Exploring the Nature

Ahhh, The Great Outdoors...

Camping is just one of the many things my family has been busy doing the past few weeks.  T Man is in Cub Scouts and we have two annual camping trips.  This time the camp site was right on the water. 

At first, I was worried because neither of my boys are great swimmers.  My fears were soon put to rest when I realized that the water had a gradual entry.  The boys were able to play in the water's edge with little problem.

Being near the water had the added benefit of allowing JJ to stay outside on a very hot day.  As I watched nearby, I would noticed my little guy wetting down his clothes to cool off.  He is becoming such a big boy.  He didn't even need me to take care of him.


Sunrise Over the Lake

Camping is such a great way to unplug and get in touch with nature.  I thought I would share a few tips of the trade to get you started.

First of all you need to select a location.  Discover America is a site that helps you locate various activities by location in the United States.  Simply select camping and fishing from the drop down menu, how far you are willing to travel, and your state. 

You will get to view a list of camping grounds in the area you provided.  It is not a comprehensive list, but it will definitely get you started.

Things to consider when selecting a camping site:

1.  Does the site have electrical hook ups?  Hard core campers will think this unnecessary, but for many families this is a priority.  With RV camping and various camping gear that can be purchased nowadays, electricity can make camping for the non-enthusiast much more comfortable.

2.  Are there public restrooms?  Any family with kids would want to make sure that bathrooms are available.  Most kids just will not do their business in the woods or an open field.

3.    Are there enough trees to provide adequate shade during the hottest part of the day?

4.  Can you swim on site?

5.  Is fishing available?

6.  Is geocaching available on site?

The above are only some of the questions to consider.  Sit down with the adults who will be on the camping trip and discuss options and concerns to ensure you get the most out of your nature experience.

Now that you have selected a site, you can begin to plan some activities for your down time.  This doesn't mean that you are providing your children with a step by step itinerary.  It simple means that you provide a pressure valve several times a day to reground your child and help to keep him or her from becoming overstimulated by all there is to see and do when you are spending the bulk of your time outdoors.

    

Activities to Consider: 
1.   structured free play:  Simply steer your child to a location that can provide a space to play with relaxation built in.  Remember the lake front that has a gradual entry? It  proved to be a hot spot for my kiddos.  Making motes, digging, and exploring the shallow waters was very calming amongst a day that was filled with high energy.

Here is a bit of the natural learning that took place:

Little J learned that digging in the slug next to the water causes the water to seep up from the ground.  This lead to discussion on sea level.  He also learned how to make a mote that would fill with water as the waves rolled onto the bank.  It took a while to make walls that didn't collapse, but he was eventually successful.

T Man explored the marine life in the shallow waters and practice balancing on the moss covered river rocks.  He explored every nook and cranny he could physically reach.  He even managed to squeeze in some swim practice as well.



2.  bring arts and crafts into nature:  Something as simple as building a small boat and sailing it in the waters can provide that much needed pressure valve, as well as, hours of entertainment. 

This was the activity of the day on our scout trip.  It took about 10 minutes to assemble the sail boats, but the fun lasted for most of an afternoon.

Another idea is to create a simple nature journal that you take with you on outdoor outings.  Click here to find out how we made our own.

Have a budding naturalist or scientist?  Check out these awesome nature bags.  They have a bit of everything to make exploring outdoors fun for all involved.

3.  cook with the kiddos:  Allow your child to make his or her own meal... sandwiches and chips, smores around the evening campfire.  Cooking is an engaging activity most kids love.

4.  pack up your bikes and go for a ride:  Put a couple bandages and wipes in your pockets.  Camping bike rides tend to have a few more cuts and scrapes due to the uneven terrain.

5.  hike through the woods:  Don't forget that trusty nature journal or nature bag.  This is the best time to put those to use.

6.  locate geocaches... hidden boxes with small treasures:  You will need a GPS and to have chosen a campsite that has several boxes on site.  Our Boy Scout den actually hid several boxes as part of our fall camp out last year.  If you are lucky enough to locate a camp like the one we used, you will have tons of boxes to hunt down.

