spinning a yarn

  As I looked at these photos of our time in the woods with friends, weaving yarn among the trees, I couldn’t help but think of how it tells a story of our learning journey. Of all the facets of learning – the people we connect with and learn from – friends, grandparents, neighbors, shop owners,… Continue reading spinning a yarn

Edibles Scavenger Hunt

The other day the kids seemed like they needed a mission. We had read through the pages of Walking the World in Wonder: A Children’s Herbal (aff link) for the plants that we have in our yard a couple nights before. I put sticky notes on those pages and sent the kids into the yard with… Continue reading Edibles Scavenger Hunt

Scattering Seeds

Getting our hands dirty in the mud. Indoors. So much fun. Making seed bombs with great friends a couple weeks ago was a joyful activity – the kids had a blast studying the seeds with our amazingly effective pocket microscope, and then mixing them together with the clay, soil, and water. I was having such a… Continue reading Scattering Seeds

Gardening with Kids: Bean Tipi

Whether you’re in a postage stamp sized yard, or a pastoral acreage, creating outdoor nooks and play spaces is a simple and affordable way to add some magic to your children’s time in the yard. You’ll need: 6 bamboo poles, 6 feet tall (or other type of tall poles) twine bean seeds or plants (or… Continue reading Gardening with Kids: Bean Tipi

Seedlings

The seedlings from our germination experiment are coming along well! They’re likely much too early, so I’m not sure what we’ll do with them, but for now we’re enjoying the green that is adding some life to our living room. It’s lovely – if you can get past our ghetto grow light set-up! We have… Continue reading Seedlings

Coconut Oil Bird Feeders

    We’re crafting some bird-watching goodness over here, in preparation for The Great Backyard Bird Count, starting on February 14th. The kids have been working hard on Woodworking Wednesdays with their dad to design and make some wooden bird feeders for our yard. Plans to come. Sign up for our newsletter (top of this page)… Continue reading Coconut Oil Bird Feeders

Winter Snow Sensory Bin

It is -43C today with the windchill in these parts. We do try to get outside in most weather, but I think we’ll be having a snow day today.  The little ones will likely spend some time playing in the snow – inside. This is something we have done several times throughout the winter season… Continue reading Winter Snow Sensory Bin

Advent Week 3 Activity :: Bird-Watching with Kids

If you are following along with the Advent series, you can get to the original post here, and the Week 3 post here.   One of the simplest and most rewarding ways to learn about animals in the winter is bird-watching. It can be done indoors or out, and is a great activity to engage little… Continue reading Advent Week 3 Activity :: Bird-Watching with Kids