How to Make Seed Bursts for Spring Equinox
How to make seed bursts for spring and summer planting.
In celebration of the Spring Equinox, we will be making seed bursts in class. If you haven’t heard of seed bursts (also know as seed bombs) they are essentially a little ball of soil, compost, clay and seeds. Seed bursts are a great sensory activity, and a fun way for children to learn about seeds, plants, and how they grow. Not to mention, it’s a really fun way to plant seeds!
*Pay close attention to the planting instructions for the seeds that you choose to use. If you are in a warmer climate you might be able to use your seed bursts outside right away. If you live in the colder climates like us, you may have to wait until late spring.
Painting with Naturally Dyed Ice | Discovering Liquids and Solids
Discovering liquids and solids through natural dye ice painting
Students painting with natural dye ice cubes
This is a suer fun, hands on project to explain liquids and solids to your children. Children will learn what happens to a solid when exposed to heat and the difference between a liquid and a solid.
What you’ll need:
A freezer, or sheltered outdoor winter area
Popsicle sticks
Ice cube trays
Paper (thick cardstock or watercolor paper)
For Dye I used:
Green- Spinach, Mint, and Carrot Greens
Blue- Blueberries
Yellow - Turmeric
Reddish Brown - Paprika (for a more vibrant red, beats can also be used)
Instructions:
How to make your dyes:
Note- the dyes will stain your hands, if you do not wish to get the dye on your clothing or hands, I suggest wearing gloves and an apron, or, clothing that you don’t mind getting dye on.
To make your dyes, bring water to a boil in a pot on your stove top. Use a different container for each individual color. For vegetables, you’ll want about two cups of ingredients for every two cups of water. For spices you’ll want 2 tablespoons for every two cups of water.
Once boiling add ingredients for each color to assigned pot.
Boil for 1 minute, and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes
Strain ingredients from liquid - be sure to catch all the liquid in a pourable container.
Once you have your individual colored liquids, let them cool to room temperature
Once cooled, pour into your ice cube containers
Once slightly frozen I put my popsicle sticks in to be used as the handles for painting. Letting the ice slightly freeze makes it easier for the sticks to stand upright.
Let freeze (I let mine freeze over night)
Once frozen, grab your watercolor paper and start painting!
(Making dyes for painting is different then making dyes for clothing, which generally involves vinegar and/or salt to make dyes more permanent. For this project we skipped those ingredients)
Discussion Topics and Questions:
Can you find items around your home that are solids? What about liquids?
What makes liquids turn to solids?
Why do solids turn into liquids?
Is ice a solid or a liquid?
What did the ice turn into when it melted?
Migratory Birds - Winter Journey | Art and Stem Project
With the windchill temps reaching -25 degrees today, we were unable to get outside as we normally would, so, we filled our morning with a group art project on our migratory bird friends and their winter journey.
Students used dried popcorn cobs from the garden, wood scraps, foil, dried beans, foam, scraps of paper from our paper making day this past spring, yarn scraps, cotton balls, cuttings from old magazines and their imaginations to create a visual journey of migratory birds in the winter.
We started by discussing what dangers these birds might encounter on their journey and at different stopover sites along the way, and worked on adding those to the board. Next we discussed where we might go if we were birds flying to warmer weather, and created a warm weather world for them. I absolutely love the art that my students create and the thoughtful answers to these big questions!
This STEM project is a great, hands on way to learn about migratory birds and their winter journeys, through art.
Materials:
Large display board, poster board, or anything you want to use as the base to your project.
Glue
Scissors
Tape
Materials for creating the different environments along the birds migration journey
We used:
Dried popcorn cobs
Wood scrap pieces
Foil
Dried beans
Colored foam craft sheets
Scraps of homemade paper
Yarn remnants
Cotton balls
Cuttings from old magazines
You can use anything that you would like that you have around the house or in your recycling bins!
Instructions:
Discuss with your child why birds migrate and when. Reading children’s books on migration is a great way to introduce the topic and get kids excited about engaging.
Ask, “What are some possible dangers migratory birds might encounter in the different environments and places along the way?” Records their answers on a sheet of paper to refer to later
Ask “If you were a migratory bird, where would you fly for the winter?” and record these answers to set aside for later
Once you are ready, gather your materials
Revisit your answers to the questions presented
Work with your child to create the environments and dangers (that the birds may encounter) that were previously discussed. Have fun with this and get creative! We created a city (which reflects where we live and where my students go to school), using cotton balls for snow, the wood scraps to make buildings for our city, yarn remnants for telephone lines, and the scrap pieces of homemade paper for clouds. Next we created a river and woods reflected wild and natural environments and the different dangers for the birds there. Students glues dried beans for the shores, foil for water, corn cobs for cattails, and foam board for the trees.
