steam – Wineberry Wood Press

10Jul 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Fun Summer Solstice Craft Ideas For Kids

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Nature Journaling, Nature Table, Play, Summer, Summer Solstice

Looking for fun crafts to do with (or without…) kids for the Summer Solstice? Click the text next to the images for the tutorials. Save for later! Sun Catchers: Plarn Sun Catcher Bioplastic Sun Catcher Blooming Fern Sun Catcher Tidepool Sun Catcher Sun Powered Crafts: Solar Oven Crayons Solar Oven Shrinky Dinks Shadow Drawings Solar Lanterns Solar Circuits Solar Balloons Decorations: Sun Prints & Anthotypes Turmeric Shibori Bunting Shell Candles Sea Glass Mobiles Shell Fragment Wreaths Flower Crowns Summer Nature Activities: Summer Nature Journal Summer Nature Table k

21Mar 2024 by catbird 2 Comments

“Thunder Cake”

Craft Project, Learning, Nature Art, Nature Journaling, Picture Book Buds, Play, Recipes, STEAM

Picture Book Buds are a fun and easy way to incorporate literacy into nature study. Read a book (you can even read it outside!) and then enjoy the related activity and snack suggestions! Thunder Cake Written & Illustrated by: Patricia Polacco This is a beautiful book about a young child and her grandma baking a cake during a thunderstorm to distract her from being scared. So many kids can relate to this feeling and you can take it further and learn about storms. I like to think that learnig about the science of storms makes them less scary and it has definitely helped my kids. Also cake. "It's Raining" by Gail Gibbons is a great nonfiction starting point. And "Mushroom Rain" written by by Laura K. Zimmermann and illustrated by Jamie Green…

25Jan 2024 by catbird No Comments

Scented Crystal Snowflakes

Craft Project, Full Moon, Play, Snow Moon, STEAM, Winter

Another snowflake project to celebrate the snow moon! Can you really even have enough snowflakes? This would be a great project to do with a snow lesson, Snowflake Bentley, White Snow Bright Snow and the Story of Snow are all favorite books in our house. Snowflakes are a type of crystal that forms around a bit of dust or debris as it falls from the sky and famously each one is unique. Scented Crystal Snowflakes I’ve always loved making borax crystals– I supersaturate the borax solution so that larger crystals form. Most recipes use a lot less borax and that will work, but it will form much smaller crystals.I like to add essential oil to the solution so that it smells nice, but it's completely optional. Ingredients: White or blue…

20Dec 2023 by catbird No Comments

Cold Moon Puddle Ice Sun Catcher

Cold Moon, Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Art Materials, Play, STEAM, Winter

The Mohawk people call December the Time of the Cold Moon. December is the start of real winter for us here in the Mid-Atlantic, and many of this month’s full moon names reflect that. The Creek call this moon the Big Winter Moon, the Shoshone refer to the Winter Moon, the Abenaki call it the Winter Maker Moon, and the Oneida call this moon the It’s a Long Night Moon, which is relates to the Winter Solstice, which occurs this month and is in fact the longest night of the year. In my mind the Cold Moon is always linked to hibernation: animals are hibernating, and we humans spend more time inside, slowing down and getting cozy. It's also the time we start to find what I call "puddle ice"…

13Aug 2023 by catbird No Comments

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…

Tag: steam