Don't know about geocaching?  You are definitely missing out.  Check out this site to find out more.



Hopefully, this will give you some ideas for your next camp out.  Spending time in the outdoors and amongst nature is a wonderful time to connect with Mother Nature and to go unplugged. 

Bright Blessings.

Get Your Garden Growing

Planning a garden for the spring?  If so, it's time to get it ready.  This is a great activity for the entire family.  Turn off the tv and get outside.

Simple Steps to a Great Garden:

• Using a shovel, hoe, or hand trowel loosen and break up the soil.  You will need to go down to a depth of around 6-12 inches.  If your kidlets are helping you out, you may want to prepare the soil a bit before they join you to deter frustration... especially if your soil is as hard as the stuff in my backyard.
• Add organic material to the soil.  Mix it in really well.  Try to level out the bed as much as possible.
• Sprinkle a slow release fertilizer on top of the soil.  Mix the fertilizer with the soil only going about 2 inches deep.

There you have it.  A simple way to prepare your soil for springtime planting.  Plus, a fun way to unplug and get active with the family.

Source

Austin Nature Center

Sometimes the best trips cost very little money... in this case free. Austin Nature center is home to a multitude of rescued animals. They provide guided tours and a small one-on-one discussion with the tour guide for schools and daycare centers.

You walk around and view the animals at your leisure. You can also dig for dinosaur bones as well. After eating your picnic lunch on the grounds, you meet up with the tour guide for the remainder of your visit.

First grade has been studying pond life, so of course we got the grand pond tour.

This a picture of the waterway that led up to the pond itself.

The children got to scoop various items and wildlife out of the pond for further examination in the classroom. Mr. T had a blast! I was amazed that with 21 seven-year-olds running around on slipper rocks not even one fell in the water.

Here is T posing on a lilly pad shaped rock in the center of the waterway. He is getting so big (sigh). Kids grow up way too fast...

In the classroom, the tour guide leads a discussion on various pond animals and actually shows several to the children. The children have the opportunity to look at pond life up close and personal. Some of the animals can even be touched by the braver in the class.

This was the perfect field trip. the kids had fun, learned a bit more about pond animals, and shared some time outside of the classroom. I might just take the boys back this summer. My little snowflake would love it!

Spring Break Crafty Style

I have been searching the web for ideas and activities to do with my boys over Spring Break. So far, I have come up with the following:

sand art:
1. use glue to draw a design onto construction paper
2. sprinkle with sand over glue
3. allow to dry
4. add detail using crayon, marker or by gluing materials from nature onto your piece of artwork
5. display and enjoy

windsocks:
1. cut a brightly colored piece of poster board into a 6x24 inch strip
2. use hot glue to glue the strip into a circle
3. draw random spring items on colored construction paper (or color pictures on white paper and cut them out)

note: for little guys, i would draw a stencil and allow them to trace it and cut it out. this will work on fine motor skills as well as hand eye coordination.

4. glue cut out pictures to the poster board circle
5. use glue to attach 5-7 colored pieces of streamer to the bottom of your windsock
6. add a piece of ribbon or yarn to the top as a "hanger" earth day projects to consider:

Check out some fun projects at Kaboose.

1. egg carton bug mobile

2. tin can herb post

3. milk carton bird feeder

4. scrap cloth pencil holder

Hope you see something that is simple and inviting for your family. I know T will want to make a bird feeder. He always carries around his granddaddy's old bird book and marks off the birds he sees. J will probably choose the egg carton bug mobile. He loves buggies and getting messy.

I'll post the finished projects soon.

Read more...

Seeds, Seeds, Seeds by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

photo from Amazon.com

March and April are the perfect time of year to begin planting a small garden with your child. Consider using a window planter if your space is limited.

Before beginning, read the book Seeds, Seeds, Seeds. In this book, Buddy receives a package from Gramps that has a weeks worth of fun activities all relating to seed exploration. Each day Buddy pulls out a small bag and opens it to find an exciting new project for the day.

