It has been a bit of a challenge to curate a different learning activity each day, using only things that most people have in their home. Luckily, I live on a little street that is FULL of school aged children. I have outsourced some of my work to my lovely, smart neighbors! A few weeks ago, I sent a little note to parents asking them to send me photos and ideas of things their families like to do outside.
Just this morning, a neighbor sent me an idea for Nature Jewelry. Each day, her family takes a walk in the nature trail behind our house. As it has been particularly rainy these last few weeks, they came across a “clay layer” in the trail. Audrey, 9 years old, collected clay, brought it home and dyed it with chalk dust, or crushed up chalk. She made small balls, and put a whole through them with a twig. Audrey made a beautiful bracelet and necklace set for her doll (seen the header image above).
I was so inspired by Audrey’s work, I went outside to see what I can find to create with. Below are a few ideas for you to create your own nature jewelry.
Flower Crowns
Collect dandelions and other spring time flowers from around the yard. Cut a strip of paper from a brown grocery bag, fit it around your child’s head and staple it to size, just like a crown! Apply double sided tape around the crown and have children stick their flowers and greens around the crown.
Salt Dough Leaf Press Necklace
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1.5 cups warm water
Directions
- Thoroughly combine ingredients to create a “ball” of dough.
- Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
- Use a lid or mason jar to cut circle shapes.
- Press your nature findings to leave a print in the dough.
- Use a pencil to poke a hole through.
- Let it dry overnight.
- Put a string through to make your necklace.
Have an idea for your own Nature Jewelry? Share it with Liz!