13Aug 2023 by catbird
Solar Balloons

Solar Balloons

Craft Project, Learning, Play, Recycled Materials, Summer
We always struggle a bit with the dog days of summer-- its hot and humid and no one really wants to do anything. That coupled with the sinking "summer is ending soon" feeling that I always get this time of year always seems to make me cranky in august. So instead of sitting around we decided to break out some simple projects that benefit from sweltering heat- the first of which was this solar balloon. What is a solar balloon anyway? "A solar balloon is a balloon that gains buoyancy when the air inside is heated by solar radiation, usually with the help of black or dark balloon material. The heated air inside the solar balloon expands and has lower density than the surrounding air. As such, a solar balloon is similar to a hot air balloon. Usage…
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23Jul 2023 by catbird
Wildcrafting Tea

Wildcrafting Tea

First Harvest, Foraging, Garden, Play, Recipes, Summer
The first harvest is all about, well, harvesting. Many people associate this day with grains and bread, but there are lots of other things that are at their peak and ripe for harvesting this time of year too. One of our favorites that you might not immediately think about is herbal tea. We harvest wild plants and plants from our garden, dry them and make a new tea blend each year. (Naming them is obviously part of the fun...) Past names have included "summer thunderstorm tea" and "firefly tea." Herbs to Harvest for Tea Try collecting a variety of herbs and then let children smell them and decide which ones they like together. Wash and dry everything and then crush them up in a mortar and pestle. (This step is…
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23Jul 2023 by catbird
Pink Moon Petal Hunt

Pink Moon Petal Hunt

Craft Project, Full Moon, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Pink Moon, Play, Spring
A great way to celebrate the Pink Moon is to go on a "pink" scavenger hunt and see how many bits of pink you can find creeping out after the winter. You may find some pink flowers, but pink is also in other unexpected places like leaves, sticks, and even insects! How many types of pink things can you find? Pink Moon Scavenger Hunt There are no checklists for this hunt, just look for things that are pink! They can be natural things like petals and leaves or anything else that's pink and catches your eye. You can take photos to keep track or physically collect some items. (Take care with natural items, plants are just starting over for the year so it's best to stick with things that have…
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01Jul 2023 by catbird
Painting with the Rain

Painting with the Rain

Craft Project, Full Moon, Nature Art, Play, Thunder Moon
Many people call July’s full moon the Buck Moon because that’s the name that the Farmers’ Almanac has chosen, but the names found among sources (both Native American and European) are all over the place. Of course, there are different things happening in nature depending on where you live. Still, a theme can be found among many July moon names, and it’s all about the berries: Berry Moon from the Anishinaabe, Moon When the Chokecherries Are Ripe Moon from the Lakota and Arapaho, Red Berries Moon from the Assiniboine, and Blackberry Moon from the Shawnee tribe. Several other names reference the heat of midsummer.  For me though, July often brings a period of intense summer thunderstorms, so that is why Thunder Moon is the name I prefer. “Thunder Moon” comes…
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16Jun 2023 by catbird
Plarn Sun Catchers

Plarn Sun Catchers

Craft Project, Nature Art, Play, Recycled Materials, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
I am always trying to think of new ways to make sun catchers this time of year- it's the perfect easy craft to celebrate the sun. I also try and stay away from the contact paper method and excessive waste plastic (no shade though we've all been there.) This is one of my favorite sun catchers to date-- it's simple enough for littles and engaging enough, well for adults honestly. It makes use of waste plastic in the form of those terrible plastic grocery bags that just never seem to go away. (My county has banned them and yet they are still everywhere?) You first cut the bags into strips and make a type of yarn (plastic + yarn = plarn) and then weave them around sticks. It's a very…
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04Jun 2023 by catbird
Brew Some Summer Sun Tea

Brew Some Summer Sun Tea

Foraging, Free Printable, Play, Summer, Summer Solstice
This is an excerpt from my discontinued book: Summer Solstice: Celebrating the Brightest Day. The full chapter includes information about summer flowers, how light impacts the way we and different pollinators see flowers, creating an herbarium and a floral luncheon made with edible flowers. (Where this recipe came from!) click on image to get pdf! Red Clover Sun Tea This recipe is fantastic because it not only uses summer flowers, but it is made with the help of the sun! I can remember making sun tea with my mom as a little girl and it was basically magic. Red clover on its own makes a tasty and healthy tea, but we add my kids’ favorite tea bags to make it more familiar for them. If I wasn’t trying to please…
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04Jun 2023 by catbird
Summer Wild Berry Foraging Hike

Summer Wild Berry Foraging Hike

Foraging, Hike Ideas, Play, Summer Portfolio, Summer Solstice
This is probably my kids favorite kind of hike... built in snacks! In fact, we love foraging for wineberries along hiking trails so much that I named my business Wineberry Wood Press. There are tons and tons of different types of berries that grow wild all summer, find a good field guide or a knowledgable forager in your area and get a sense of what is available when and or course what is safe. Wineberries and blackcaps are a particular favorite of ours, but there are so many others! bring a basket and collect berries to make a treat later, or do what we usually do and just eat and walk. Either way it will stave of the frequent protestations of "I'm hungry!" strawberries wineberries mulberry & honeysuckle tart wild…
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04Jun 2023 by catbird
Botanical Bioplastic Sun Catchers

Botanical Bioplastic Sun Catchers

Craft Project, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice is a perfect time to make sun catchers-- light is abundant and long lasting. Every year I try to think up a new way of making a fun sun catcher that will look beautiful gleaming in a summer window and celebrate the season. This year we used a material that's been on my list forever-- bioplastic. Bioplastic is "a plastic derived from biological substances rather than from petroleum, many types of which are biodegradable." So in for this project we use gelatin to make a plastic that is completely biodegradable and not harmful to the environment, but is string and rigid the way traditional plastic is. We used natural plant colorants to dye our bioplastic. Botanical Bioplastic Sun Catchers My favorite of the sun catchers we made this…
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