To really bring this book alive, have an aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc send your child a weeks worth of seed activities. You could have the book included in the package or read the book prior to the arrival of the package.

(Reading the book prior to the arrival of the package will build your child's schema or background knowledge for the activities. They will more than likely relate back to the book and can use the book as a resource when completing the activities.)

After completing all the activities, draw a picture or allow your child to dictate favorite activities or memories revolving around all the fun you both have shared. You may even want to send a similar package to a good friend or niece/nephew. Have your child help to select the activities and put the package together.
Have fun exploring and learning about seeds with Buddy.

*Check out other titles by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace at your local library. All of her books are fantastic!*

Fabric Eggs

I was checking out the Jamboree at Kiddio and noticed this great idea for decorating plastic Easter eggs. I have been trying for years to figure out a way to allow my kids to hunt eggs without having to fill the eggs with candy. Well, here you have it!

Materials Needed:

• plastic eggs
• strips of material
• mod podge
• fingers or sponge paint brushes
• empty egg carton

First, we cut the strips of fabric and mixed up the various kinds to make sure we chose a variety for our eggs.

Next, we poured the Mod Podge into a bowl. Then, we chose an egg and fabric.

You can see T Man really concentrating on which fabric to choose for his first egg.

Now, the fun begins. We used our sponge paint brushes or our fingers to apply mod podge over the entire surface of the egg. We applied strips of fabric over the egg alternating directions. We found that you really need to apply the mod podge over the fabric as well... to help the fabric adhere better.

As the eggs were finished, we placed them into an empty egg carton to dry.

The hardest part of this project was to get the fabric to flatten out. It never really did completely, but the boys didn't seem to mind. We finished about 10 eggs before the boys frustration was too much to handle.


Below you will see some of our best work!

2 STARS Rating (from T Man)

T said that the mod podge was just to gluey. He didn't like his hands sticky. It made it harder to apply the fabric.

What kid doesn't like getting dirty? Well, that would be Little J. He decide to be the glue spreader and I had to be the fabric man or woman as the case may be.

Muncha, Muncha, Muncha

Muncha, Muncha, Muncha

by: Candance Fleming

This is one of my favorite books when I am studying plants. In this story, Mr. McGreely wants to have a vegetable garden. He finally decides to plant one, but there is a big problem. Three little bunnies keep eating his veggies. Read this beautifully illustrated book to find out how Mr. McGreely tries to keep the bunnies from his veggies.

Activities to Consider:

1. Compare Muncha, Muncha, Muncha with The Story of Peter Rabbit. How are these two stories the same? different?

2. Start a story journal. Get a composition notebook (much sturdier for little hands). Write your child's name on the front cover. Have your child record different things in the journal after hearing a story.

* Draw a picture of your favorite part.

* Stop before finishing the story and draw a picture of what you think will happen. ETC.

3. Draw various vegetable/fruit shapes on the cardboard from a box of cereal. Cut out the shapes. Have your child trace and cut out the various fruits and veggies.

*Hang these from a wire coat hanger with yarn to make a mobile.

*Fold copy paper in 1/2 and glue one veggie/fruit on each page. Label the food. Allow your child to practice pointing to the words and reading them.

4. Have your child color a picture of a vegetable garden with crayons. After the picture is complete, you can have your child use green watercolors to paint over the entire picture.

5. Plant a small vegetable garden in your backyard.

6. Cut up various fruits and vegetables into bite sized pieces. Give your child bamboo skewers. Have your child pattern fruit onto the skewer. Eat as a healthy snack.

The Perfect Nest

The Perfect Nest

by Catherine Friend

I just got this book in my last Scholastic book order and LOVE it! We are doing a unit on birds in my kindergarten class. This book was "perfect".

The pretense of this story is that Jack the cat wants to build a nest to attract a chicken. Jack hopes this chicken will lay a yummy egg that he can cook it into an omelet. Throughout the story, various birds arrive at the nest. You will meet birds of all kind. This book is so much fun to read because each bird has a different accent. I promise you will get a giggle out of your little ones.

