Places to Go (Vacation) - Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center in the Summer (Willow Springs, IL)

I've written about Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center previously, when we visited my parents over Thanksgiving (click here for the post), but this place really shines in the summer, with wildflowers surrounding all the trails and lily pads blossoming in the lakes.

During our visit, we saw a huge bullfrog just chilling on a rock, he sat so still that F insisted he must be a statue until he finally budged a little. We also witnessed a water snake slithering through the shallow rocks (check out the picture in black and white above).

The girls could have spent hours running through the trails, but T was not in the best of moods so we couldn't explore as much as we would have liked. Luckily, we know we'll be back, Grandma wouldn't let us miss it.

Things to Make - Nature Art

(F's nature collection is pictured above)

As I mentioned yesterday, we've been going on a lot of neighborhood walks lately. On these walks I like to take a small cotton bag and "collect" some of the beautiful wildflowers and plants we pass by (sometimes the kids help me, sometimes they don't). After we return home, I place everything we found on the kitchen table and ask the kids how we could use our "nature stuff" to make pictures. F often comes up with great ideas - long green leaves have become jack's beanstalk, a teeter totter, and Tarzan's jungle. P usually gets out the tape and randomly makes "pretty designs" with the nature stuff. Some days the kids show no interest, so I'll start my own pictures (our family in the "jungle" for example) and leave them half-undone, only to come back later and find that the kids finished them (like a coloring book).

I know it's a super simple project, but the kids seem to like it. Plus, I'm always intrigued by the designs the kids create.

HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE!!

OTHER CREATIVE IDEAS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

*Stamping cookies (link via DesignMom). LOVE this one!

*Teach Mama has a huge (and wonderful post) on using recyclables for kids' craft projects (which includes a downloadable PDF).

*Build a road with black electrical tape, toy cars, and blocks. Sounds like fun.

*Salt map of the earth.

*Make your own sidewalk chalk paint (with cornstarch and food coloring).

*I love this DIY woven paper gift-topper, especially since I always use newspaper to wrap gifts (which embarrasses my children).

*10 Summer Dares (a very fun list).

Things to Do - Color Walk

Lately we've been taking a lot of "nature walks" around our neighborhood (keep in mind that I live in the suburbs, so I use the term "nature" loosely). All three kids seem to love these walks, albeit for different reasons. F has started a "nature collection" (she uses a Barbie box) and she likes to look for small pretty flowers, little sticks, and other various things that catch her fancy (I never can tell what her next "find" will be). One of our neighbors has a driveway composed of thousands (millions?) of tiny little stones and P likes to look through these for the perfect stone. She could spend hours doing this (but I won't let her, seeing as it is someone ELSE's driveway). And T just likes to point out anything that looks like a ball or bird. Yes, this is how we spend our days.

Usually I just let the kids do their own thing (and discover their own things) while I meander next to them. But sometimes when they seem tired or fussy I try to come up with projects and games to move things along - like looking for a certain color or trying to notice how the landscape changes with the season (which flowers are in bloom, which are gone, etc.). When I read Frugal Family Fun's color walk idea I thought we could try it out on our nature walk. So I went to Home Depot and found a large number of paint card chips. For each child I put together a set with 8 cards (reds, greens, etc). I put slightly different colors in each set, hoping that the girls would compare and see whose card came closest (in retrospect I should have made all three sets identical as competition of any sort just leads to fighting lately). And I brought along a pen so as to record what we found.

P suggested we invite the neighbors (who are in 1st grade and 4th grade) to walk with us, which seemed like a good idea. P shared her cards with the oldest neighbor and the youngest neighbor took T's cards (not surprisingly, he had no interest in the project). Unfortunately the color walk seemed to bore P, but F LOVED finding things and recording them on her cards. Plus it proved to be a great exercise for F and our 1st grade neighbor in spelling and writing (I kept hearing over and over "how do you spell xx? What about xx?" as they RAN from plant to plant). All in all a fun afternoon. Even T tried to help out, he knows the word yellow now so he just kept pointing to everything and saying "ellow??" hopeful that at least once he would be right.