Once we created a visual landscape for the birds journey, we added our questions and answers from the day to our board.
Hang your beautiful new piece of art, If you have a place to hang it, and tag us in your creations @littlenaturalistsmn
Flower Crowns for Summer Solstice
Flower crowns are a really fun and creative craft that you can do with your kiddos, to celebrate the summer solstice! Heres what you will need to complete yours!
What you’ll need:
One weeping willow clipping per crown (about 1.5 feet long)
Gathered flowers for decorating, with 4 inches of stem still attached
Scissors
Hemp or string
How to respectfully and responsibly source your materials:
It is extremely important that we be respectful of nature and forage responsibly. Always make sure that you are foraging in an area that foraging is welcomed and allowed. Growing your own flowers and plants for different foraging needs is always a great option.
Always be sure to only take a small amount from each plant or area that you are foraging from. As a general rule, only ever take 1/4 of a plant at most. When harvesting from trees, move around the tree and take from different spots, don’t over harvest in one place.
Do not remove entire plant from the ground, bring scissors, or plant trimmers, and gently cut off a piece from the plant.
Instructions:
Gather all of your materials you will be using to create your crown
Wrap the willow branch around your child’s head to measure how large the crown will be
Wrap excess branch around the circumference of the crown.
Place flowers around crown to decorate and gently wrap your hemp or string around each stem, to hold as you go.
Foraged Dandelion Syrup
It’s syrup day! The weather has been a perfect mixture of rain and sunshine and things are in bloom! One thing you may have noticed is all the dandelions popping up on over the ground. We think of dandelions as weeds these days, but they were actually intentionally harvested here and were once a treasured food source! This is such a fun way to connect with nature with your little one, learn plant identification, and explore how to cook with natural foods!
Dandelions are not only fun to harvest, easy to identify, and seemingly EVERYWHERE this time of year, but they are also a very beneficial and healthy food. Dandelions are they help control blood sugar levels, urinary tract disorders, boosts the immune system, and reduces inflammation. The coolest thing- the entire plant is edible! Leaves are great when harvested young, as salad greats, the flowers are great for cooking, and the sap can be used to treat itchy skin, ringworm, eczema, and warts when applied topically!
Safety First! - Lets talk safety before we get into it! As all foods go, allergic reactions may occur, so as you would with any other food, be aware of any reactions. I have never seen anyone react poorly, but you can never be too cautious. Identifying plants is always important as well! I’m sure you know what a dandelion looks like, BUT there are dandelion look a likes. Remember when harvesting the dandelions alway sonly have one flower per stem. Look alike have multiple flowers per stalk, and are not hollow on the inside like dandelions! So keep your eyes out for these distinct characteristics and always be sure to identify correctly when foraging. Another thing to keep in mind is ALWAYS be sure to harvest from a safe location. Be sure there are no pesticides or chemicals that have been sprayed on the areas you are picking from!
Okay! Now that we have that out of the way, lets get to making some delicious syrup from the beautiful yellow flowers you have picked with your little one!
Ingredients:
4 cups dandelion petals
6 cups water
5 cups organic cane sugar
1 cup raw unfiltered honey (local honey is always a plus!)
1 lemon, sliced
Cinnamon stick, or pinch of ground cinnamon
Directions:
Once you’ve gathered your dandelions bring them inside and wash the flowers to the best of your ability.
In a large pot (i use my big soup pot), combine your cleaned flower petals with the water and sliced lemon and heat on high heat.
Bring water to boil and turn heat off. Cover and let sit for 6-8 hours. Essentially you are making dandelion lemon tea
Once the tea is ready, strain the tea, making sure to squeezing all of the liquid from the lemons and flower petals
In a large pot combine the dandelion lemon tea with sugar, honey, and cinnamon
Simmer on low heat for about an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. This part in important, you want to be sure not to over heat the sugars, but let it cook slow. Be patient! Its worth it!
You can test the consistency of your syrup by taking a small bit out with a spoon occasionally and letting cool to see how thick it is. Once your syrup has reached the desired consistency you are ready to bottle your delicious creation!
Bottle your syrup in an air tight container, I used mason jars and recycled syrup jars. Store in the fridge.
Enjoy your delicious, locally foraged treat! As always, we would love to hear about your experience! Tag us on instagram and share your foraging adventure! Happy spring!
