Easy Nature Craft: Squash Prints

  

Some children are born gatherers. While hiking, these are the ones stopping often to bend down and admire something. Perhaps it's a little blue stone, which will end up in their pocket along with a little green stone, a feather, an acorn cap, and a tiny yellow leaf that curls up at the edges.

(Some children are also born quiet, but they are not the ones running around our house!) 

When going for a hike, I'll often bring a basket to collect these treasures. This prevents nature finds from being crushed- or found in the bottom of the washing machine days later. Later on they'll become a part of our nature shelf, a highest honor, or into our crafts. 

And sometimes we paint with them. 

Related: 25 Nature Books You Need To Read To Your Active Kid

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Since we love flowers and art, the kids were excited to find "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola. In the story, there's a boy who's not destined to grow up into a warrior like the other boys of his tribe. He grows up to be a painter who paints stories for his People to remember. One painting eludes him though- capturing the magnificent colors of the sunset. 

"He used the brightest flowers, the reddest berries, and the deepest purples from the rocks, and still his paintings never satisfied him. They looked dull and dark."

One day he receives a gift to help him, and this gift still flowers today in the desert: the Indian Paintbrush. 

We don't have this beautiful flower in the Midwest, but we decided to use our native prairie flowers to paint our own sunsets instead.


Related: Easy Peasy Beginner Nature Journal Ideas for Kids

Nature Art: Prairie Flower Paintbrushes

"Mama! Come see what we caught!" 

Slipping shoes on, I watch our kids dance up our front path to the hilltop and rope swing. 

Lately, the rope swing has been their main interest as they take turns ricocheting off trees and bouncing around the driveway. 

Today they lead me past the swing, to something nestled in leaves on the ground. 

"Do you see him? We've named him Box."
Living in the woods means finding all sorts of things in our yard: salamanders, bugs of all kinds, caterpillars (including this stinging one), and unsuspecting box turtles. 

We love to draw our finds, but it's rarely safe for the animal to be handled or carried away from from their territory. For example, our box turtle can become sick from foreign parasites if moved away from his home or relocated in another one. 

Here's what we do instead:

1. Draw on site- Especially if it's a slow-moving snail or a squirrel that's taking a sprawled-out nap on the deck rail (true story)
2. Take pictures- Our favorite method! A great way to carefully study an animal or object later. Also helpful for parents who desire a detailed nature study but are rushed for time or worried that their kiddos might accidentally disturb/kick/sit on it. 
3. Use reference materials- We love Nature Anatomy and often use it to learn more about what we're drawing. Field guides are helpful, too.  

Nature journals are a great way to explore nature as a family! Here's an easy, cheap method of setting up journals with low-mess, portable art materials which should last you through several dozen sketchbooks.

Related: 25 Nature Books You Need to Read to Your Active Kid

Beginner Nature Journals for Kids (And Adults!)

• Nature Notebook: We find the A5 size (5" x 8.25") to be less intimidating than larger notebooks, with plenty of room for details. They're also handy for sticking in a pocket! Recommended: Moleskine Plain Journal- set of 3, Seawhite of Brighton- set of 3 (Do you love rounded corners, too? We use this to round corners on everything.)
• Quality Pencils: There's nothing worse than a non-sharpening pencil or one that crumbles into a million pieces over your page. We started buying Ticonderoga pencils in bulk and they're worth every penny. A friend swears that Field Notes pencils are even better, so I'm hoping to compare soon. 
• Watercolor Pencils: These are so handy and fun! You can draw with them first or paint water first and draw on top. Our preschooler loves them as much as our oldest! 
• Brush: This is a great starter set! Just make sure you keep your watercolor brushes separate from your acrylic brushes (which leave residue behind). 
• Water dish: We use clean yogurt cups filled from our water bottles. 

Related: {Free Printable} Animal & Egg Nature Bingo


With these easy supplies, you'll be ready to draw whatever crawls into your yard! 

I realized the quiet voices in the next room had just gotten louder.

Since we've birthed masterminds, collective voices (especially excited ones) are usually linked with plotting- this is how indoor pillow fights and sliding down stair races begin. I quietly crept toward the doorway to get a closer look. 

There was a competition, but it didn't involve pillows or stairs. 

It was our oldest competing in Math. 

As the kids clustered around the tablet, she quickly figured out her answers. Our son was narrating the problems to his 3-year-old sister like a wrestling commentator:

Do you SEE that pattern!
She's going to choose the yellow hat next. GO, Isia! 
She did that problem SO fast! 

Those are exact quotations, and I hid my surprise behind the door. 

There've been more quotations, too:

From our six-year-old, while multiplying: Do you know what 11 times 9 is? It's 99! Do you know what 11 times 8 is? It's 88!

From our eight-year-old, while doing logic: Look, I can do them now! They taught me the pattern. I LOVE logic!!

I still can't believe our kids were jumping up and down about Math (and this is from someone who competed in HS Math Academic Super Bowl.) And it's gotten me to thinking: Why is this so unusual?

The Math Disconnect

How Smartick Method Helps Kids

Smartick does not follow the official curriculum or State standard. Smartick promises to prepare your child to advance faster than in school and beyond what's taught in the classroom.

In other words, it's not grade-specific and kids often end up mastering concepts beyond their grade level. Why? Because these ideas are able to organically build upon each other. 

Smartick Win! Our 6 year-old son adding double digits with regrouping.

Using a digital abacus on Smartick to figure out a solution.

Math is child's play! Smartick fit well alongside our tactile Miquon curriculum.

"They're here! They're here!"

Mud-coated feet ran down the steps to our house, little hands cupping over-flowing bouquets of blossoms.

Daffodils, violets, dandelions. First gifts of Spring. 

As the seasons change, one of our family traditions is to read about the fairies of the season- who work so hard to help things grow. 

(They had to work overtime this Spring, due to unexpected snow!)

Our favorites are by Cicely Mary Barker who wrote: 

• Flower Fairies of the Spring
• Flower Fairies of the Summer
• Flower Fairies of the Autumn
• Flower Fairies of the Winter

And an assortment of others! I splurged and bought vintage copies when our oldest was a toddler. Now you can purchase The Complete Book of Flower Fairies and have them all in one place! 

To celebrate our blossoms, we looked through our books for inspiration and created some fairies for magical play. 

Related: 25 Nature Books You Need to Read to Your Active Kid

Magical Clothespin Fairy Dolls