MONDAY LINKS:

*American Photography's Top Images from last year - stunning.

*La Domestique is the coolest food blog ever. Each week the author features a new seasonal ingredient. She write a thorough introduction on Monday, 10 creative uses of the ingredient on Tuesday, a featured recipe on Wednesday, a "storyboard" on Thursday, and final thoughts and inspirations on Friday (link via The Slow Life).

*"Washed Up is an ongoing project by Mexican-born, New York-based artist Alejandro Durán that addresses the issue of plastic pollution making its way across the ocean and onto the shores of Sian Ka’an, Mexico’s largest federally-protected reserve. Unfortunately, Sian Ka’an is also a repository for the world’s trash, which is carried there by ocean currents from every corner of the globe." (link via Modish)

*A high-school teacher friend told me about this wonderful website, aimed at teaching women and girls about the dangers of advertising. A great (and interesting) resource, especially the gallery of offenders.

*Weird fruits.

*Scott Conarroe's By Rail - wow!

*Dear Photograph features people's old photos in the location now. Gorgeous nostalgia.


T adores our 4th grade neighbor. ADORES!

Things to Make - Sunprints with Dark Construction Paper

On a sunny weekend, this project is wonderful, in that it combines nature and art in a super-simple manner. Here's the scoop:

1. On the night of day 1 (or early in the morning of day 2) go for a nature scavenger hunt, look for things with interesting "shapes." Our 9 year old neighbor joined us and she was fantastic as helping the girls spot different shapes and patterns. We brought a plastic bag with us and dropped everything inside.

2. We then went home and taped our found objects to dark construction paper (DARK is key), we tried glue too, but tape worked much better.

3. Early the next morning (day 2) I placed everyone's papers on our deck in the sunniest spot possible. Throughout the day, we kept checking on them to see the silhouettes form. The girls loved this part, so we checked on them A LOT throughout the day.

4. Finally, on the evening of day 2, we brought the papers inside and carefully removed the tape and objects. I was hoping to make some sort of artwork out of our sunprint, but the kids had a much better time just looking at them and trying to figure out which silhouette belonged to which object.

OTHER ART IDEAS AND PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

*I can't explain this one, just trust me and take a look here. Pretty cool, huh?

*Trula Kids makes beautiful stamps out of her daughter's artwork. And this etsy post explains step by step how stamp making works.

*Paper tiaras has a great tutorial on making your own stickers.

*For adult crafters - this DIY doiley hanging sculpture is incredible as are these DIY colorful cake stands.

*As I'm always looking for ways to use old toilet paper rolls, I found this snake both simple and fun.

*Make a paper crane and help Japan, for directions and info, click here.

*These little linen bags are adorable (link via Modern Parents, Messy Kids).

Things to Read - Teaching Children about Nature and the Environment

As you've probably noticed, we spend a lot of time outside, especially at nature preserves. Some days the kids love this part of their childhood, other days I hear over and over again "but walking through the woods is so BORING!" Thus, I'm constantly trying to come up with new ways to inspire in my children a love and interest for nature. Binoculars seem to work well, as do magnifying glasses (to look for bugs) and kid cameras. Plus, I try to make a huge deal whenever they spot anything vaguely interesting - "Wow, P did you just spy a cattail, you must be a great nature explorer." I use the term nature explorer a lot. When I run out of ideas, I often rely on the following book to inspire me. Jennifer Ward, the author, has some wonderful suggestions that are incredibly simple and easy to come up with on the spot (no set up required). And, to make it easier, everything is divided by season. Also, the following set of "cards" by Lynn Gordon also has some great ideas.