Letter Writing Project
Letter writing is a great way to connect with your community, introduce language skills, and raise self and social awareness within your child. This is perhaps my top favorite activity to do with my students, and can be done at school and/or at home with assistance from an adult. In fact, letter writing is a big part of the Little Naturalists program. Each month students will send a letter and get the opportunity to connect with their heroes.
What you will need:
Paper
Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Pen or pencil
Instructions:
Ask your child who they would like to communicate with/write a letter to. Give them options and/or examples of some of the people or characters they could choose. Throughout the years, my students have written letters to characters such as Elmo, Ms.Frizzle (Lily Tomlin), Mr.McFeely (from Mr.Roger and Daniel Tiger), Dinosaur Train, and Doc McStuffins, as well as forest fire fighters, meteorologists, construction workers, and the Minnesota orchestra.
If your child is unable to write themselves, help your them compose and write the letter. Allow them to word it themselves. This empowers independent thinking and promotes language skills. Read what your written back to them as you write. If they are stuck help them with forming their sentences or give them prompts for continuing their story/questions.
Once the letter is written have your child draw a picture or decorate the letter how they want.
When finished, put the letter in an envelope and address it. Have your child be a part of this process as well. Explain what you are doing, what address goes where. How this works at the post office and the “why’s” behind address placement.
Have your child carefully place a stamp in the corner and put it in the mailbox themselves!
You may, in time, even receive a letter back from one of your recipients. Throughout the years, my students and I have received letters back from Dinosaur Train, Mr.McFeely, forest firefighters, a meteorologist, a construction worker, the Minnesota Orchestra, and more.
Have fun and be creative in your questions for people! Tag us on Instagram and share your story and experience in letter writing and connecting with the community!
Small Motor Bird Feeder
Its spring! The trees are budding, the sun is shining, everything is slowly turning green, and the birds are about! It’s a perfect time for making hanging bird feeders! Although birds don’t need too much help from their human friends at this time of year, they will still steal a snack or two along with some other their other animal friends, especially the squirrels! This is also a great project for developing small motor skill and it’s fun too!
What You’ll Need:
String
Food Scraps (This is important to be mindful of, as some foods are harmful to birds. Use berries, orange slices, plain sunflower seeds or peanut shells, or if its easiest plain cheerios)
Instructions:
Poke holes in any of the food items that don’t have holes for stringing already
Tie a larger piece of food to one end of the string, so that the other pieces don’t fall off when stringing
Have your child thread the string through each piece of food
Once finished, tie a loop knot to the end of the string for hanging
Lastly, find a tree or hanging spot in your yard, preferably near a window or easily visible place, so that you and your child can have fun observing animal visitors.
As always, tag us in your posts on instagram to share your creations and share your observations with us! We love seeing all of the wonderful creations you make and hearing about your nature adventures!
Recycle City
Creating a mini city from recycled items!
Making Recycle City
This is one of my absolute favorite projects to do, especially if you have multiple days you want to fill with creative kid projects!
You could take a day to work on your city if you would like, or weeks!
What You’ll Need:
Cardboard (for base)
Recycled boxes, tubes, cartons, anything you like! Be creative! Almost anything can be turned into a home, shop, or city building!
Tape and glue
Black vinyl tape or black duct tape
Paint
Instructions:
Gather all of your building materials together
Paint, decorate, and create each building. We used toilet paper rolls for chimneys, tissue boxes and milk cartons to make multistory buildings. The sky is the limit on what you can create! Think outside the box! heh… get it? Okay, okay.. moving on..
Let any painted or glued together buildings dry, and start making the base of your city. We used flattened cardboard boxes and extra astroturf that was on hand. If you are using flattened cardboard boxes, arrange them how you would like, and tape them all together.
Once taped together, paint the cardboard green for grass.
Once the paint is dry, you can take your black vinyl tape or black duct tape to make the streets. Tape where you want the streets to be and paint white dashed lines to make it all come together.
Let the paint for the street dry
By this time your building should be ready to place around your city! We gathered all of our figurine friends, mini cars, and train set to add to our city!
The best part is playing with everything once finished! And remember, you can always add to your city!
Happy creating! Tag us in your posts on instagram to share your creations! We love seeing all of the wonderful creations you make!
Egg Carton Construction Trucks
I absolutely love making art with recycled egg cartons! There are so many different and creative things you can create using them! Today I want to share with you how to make excavator construction trucks from egg cartons! (Makes two trucks)
What you’ll need:
1 cardboard egg carton
4 popsicle sticks
glue
cardboard (I used one side of a cereal box)
scissors
Instructions:
Remove lid from egg carton by either cutting along edge or gently tearing from bottom half
Cut the top section in half (hamburger style), setting aside one of the halves to be the base of each truck
Next you will cut two egg holders from the other half, keeping them together. Do this twice.
