Outdoor Play Kitchen

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Shawna

I’ve come across some splendid pictures over at Pinterest lately. These rad outdoor play kitchens made the top of my list.

from Rhythm Of The Home

from Sew Liberated

from Bluebird Baby

I was so inspired that I showed them to the kids and we were off to make our own right away…

The kiddos easily spent over an hour playing with their new outdoor play kitchen. Hopefully tomorrow they’ll make some mud pies!

nature for kids, outdoor activity, mud pies, outdoor kitchen, play kitchen, Pinterest

Leave No Trace

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Shawna

I’ve been trying to ingrain into my children’s brains that everything in our home has a specific spot it belongs. It seems I spend my days saying things like, “your coat doesn’t belong on the floor,” and “get these legos off the dinner table.” But this lesson they are continually learning goes beyond just our house. While we were out for a walk the other day my 3-year-old son threw his sucker stick on the ground, stepped on it and kept on walking. Bright lights, bells and whistles went off in my head and I realized it was a teaching moment.

“Hey little man garbage doesn’t belong on the ground. It belongs in the garbage can,” I said. He shrugged his shoulders and picked it up without a fight. Lesson learned, right? Well today I decided to take it a bit further. My kids and I went for a walk with our gloves on and garbage sack in hand. We picked up garbage as we went. I think this drove the idea in a little further. As we walked we talked about the idea of leave no trace and the responsibilities that come along with playing outside. (I condensed it to the 6 and 3-year-old version)

Here are some subjects we hit on:

Stay on marked trails
Pack out what you pack in
Leave what you find
Be careful with fire
Don’t bother the wildlife

Overall it’s just a matter of leaving things how you find them, by trying to have a minimal impact on your surroundings. That way others that come along the trail later can find it in the exact beautiful state that you did. By not picking that dark purple leopard lily just off the trail someone else can witness it’s popping color and point it out to their travel companion.

Fun Activity:

Last Spring I took my Cub Scout group and my kids up a trail just above our little town. We took plaster of paris and poured it into animal footprints we found. Then we hiked up the trail. By the time we returned the plaster was dry and we took the molds of the footprints out. The kids loved it, and seemed to enjoy taking a bit of nature home with them without actually taking something.

Do you have any ideas concerning Leave No Trace?

leave no trace, nature for kids, garbage, liter, outdoor activity

Spring Treasure Hunt

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Shawna

The outdoors are alive and kickin’ now that spring is in full swing. During preschool we took the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful day by going on a spring treasure hunt to learn about the letter X.

Here’s a video of our fun …

Click on the picture below to print it off and take outside on your own spring treasure hunt. Arrgh Matey!

Have a great weekend everyone! We’ll be back soon with some rock climbing adventures! Don’t eat too much Easter candy now…

nature for kids, treasure hunt, spring, preschool

Volcano Fun

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Shawna

I alternate weeks teaching preschool with a friend and last week Scout and her buddy made a volcano! The letter of the week was “V”.

Here’s how theirs turned out…

video
We also talked about the earth and how volcanoes come about and then watched some footage of real volcanoes erupting.

Thanks for stopping by and if you missed it we’re giving away a polarmax youth base layer. Go sign up to win!
nature for kids, crafts for kids, volcano, preschool, recipe

Playscapes – Loose Parts

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Shawna

Okay, I want one of these!

It’s called a roliquery.

They were created by Amy Brier.

From my last post, number 19 on the list of “20 Ways To Create Play Environments For The Soul”was add loose parts. This roliquery would definitely be an awesome loose part to add to any digging station or sandbox.

It’s a functional piece of artwork. Now these are one of a kind guys so they are spendy, but I’m sure there’s a way to make your own. I’m picturing a ball of sculpty clay and some army guys squished into it. Sounds like a fun activity to do with the kiddos. Also you could just use different types of balls, basketball, volleyball or golf ball, anything with a pattern in it. What other loose parts would you add to your playscape? If you missed my introduction to playscapes, take a look here.
playscapes, playground, nature for kids, outdoors, crafts for kids, loose parts

Nature For Kids

Encouragement and ideas concerning wholesome outdoor recreation

Category Archives: Crafts For Kids