In addition to the above efforts, I often enroll my children in classes at local nature centers. Many of these classes have VERY low prices and are incredibly well-presented (touch a snake, make a nature themed art project, go on a nature hunt, read a story, etc.) If you live in the area, Long Branch Nature Center and Gulf Branch Nature Center have classes for only $5 each that are usually quite good. Click here for more info on current classes - http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/parksrecreation/scripts/nature/page68836.html
(Please note that Arlington's nature classes are not listed in the Arlington class catalogue, rather they're only referenced in special publications called The Snag and The Snag for Wee Ones).

And, finally, I try to keep a rotation of nature inspired children's books around the house. Here are some of our current favorites:



This is one of those books where they keep adding new verses to the same song and you have to keep repeating the original verses (if that makes sense). Kids seem to love this type of book.



I like several of the Byrd Baylor books, but this is probably my favorite. After we read it to the girls, we received many rocks as presents. MANY ROCKS.



My father-in-law bought this book for the girls, it's a little above them reading-wise (lots of words) but it is such a fun fun book. And perfect for taking outside and looking at the night sky. Plus, it tells the story of the constellations, many of which I did not know, making it a great read for adults as well.
___________________________________________

Of course, books and conversations about nature naturally lead into questions about the environment and the world around us. Here are two additional books that address such issues.



Every family needs this book (actually, every person needs this book, regardless of age). It breaks your heart, but wow, is it good. perfect even.



This book is so basic, that it seems a little silly. But my children LOVE it. Both the girls memorized all 10 things and they talk about them constantly. "We're walking to school today because it's good for our world." OR "Let's make sure to turn off the tv to save our world."

What about everyone else? Any other suggestions? I'd love to hear them.

Places to Go - Patuxent Research Area (Laurel, MD)

Last Thursday, we ended up at Patuxent, which was not the plan. Rather, we had planned on visiting Evergreen Museum & Estates (outside Baltimore), but the backed-up traffic on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway made it impossible to get there (okay, so maybe not "impossible" but incredibly difficult). Luckily, Patuxent is right off the Parkway, so it literally saved the day. Further, the beauty (and emptiness) of Patuxent quickly made us happy that our trip had been rerouted. After a very short trail (stroller friendly) we arrived at TWO large lakes (one may be more of a swamp than a lake, i don't know the scientific distinction).

Along the trail we saw - lovely benches, fields of wildflowers, butterflies everywhere, a beautiful boardwalk, and a lovely "house" with viewing windows (perfect for children and photographers) - all within the first quarter mile (we never made it farther than this). Further, Patuxent has a GIGANTIC nature center, though some of the exhibits are a little dated (think 1970s) and geared at slightly older children (lots to read).

I know they have tram rides on weekends (which sounds awesome) and other activities as well. Has anyone ever been? All in all, this place was pretty fun (though getting there was not, so it will probably be awhile before we go back).

Click here for more information - http://www.fws.gov/northeast/patuxent/index.htm

And click here for more information on the outside sculpture exhibit at Evergreen, which we had planned on visiting - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051301849.html

Places to Go - Theodore Roosevelt Island

For those of you who have never been, Theodore Roosevelt Island is a great little enclave of nature in the heart of DC. First of all, the dirt path is stroller friendly (though it does get muddy after rain). Second of all, the path is a large circle, so it's pretty much impossible to get lost (and, yes, I'm the type of person who gets lost everywhere). Finally, and, most importantly, the scenery varies - it starts off as a walk through the woods, then you can dance/run/skip in front of a large statue with fountains (which, sadly, are turned off this summer), and the back half of the island is a beautiful boardwalk through marshlands. Plus, since it is an island after all, there are plenty of places to sit on the shore, throw rocks in the water, and watch the ducks swim by.

The downside is that the walk is a little long for young children (or at least for my young children) who tend to become bored about half way through the circular path. In order to try and make the fun last, we often have scavenger hunts for random nature stuff (a heart shaped rock, a big stick, the prettiest flower, the most colorful duck, etc.). Also, beware of poison ivy during the summer months. All that being said, it really is a beautiful place. Once, in the early morning, we even saw deer.

How about everyone else? Any other ideas for keeping children engaged in nature and being outside?