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Last week I ran my annual preschool nature camp. Every summer for one week I run a small, morning only camp for 3 to 5 years at a local historical site. The beautiful grounds, gardens, and natural water sources give us lots of opportunities to explore nature. Unfortunately, the weather last week stumped me a little as there were several rainy mornings. However, one rainy morning lead us to the

It's that time of year again when now that the grass is green the dandelions are popping up too. I have to admit, even though I know they are a weed, there is something so summery about seeing those bright yellow bursts all over the yard. Of course, the boys love to pick them. And in addition to picking them, we've discovered how great they are for painting with. They make awesome designs!

As we're solidly in the middle of winter, it is a great time to be thinking about the wild creatures who are surviving the winter outside. We decided to create some easy cardboard bird feeder treats to hang outside for the wild critters in our neighborhood. If you've been reading our blog for a while now, you know we love projects that use materials you can easily find already at home or at

On this chilly and rainy weekend, it's hard to remember back a week to the gorgeous fall days we've been having up until now. But, really, we've been pretty lucky this fall season. We've had so many incredible weather days. It was on one of these beautiful days that the boys and I took a quick walk up a local trail after school. As we hiked we used this printable scavenger hunt to collect

It's that time of year when there's all sorts of fun fall materials around that are perfect for a variety of different projects. We love finding new ways to use different materials. So we were excited to be given a handful of these "Tennessee Dancing Gourds" grown in my school gardens. The boys love how the gourds can spin like a top, they really get some great motion when they get going.

September flew by - the return to school, the beginning of soccer season and gymnastics classes, and weekends full of birthday parties and family gatherings meant that we barely had time to be home. You may have noticed that we were pretty quiet on the blog during the month of September. Although we did have a little time to play, create, and learn our focus mostly pulled us in other directions.

Among all of our Simple Summer Theme Weeks, this has to be one of the favorite ones so far. We're pretty lucky to live with a giant woods area right behind our house so we didn't have to travel far - yet each time we went into the woods I felt our energy change as a group. In fact, the boys have continued to ask to go into the woods many other times this summer so that they can repeat some of

We've done this project a few times this summer and I just love how they turn out every time, even though they are always a little different. Originally I had imagined they would look like trees as the kids painted them, but instead they always turn out a little more abstract. But I also love how they are art created using found objects in nature which adds to their simplistic appeal. The

A few weeks ago we really enjoyed "Forest Week" in our Simple Summer Theme weeks. For the most part the boys truly just loved getting outside into the forest - which meant we could really keep things simple. (Which was in fact one of our July Monthly Goals.) To kick off "Forest Week" on our first adventure into the woods the boys worked on this Forest Scavenger Hunt as we walked through the

This week we kicked off our Simple Summer Themes with Science Week. We've had a blast with a variety of science experiments and explorations, all using materials we have on hand.  For this experiment we were inspired to use something from nature: wildflowers. I love that this time of year both in the yard and along the roads, flowers are blooming. The boys and I went for a walk the other day

Whether it's the unusual winter we just had, the sporadic temps we're still experiencing, or just a touch of late cabin fever - I am so ready for spring, a real spring, to arrive! Something about this spring also has me thinking about those classic activities that families and kids get to experience during the warming spring months and I find myself just wanting to slow down and enjoy those

There's something about November that is so drab and brown, but yet also can be really pretty. Recently Little Brother and I had the chance to get out for a walk just the two of us. Because the weather was beautiful and sunny the dried plants, leaves, and trees really captured our eyes. We love finding ways to explore nature connections, especially when we take a walk.  This time we

The last few weeks have been so hot weather wise that it's been a little hard to get into the mood for autumn and we've been finding ourselves thinking back to summer fun. One activity we've enjoyed on hot days in the past is doing a Sink or Float exploration.  For this exploration we took it outside and collected items from nature to experiment with.  Materials for this type of set-up can

You may have noticed it's been a quiet few weeks here. Adjusting to our new schedules and a minor illness have definitely left us a little thrown off the last few weeks. But despite our quiet front here online, we are still finding a few moments to craft and create. One great aspect of our new schedules is that Little Brother and I have a few hours a week that's just the two of us. This is a