Activity Suggestions:

1. COOKING: Make cheese omelets or scramble eggs with your kiddo. Have your child count the eggs as they are cracking them into the pan.

2. NEST MAKING: Collect various items from nature and try to make your own perfect nest. Leave the nest in a tree in your backyard and see if a bird makes it her home.

3. FEATHER PATTERNS: Pattern colored feathers on a sentence strip/headband and staple into a hat. write the counting numerals under each feather.

4. FEATHER PAINTING: Use the tip of a feather as a paint brush and create a beautiful piece of painted art. For a more 3D effect, glue some of the feathers onto your painting.

5. FEATHER COLLECTION: Begin a feather collection. Tape feathers into your nature journal as you find them and record what kind of bird they come from.

6. EGG EXPERIMENT: We conducted an experiment to see the likelihood of an egg surviving the fall from a bird nest. Each child brought in an egg that had been packaged in various ways hoping to keep the egg from cracking. I crawled on top of a ladder and dropped each "nest" (the packaged egg) from the top of the ladder. We noticed that most of the time if the package landed on its bottom the egg survived/ didn't crack.

I dropped an egg and had it land on its bottom. Then, I dropped an egg and had it land on its side. The first egg did not break and the second egg did. We discussed the importance of the egg's bottom and top being the strongest so that when it is laid by the hen it can survive the fall.

7. EGG MARBLE PAINTING:Draw a simple egg shape on the cardboard from a cereal box. Cut it out and use it as a tracer. Have your child trace and cut out the egg on white paper. Choose 3 colors f paint. Using three different marbles, dip one into each color of paint. Place your child's cut out egg into the bottom of a disposable pan. lay the marbles on top of the paper. allow your child to roll the pan slowly in all directions. This should apply a random design of color on the egg.

8. EGG CRAYON RESIST: Follow the direction above. EXCEPT instead of marble painting... Have your child design his/her "perfect" egg using crayons. After the egg has been colored, use watercolor paint to paint the entire surface of the egg including the crayon. The crayon will resist accepting the watercolor creating a quite stunning effect.

Have more ideas for the perfect nest. Please leave your ideas in a comment. Thanks a bunch!

Read more...

Butterfly Activities

I did two really fun activities with my kinder kiddos that I forgot to post. Better late than never is my motto. If not, I would probably start to wonder why I seem to keep always running behind.
 
Butterfly Life Cycle:
 
1. Fold a small piece of construction paper in half like a hot dog. Cut four even space slits in the top half of the paper. Cut until you reach the folds. This will make a flip flap book.

2. Label each flap with one of the stages of the butterfly life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.

3. Either pre-cut the pieces for your child if they are little or allow your child to cut out the pieces independently if you feel they are ready.

You will need the following:

• three green leaves
• one small teeny-tiny yellow circle for the egg
• one 1 inch piece of pipe cleaner bent to look like a caterpillar
• a piece of brown or green crumbled paper to make the chrysalis
• one green stem
• one colored flower cut from construction paper
• two squares of tissue paper.

4. Use the posted pictures as a guide for where everything goes and how it should look. To make the butterfly, lay the two pieces of tissue paper one on top of the other one. Then, twist the tissue paper gently in the middle. TA-DA! You have a simply, beautiful butterfly.

Being a kindergarten teacher I always like to add a reading/writing component to my crafts. Older kids can begin to sound out the words for each sentence and record them under the appropriate flap.

For example: The butterfly lays an egg. a caterpillar hatches out of the egg. A beginning writer would probably record this: VBLUG AKHTVVG. That is perfect for a beginning writer. I have the children point to the words and read them back to me. I record the sentence correctly under the child's writing and have them practice reading correct writing while pointing to the words.

For a younger child, I would write the sentences and read them to the child while pointing to each word as it is read. I might have the child point to the words if appropriate. When ready your child will automatically, begin to take the lead and point and read the words to you.

