more in spring. The earth seems to need it to wake up. It's a much gentler sort of rain that we tend to get in the summer. It's some of the best rain to play outside in because there is rarely thunder and lightening with it. There are a million ways to enjoy spring rain- not the least of which is just walking around and jumping in puddles! Below are some of our favorite ways to play in the rain. Rain Painting Rain painting is simple and uses supplies that you probably have on hand already. The only thing that can be tricky is explaining to younger children that the rain is going to change their picture, but once you've done it once or twice it makes sense.…
Read More
13Feb 2023 by catbird
A Valentine for your Babies 3 Ways

A Valentine for your Babies 3 Ways

Craft Project, Foraging, Garden, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Valentine's Day
I have always found Valentine's Day to be kind of a weird holiday (full disclosure, its also my birthday.) I mean why do school children give each other valentine's about romance? I have shifted my thinking about it somewhat by diving into winter birds and the start of nest making season, but this year I wanted to make something for my own little guys too and was inspired by some research I was doing for the floriography valentines I made earlier. As it turns out moss is symbolic of maternal love-- and it makes for an adorable nature crafting material so what better jumping off point? The plants I picked out to use are: Moss: maternal love Pansy: merriment Pussywillow: motherhood Cinquefoil: beloved child Fern: fascination & magic Juniper: protection…
Read More