14Apr 2023 by catbird
Plogging Hike

Plogging Hike

Earth Day, Hike Ideas, Learning, Play, Recycled Materials
I swear all of my Earth Day posts aren't going to have funny words in them... but here's another one! Plogging is a combination of jogging and picking up litter, it was originally coined in Sweden (merging the Swedish verbs plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog). In our case its really more hiking than jogging, but I 'm not sure piking has the same ring to it. Sadly this is a tremendously easy hike to do-- there is litter nearly everywhere we hike. The only trick is to remember to bring a bag to collect litter in, and possibly some gloves so no one is touching trash directly. I didn't used to be squeamish about it, but covid and the proliferation of discarded face masks in public parks has…
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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…
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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.…
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20Feb 2023 by catbird
Kindness Bread

Kindness Bread

Learning, Nature Art, Play, Recipes
Mother Holle is a classic Grimm’s fairytale in which a mistreated step sister falls down a magical well to a fairy realm in where she is rewarded for being kind to Mother Holle with gold. (There is of course also a “bad” sister who does everything wrong and is punished in proper Grimm fashion.) The moral of the story is that "industrious children are rewarded and lazy children are punished" although I like to view it in a more modern sense- that kindness is rewarded. Nerd alert- Mother Holle is cataloged as AT 480 in the International Folktale catalog, under "Supernatural Tasks." It is one of a large number of folktales that focus on the industrious/ lazy dynamic. For this project we decided to focus on kindness and some of…
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03Feb 2023 by catbird
Nesting Materials Willow Heart

Nesting Materials Willow Heart

Craft Project, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Valentine's Day
If you've read any of my Valentine's posts, you probably already know that I like to celebrate birds around Valentine's Day. There are old folkloric beliefs to support this, people have long believed that birds in temperate climates start looking for mates and making nests in February and its' even though to be part of the reason that this time of year was chosen to celebrate love. Scientists do know that this is both a great time of year to spot birds in the absence of foliage, and the time that many early birds start to build nests. (Check out the Great Backyard Bird Count for a fun citizen science project_ Many birds time the hatching of their eggs with the emergence of insects in the early spring, some are…
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21Jan 2023 by catbird
Garden Planning with Kids at Midwinter

Garden Planning with Kids at Midwinter

Garden, Learning, Midwinter
Midwinter is when I start to organize and sort through my seeds. In the fall when I’m harvesting everything I’m more focused on collection than organization. During the winter solstice season I take a break and by midwinter I’m usually itching to jump back in and sort seeds, plan gardens and look through all the seed catalogs. This is the snowiest time of year in my area and not at all the time to start seeds, but it’s the best time to dream and scheme for spring which is honestly one of the best parts. It’s also the time of year that I invariably find a bunch of random bags and jars of unlabeled plant parts that I swore I would remember the purpose of but which I promptly forgot.…
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16Jan 2023 by catbird
A Valentine for the Birds

A Valentine for the Birds

Craft Project, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Valentine's Day
It probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise that we like to make valentine’s for the birds. (Both wild birds and our chickens, but our chickens are much easier to photograph) there are a ton of good reasons to celebrate birds at Valentine’s Day! 1. Even though February is often one of the coldest snowiest months for us, the days are getting lighter and the very first stirrings of spring are starting. There was a popular notion in England and France during the Middle Ages that birds started to look for their mates on February 14. The reason for this assumption is not clear, but might be related to the fact that the warbling of the first songbirds after a long winter started sometime in mid-February. Many birds also start…
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11Jan 2023 by catbird
Hibernation Party!!

Hibernation Party!!

Craft Project, Hibernation Celebration, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Winter
Maybe you've been learning about hibernation all week... maybe you just like a good party. Either way, a hibernation party is a ton of fun!! This is a great party to have with friends right before winter break (which is what we usually do) or a fun way to celebrate winter in January. Check out the Hibernation Celebration page for some more ways to learn about hibernation or just dive right into the snacks! Below there are ideas for: storing up for the winter (snacks), making your den cozy (activities) and training for hibernation (games). Store up for Winter Mobile Hibernation Snack Necklace One of the most important parts of hibernation is storing up tons of food and you never know when you might get hungry! Cue the mobile hibernation…
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