Symmetrical Butterfly Painting:

1. Make a tracer or cut out a caterpillar shape on the fold of a sheet of white construction paper. If you are making a tracer, show your child how to place a "holding hand" on the tracer and use a pencil to go around the outline. Remember to place the caterpillar on the fold. This will allow the caterpillar to open up into a butterfly once it is cut.

2. If your child traced the caterpillar outline, have him/her cut it out. Remind them... Thumbs Up to Cut. Your thumb must face up and your hand should point away from your body. you hold the paper close to you and turn it as you cut. The scissors will not turn that much.

3. After the caterpillar is cut out, have your child decorate one side with crayons or markers to look like a caterpillar. I glued google eyes on ours just to make it more fun.

4. Open up the caterpillar into a butterfly. Allow your child to drizzle paint onto one side of the butterfly.

5. Have your child gently fold the non-painted side over and press into the paint from the wet side.

6. You will want to gently open the butterfly back up and allow it to dry. Once the butterfly is dry talk about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and about the symmetry created from pressing the two sides together.

Here is a list of some of my favorite butterfly books. This is not a completed list by any means.

If I could only buy one for pre-school, it would be Charlie the Caterpillar. For younger kids, it would be The Crunching Munching Caterpillar (Tiger Tales).****************************************************************
Favorite Butterfly Books:
Charlie the Caterpillar
Clara Caterpillar
Are You a Butterfly? (Backyard Books)
The Crunching Munching Caterpillar (Tiger Tales)
Waiting for Wings
Butterfly House
Why Do Butterflies go By on Silent Wings.

Read more...

Spring Projects for You and the Kiddies

I recently posted Hands-On Projects Just in Time for Spring on Buggie Bungalow. 

It has several projects from Family Fun linked up and ready for your perusal.  You can check out an easy bird bath, polymer clay toadstools, and more.

Hope you enjoy!

Garden Projects for Kids

With spring just around the corner, it is time to begin getting ready for our outdoor spaces.

Below are some simple projects I have found to get you and your family back out doors and ready for your garden.

image from kaboose

plastic jug watering can: great way to recylce and get the kids water the plants

tin can herb pots: create a magical indoor herb garden

grow your own corn:  simple way to see the life cycle of a plant quickly

decorate your own compost bins: start composting now just in time for spring

Spring Break Craft for Kids

image from busy bee kids crafts

apple tree popcorn art: cute way to making a blossoming apple tree

blossom tree painting: create a super simple masterpiece using pink paint and a black pen

daisy book mark: made with fingerprints

baby blue birds in a nest: would make a super cute decoration for a spring table

bottle cap ladybug: great way to recycle daddy's "juice" bottle caps


Old Post of Interest...

Spring Break Projects

Making a Nature Journal

Rock Bugs

Fabric Eggs

I was checking out the Jamboree at Kiddio and noticed this great idea for decorating plastic Easter eggs. I have been trying for years to figure out a way to allow my kids to hunt eggs without having to fill the eggs with candy. Well, here you have it!

Materials Needed:

• plastic eggs
• strips of material
• mod podge
• fingers or sponge paint brushes
• empty egg carton

First, we cut the strips of fabric and mixed up the various kinds to make sure we chose a variety for our eggs.

Next, we poured the Mod Podge into a bowl. Then, we chose an egg and fabric.

You can see T Man really concentrating on which fabric to choose for his first egg.

Now, the fun begins. We used our sponge paint brushes or our fingers to apply mod podge over the entire surface of the egg. We applied strips of fabric over the egg alternating directions. We found that you really need to apply the mod podge over the fabric as well... to help the fabric adhere better.

As the eggs were finished, we placed them into an empty egg carton to dry.

The hardest part of this project was to get the fabric to flatten out. It never really did completely, but the boys didn't seem to mind. We finished about 10 eggs before the boys frustration was too much to handle. Below you will see some of our best work!

2 STARS Rating (from T Man)

T said that the mod podge was just to gluey. He didn't like his hands sticky. It made it harder to apply the fabric.

What kid doesn't like getting dirty? Well, that would be Little J. He decide to be the glue spreader and I had to be the fabric man or woman as the case may be.