Nature Collection – Page 3

22Jul 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Grass Harvest Moon

Autumn, Craft Project, Harvest Moon, Nature Art, Nature Collection

The Harvest Moon was so named in Europe because the light of the moon allowed farmers to work into the night to bring in the harvest. This full moon is always the one closer to the Autumnal Equinox, so although it most often occurs in September, it sneaks into October every now and again. The Diné call September’s moon the Big Harvest Moon. The Shoshone and the Passamaquoddy call September the Fall Moon, the Algonquin refer to the Middle Between Harvest and Eating Corn, and the Hopi people call this the Moon of the Full Harvest. In many places September is a time of Harvest and there are countless ways to celebrate the bounty of this time of year. I have been increasingly planting native ornamental grasses in my garden…

22Jul 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Blue Moon Cyanotypes

Blue Moon, Craft Project, Full Moon, Nature Art, Nature Collection

Blue moons are slightly misunderstood. You see we have 12 months in our year, but there are 13 full moons. So each year there ends up being an "extra" moon in the western calendar. (This is not true of some other calendars.) If you are interested in this sort of thing, the way we got to the current western calendar is somewhat fascinating and insanely circuitous. But anyway, back to the moons, the extra moon doesn't always fall in same month and sometimes has it's own special name (like if it falls in September) but generally it gets called a blue moon. (Like the expression "once in a blue moon.") Why it's called a blue moon isn't abundantly clear, and according to astronomers the actually definition of a blue moon…

30May 2023 by catbird 2 Comments

Summer Solstice Flower Crowns

Garden, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Play, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice

One of our favorite traditions on the Summer Solstice is to make and wear flower crowns! In our part of the world this is when flowers really start to bloom and show off. You can weave crowns with the same technique we used to make May Day Garlands here, but this is best done with things that have long stems like dandelions. Our preferred method is to make a wreath from honeysuckle or other vine and then embellish with other flowers. That way you can use things with shorter stems and it's a bit simpler. Weaving Flower Crowns Materials: flexible vines-- we always use honeysuckle flowers Method: Loop a few vines into a circle that fits on your head. You'll want 3-4 loops and can use more than one vine…

27Apr 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

May Day Bouquets

May Day, Nature Collection, Play

My little guys love to deliver flowers to the neighbors on May Day. The goal is to leave the bouquet on their doorstep, ring, and then run off before they see you. Last year, they got caught at one house, but were otherwise undetected. They were extremely proud of their ninja skills and we got to watch one of our neighbors find their bouquet. The look of joy on their faces was amazing!!!May Day is on May 1st each year. It's the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. In some climates it is the start of summer, in mine it’s really the midpoint of spring. Flowers are starting to bloom, asparagus is beginning to pop out of the ground and the chance of a freak snow…

05Apr 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

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…

25Feb 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Moss Gardening

Garden, Nature Collection, Spring Equinox, Spring Portfolio

Moss is one of my favorite signs of spring- its some of the first real green we see. It's always there, it doesn't die back like herbaceous plants, but warmer temperatures and spring rains seem to make it come to life in the spring. Moss is a fascinating ancient organism. It belongs to a group of plants called bryophytes, which are non-vascular and flowerless. Non-vascular means that they lack the channels that other plants have to transport water and nutrients to various parts of the plants. They are small and form dense clumps or mats, often in damp or shady places. The leaves are only one cell thick. The first plant on earth, moss began to grow on land 470 million years ago. It absorbs carbon dioxide from the air…

13Feb 2023 by catbird No Comments

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…

16Jan 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Forcing Branches

Foraging, Midwinter, Nature Collection

A lovely way to celebrate Midwinter is to force winter tree branches. “Forcing” branches simply means that you bring them inside when it’s still cold outside which causes them to react to the warmth in your home and break bud earlier than they would have outside. If you live somewhere a little warmer you may be able to get some early flowers this way, (this is also a great way to start a lesson about the difference between flower buds and leaf buds on winter trees) but nearly everyone will be able to get some charming little green leaves. Willow is on of my favorite trees to force, not just because they are one of the easier trees to coax into an early leaf out, but because they also have…

02Jan 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

New Year Nature Crowns!!

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, New Year's Eve, Play

One of the activities that we do every New Year's Eve is to make some sort of crown or party hat. In teh past we have mostly just colored in something free and printable and not gotten particularly fancy with it, but this year we decided that we needed to step up our crown game. The kids requested nature crowns, but we couldn't think of a way to make them "New Year's Eveish." I considered make stick crowns and spraying them gold because gold seems to be my default on NYE, but then I had an epiphany! Half of the crown would be bare sticks (like winter and the old year...) and the other half would be greenery (spring and the new year!) we ended up adding some sticks with…

29Dec 2022 by catbird 2 Comments

What is a Hibernation Celebration?

Craft Project, Hibernation Celebration, Learning, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Play, Winter

Every winter we have a "Hibernation Celebration" both at school and at home. What is a Hibernation Celebration pray tell? It's a super fun way celebrate the winter holidays in a non-denominational nature focused way. It can be a full lesson block with academic content the way we do at school or it can just be a fun party. We usually celebrate at the end of December right before winter break (otherwise known as the perfect time to hibernate...) but this is a great topic for January or February-- or any snowy cold month really. If you want to skip to party ideas click here. For all of my Hibernation content click here. When we celebrate hibernation at school it isn't just a straightforward scientific discussion of bears in caves.…

Category: Nature Collection