Glue the two egg holders upside down to the front end of each truck base. This will be the cab/top of your trucks
With your cardboard piece (cereal box or whatever you are choosing to use), cut out 4 circles for each truck. These will be the wheels
If you would like to paint the wheels, this is the time to do so
After any paint dries, glue your wheels to each truck base.
Now for the truck arms! Cut one egg holder or egg dimple in half. Each half will be the bucket of one of the trucks.
For the arms! We got creative and added a upper and lower arm, you can add as many arms as you would like!
For the bottom arm, poked two holes in either end of the bucket piece that we cut out, enforcing the holes where the popsicle sticks came through, with glue. We then attached the other end of the arm to the truck using the same method.
For the upper arm we glued one end of a popsicle stick to another, making one long arm in a 90 degree angle, attaching the bucket piece to the popsicle stick with the same method as above. Connect the other side of the arm to the truck using the same method.
(For each bucket arm, you will need to make another half egg holder piece.)
Paint your creation if you would like! Your excavator could be any color of the rainbow! Ours was yellow!
Let dry and have fun playing with your awesome creation!
Be sure to check back again soon for more crafting at home ideas!
Book Making
Book making fun for the whole family!
Inspiring creative thinking, problem solving skills, sequencing, and motor skill development through storytelling.
Book Making can be a really project for rainy days! And, you can use items that you probably already have in at home.
What you’ll need:
Crayons, markers, whatever you want to draw with
Hole punch
Paper
String
Directions:
Fold an 8x10 piece of paper in half and stack on top of one another until you have reached the desired number of pages. I usually make it a shorter, 5-10 page book.
Use a hole punch to put holes on the folded side of the book, and bind with string
Have your child tell you what to write on each page. You may have to help guide the story by asking questions like “then what happened” or asking about details of the story. What the character may have been feeling, why they felt that way, what environment are they in, etc. If your child is learning to write, this is a great activity for writing practice!
Once the story is written, go back and illustrate each page together!
What I find to be the most fun about the project is enjoying the fully illustrated story together after its completed! It gives children a sense of accomplishment in creating their own story that they can enjoy and that you can enjoy together!
Happy creating! And as always, please tag us in your instagram posts, and share your creations! We love seeing all of your finished projects!
Homemade Playdough
Homemade playdough winter activity for parents and kids!
Homemade playdough is one of my favorite winter crafts to do with my students! Its a great sensory activity, in the mixing and making as well as the playing, and its a fantastic way to learn about and experiement with colors, when choosing which ones to mix to match to achieve your desired playdough color!
There are many playdough recipes online, all slightly different from the other. Here’s how we make ours!
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
desired food coloring
Directions:
Mix flour, cream of tartar, salt, vegetable oil, and water in large bowl
Once mixed add food coloring and fold or stir in
Put in sauce pan and cook over low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until playdough starts to harden and reach desired texture. (be careful touching playdough, as it will be hot!)
Take off heat and allow to cool before touching
Once cool, knead dough for a few minutes to make it a bit softer and malleable
Have fun playing with your homemade playdough!
As always, I’d love to see your creations. Tag us on Instagram @littlenaturalistsmn to share! Happy creating!
Bird Seed Ornament
Bird Seed Ornament Feeders
This is such a fun project and a great creative, motor skill and sensory craft! Bird seed ornaments, which will most likely also be enjoyed by other winter woodland friends as well, can be made overnight and hung the next day! All you need is some bird seed and a few other ingredients! If you’d like to make your own, follow the instructions below! Happy creating!
Bird Seed Ornaments:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
2 packets gelatin
3 tbsp corn syrup
3 cups bird seed
Items needed:
Parchment paper
Paper straws
Baking sheet
cookie cutters
Directions:
In a large bowl mix all in ingredients (bird seed being last)
grab a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
Place cookie cutters on sheet
fill cookie cutters with bird seed mix. Be sure to pack down with a spoon or fingers, ensuring the mix is tightly packed inside the cookie cutters. Fill cutters to top.
Cut plastics straws in quarters and press into bird seed ornament ensuring it pierces all the way through the mixture, making a hole to layer pull strings through to hang.
place baking sheet with bird seed filled cookie cutters outside (if you live in a cold climate) or in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours or over night.
