Celebrating Samhain with Children in Nature
Six fun ideas to celebrate the Halloween/ Samhain with kids!! Save for later! Click on the images for more information.
Turnip Lanterns
I have been meaning to make these forever--turnips actually are the original vegetable lantern. They gained popularity in the Middle Ages and continued to be made well into the 20th century. Pumpkins are actually relatively new to the scene even though a Halloween/ Samhain without them seems unthinkable now. The turnip lantern tradition began with the Celts, who believed that the veil between worlds was especially thin on this night halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Because of this, people would light lanterns as extra insurance from wayward monsters and spirts. Metal lanterns were expensive at the time, so people in the British Isles began carving lanterns (and faces) from vegetables—particularly turnips, but in some cases potatoes, radishes and beets as well. They would place lit candles inside the cavities,…
Nature Spiders
This super easy project brought our nature table into fall. These nature spiders are made from sticks, and Osage orange fruits and a black walnut. The sticks are just jabbed into the fruit (do it outside because they leak juice) I hot glued the bent part of the leg, but you could easily skip that, have straight legs and not need any glue at all. The walnut is just set in front on the table. It’s a testament to the crazy way my mind works that I was inspired to make these by a one of those blow up yard decorations… our neighbor got one and my kids were entranced. So I started to think about making a giant spider out of sticks (which might still happen) and then we…
Little Leaf Baskets to Store up for Winter
One of my favorite things about seasonal midpoints is that they reflect what is happening in nature-- and different cultures all over the place have similar observances. As I was researching Equinox around the world this year I stumbled across a random mention of the the French Republican Calendar- which was briefly instituted in France after the French Revolution. They instituted a calendar that began the year on the Autumn Equinox and had months named after things happening in nature. The first month was named for the grape harvest. This got me thinking about phenology which the science of tracking seasonal changes. (And one of my favorite things!) I decided to go for a walk in the garden and see what seasonal changes might inspire me. Sadly I don't have…
Elderberry Syrup Playdoh
I hate wasting things. It stresses me out to throw out the herbs after making a salve or syrup. (Although I don’t usually even do that— I compost them…) Every time I make elderberry syrup, which is pretty frequently in the cooler months, I have anxiety about all the cooked mushy berries left over at the end. I’ve tried reusing them but the resulting syrup was too weak. I’ve reduced the amount of berries I use with no ill effects, but I still feel like I’m wasting a huge amount of plant matter that I worked so hard to grow. And then I had a sudden brainstorm… I would make playdough with the leftover berry mush!! This stuff smelled so good that I wanted to play with it!! The color…
Inky Cap Ink
Have you ever noticed that lots of mushrooms have “ink” in their name? Shaggy ink cap, inky cap, fairy ink cap etc. This isn’t a coincidence, you can make a simple ink from most mushrooms that have ink in their name. The process couldn’t be simpler- the mushrooms naturally (and quickly) deliquesce (which is a fancy way to say they turn into a pile of goo) into a black liquid which is filled with spores. This is both the mushroom's way of dispersing spores and a quick way to make ink. I tried to find some historical accounts of the use of mushroom ink and unfortunately came up mostly empty. Mushrooms do make a strong seemingly lightfast ink though-- the pictures below are made from ink I have had sitting…
Spore Prints
Spore prints are useful tools for identifying mushrooms you find, they also make lovely ephemeral artwork. Fall is a fantastic time to search for mushrooms, it feels like the woods are covered in them this time of year. (And lawns too for that matter.) The "print" part of the spore print is the spores that dropped from the mushroom. The different colors aren't just nice to look at, but a key way to identify mushrooms that look similar. The green prints in this post are from chlorophyllum molybdites common name "the vomiter." As the common name indicates this is absolutely not a mushroom you want to eat, but it looks very similar to others that are edible. Never, ever eat a mushroom without confirmation from an expert. Back to the…
Signs of Fall
I am generally opposed to worksheets- they squash creativity and are limiting. Consequently I am never impressed with the "fall scavenger hunt" printables that make the rounds this time of year. For one thing fall looks different depending on where you live. That said, this is great time to look for signs of the upcoming seasonal shift. It's a great practice as an adult to focus and hone in on subtle shifts in nature and I find that it is downright thrilling for kids. (As well as setting them up to be adults who notice the subtle shifts in nature...) So ditch the worksheets and just bring a nature journal or sketchbook and try listing and or drawing pictures of the things you see. If you do this year over…
Corn Husk Candles
The "corn' that most Western Europeans refer to around First Harvest (also called Lammas or Lughnasadh) is actually just old fashioned slang for "grain" and most often refers wheat. As a North American on the other hand, corn as in maize, is having its moment this time of year. Some Southeastern American Indian tribes celebrate a Green Corn Festival in early August to celebrate the corn harvest. “Green corn” is of course not corn that is the color green (although there is green colored corn), but simply sweet corn—that is, corn that is eaten fresh as opposed to mature corn that is dried and ground up. It’s the same reason we call green beans green– it’s not because they are the color green, but because they are eaten in an…
Celebrating First Harvest in Nature with Children
5 fun ideas to celebrate First Harvest with kids!! Save for later! Click on the images for more information.