Workbook – Page 26 – Phlox Architect

19Dec 2021 by catbird 2 Comments

Solstice Yule Cake

Recipes, Winter Portfolio, Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice and the Yule Log.... Every Winter Solstice my family turns off all the lights in the evening, lights a fire in the fireplace, lights a million candles, spreads a blanket in front of the fire/ Yule tree and has dinner on the living room floor. Not only is it a lovely way to celebrate the darkest night, but it’s also a great opportunity to turn off electronics and lights and just enjoy each other’s company. The kids think it’s hysterical to walk around the house with a lantern and it’s an incredibly relaxing night in a busy stressful season. Every year we have Swedish meatballs (which are referred to as ikea meatballs in my house... ) and a bouche de noel or Yule log cake. Some years it’s…

19Dec 2021 by catbird No Comments

Hibernation Week Pie

Cold Moon, Full Moon, Hibernation Celebration, Recipes, Winter Portfolio

Cold Moon hibernation pie!! The December Full moon is most often described as the Cold Moon. In my mind the Cold Moon is always linked to hibernation— my school has a week-long hibernation celebration every year in December that culminates in a Cold Moon Hibernation Party. Everyone learns about different aspects of hibernation, coziness and staying warm from straightforward activities like building shelters and learning about how animals survive to more abstract ideas of home and hearth. The fourth grade makes candles as a part of their colonial america studies and fifth grade makes hibernation snacks to eat while observing the stars. It’s a delightful way to celebrate the winter holidays and to prepare for a long winters nap.

18Dec 2021 by catbird 3 Comments

Solstice Ice Lanterns

Craft Project, Nature Art, Winter Portfolio, Winter Solstice

Every Winter Solstice we make an ice lantern for the center of our Solstice Spiral. We fill it up with pinecones and holly and evergreens and it makes the whole space magical! If it's not cold enough where you live, you can stick these in the freezer instead. There are a few different ways to make them below- the botanical lanterns are my favorite, but the balloon lantern lantern is faster if you're in a pinch. We rarely have enough snow for teh snowball lantern, but if you do it's easy and fun! Botanical Ice Lanterns Materials: Two plastic containers- one larger and one smaller Masking tape Water Evergreen branches, holly, berries, pinecones etc Method: Set you smaller container inside the larger one and tape it in place with the…

17Dec 2021 by catbird No Comments

Winter Solstice Wishes

Craft Project, Free Printable, Winter Solstice

This is a fun way to release wished into the world using science! When you drop these folded pieces of paper into water, the liquid slowly wicks up the paper through a process called capillary action. "Capillary action is the process of a liquid flowing in a narrow space without the assistance of, or even in opposition to, any external forces like gravity." Solstice WishesDownload https://www.pinterest.com/pin/91831279895569169

08Dec 2021 by catbird 1 Comment

Orange Garlands

Craft Project, Nature Art, Winter Portfolio

Dried oranges and wooden beads strung into garlands are one of my favorite things about winter. The whole thing smells amazing when the fire is going!

01Dec 2021 by catbird 1 Comment

A Printable Winter Special Spot Journal

Free Printable, Nature Journaling, Winter Solstice

Winter is a quiet time in nature, but there is still lots to do and see! Below is a printable journal to get you started, but it just scratches the surface of winter prompts. Use the blank pages to add your own! Print out all the pages and then lay them in this order on your work surface. Notice that the cover sheet is placed face down! Winter PromptsDownload Line the pages up, fold them in half and poke an odd number of holes into the spine. Sew together with yarn or string. For instructions on how to sew the journal together, please click here. I designed this printable so that you only have to print on one side of the paper because trying to match up sides can be…

19Nov 2021 by catbird No Comments

Lichen Garden

Nature Collection, Winter Portfolio

Every year around this time we start collecting fallen bits and pieces of lichen and make a lichen garden in our favorite park. its one of my boys favorite things to do on a winter walk. If you'd like to give it a try, all you do is collect branches and arrange them all together. Lichen is always there, but suddenly becomes super visible in the late fall/ early winter when the trees shed their leaves and everything is grey and gloomy. Suddenly the bright green lichen shines in the forest.

19Nov 2021 by catbird 1 Comment

November Tea Party

Autumn, Autumn Portfolio, Recipes

Foraged spicebush tea with a multiflora rose syrup. The hips sweeten after a frost, as do the little carrots we wrestled out of the garden. A beautiful way to celebrate the shift to teh colder months. Foraged Spicebush Tea Spicebush is a plant that grows wild all over the east coast. In the fall it produces bright red berries that make a lovely spice, but the thing I like most about it are it's twigs. You can find them even in the dead of winter and they make a lovely gentle flavored tea. It immediately makes me think of tromping through the woods with my kids. We like ours sweetened with a little bit of rosehip syrup or honey. My kids love foraging it and drinking this tea! Ingredients: dried…

18Apr 2021 by catbird 1 Comment

How are you Feeling? How is the Weather?

Free Printable, Nature Journaling

This is a simple, but interesting data visualization. You can click on the image below to print out a pdf and record your observations all on one sheet, or you can try trying a triangle in the corner of your regular nature journal every time you start to draw. When you look back on your observations you might start to notice correlations between the weather and or temperature and your mood! What else could you record this way? Here is one being used on a journal page!