After ornaments have hardened, take them out of the refrigerator or from outside and place string through hole previously made.
Go outside and hang your beautiful creation! See if you can spot the different animal friends that stop by to say hi and grab a bite to eat!
Tip:
Making the string holes in the center of the ornament rather than towards an edge will help ensure durability.
“Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” - Adding Murals to our Inside Spaces
We’ve added murals to our indoor spaces to create an environment that inspires children to fully immerse themselves in each play environment to better discover, learn, and explore through play.
I really wanted to create a unique and special environment for my students to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of each play center. To feel fully inspired and creative to learn, explore and discover. One of the ways I set to accomplish this was to paint a mural in the different play areas. A total of three murals now reside in the indoor play areas, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the atmosphere it has helped create.
The first of the three murals was inspired by one of my favorite children’s books, “The Buried Moon”. The book is about the moon deciding one night that she had to see the world for herself, and climbed out of the sky to discover it. I decided to paint one of my favorite scenes from the book of abstract mountains, nestled behind a field of mushrooms and tall grass. I added a woman walking through the scene, to act as the moon character from the book. It’s a perfect addition the the bathroom waiting area, for kids to sit and wait for their turn to go potty.
The second mural, a sleepy jungle scene, sits on the back wall of the quiet room. A tiger, a monkey, and a sloth overlook the mindfulness and library area, creating a solo thing scene for a peaceful atmosphere where students can relax and navigate their many emotions.
The third and final mural sits in the background of the dramatic play area, a city scene as a backdrop for the farmers market, dress up, kitchen, and tool/workstation areas, where students can feel immersed in the hustle and bustle of a real city.
I couldn’t be happier with how these murals ended up compliment each center, while tying the entire daycare together as one. As you step into each space, experiencing each unique atmosphere.
DIY A-Frame Playhouse
Learn about how we built an A-Frame playhouse for nature-based learning and play with Little Naturalists in St.Paul Minnesota.
There’s a quote up on my wall that says, “This will be as hard as it is beautiful.” I like it because it’s a wonderful reminder that some of the things that we work the hardest for in life, are also, often, the most beautiful. It’s also a great way to describe this project.
As excited as I was to create this dramatic play area outside for the kiddos, I wasn’t exactly sure where to start. I’ve always loved building things, but have never embarked on such a large project. I was lucky enough to have some help from my partner, and a family friend who has been a contractor his whole life, building houses from the ground up, who was generous to walk me through it.
I love including families in the projects I do here at the daycare, and am so excited to share this process and journey with you.
I had my heart set on a playhouse that was also large enough for me to comfortably be in and interact with my students. So I decided to make the structure 8 feet tall, so I would be able to easily stand and move around.
I started by building an 8x8 foot platform. There’s a lot of different ways to do this, but, wanting to insure extra safety, I went for the over kill option, with 8 footings made of 6x6 inch beams, cemented into the ground, to hold up the platform, built as one would build a deck.
After screwing in the boards, I started work constructing the frame. I cut and bolted 4 beams in place on each side of the platform, to form the a-frame wall structures, with a ridge beam in the middle. I then cut cross beams that were placed on the top, beneath the ridge, for additional support.
Adding cross braces between each beam also helped make the structure a bit more sturdy. Once we had the frame in place, it was time to build the walls.
I really wanted to maximize the space by making one of the outside walls a climbing area, so I decided to go with plywood as the material for the roof/walls, to create a basic climbing space. I painted each board with a deep black exterior paint. I love the way dark colors look with the seasons. Complimenting each other with a particularly gorgeous contrast in the fall and winter, with the autumn leaves, and the falling snow.
Once we had the walls up, we started work on the back wall.
I decided to construct it with 2x4’s, adding a window with a couple of support beams on each side. There are some really awesome window options online, safe for playhouses, that are shatterproof, but I decided to leave the window open to the outside.
Lastly I painted the rest of the outside of the structure black, hung battery powered lights from the ceiling (they are magical at sundown), and added the climbing wall holds, with t nuts and bolts, for a strong hold. (To be honest I am probably having more fun climbing than the kiddos.)
It is so important to me to be able to provide my students with the same outside centers as I am able to provide inside. As most of our class time is spent outdoors, it is imperative that my students are provided with equal learning and exploration opportunities in both settings. Being able to create a large dramatic play area that can also double as a second quiet space and mindfulness area outside, is so wonderful. I cannot wait to add the easel, pillows, outdoor rug, and toys to the space for the kiddos to enjoy! Now the outdoor play kitchen and dining area has a house to go with it!