Hammered Autumn Leaf Bunting

For one of our next projects, I hope to make this beautiful hammered leaf bunting. We don't technically have autumn here, but green leaves are just as pretty as colored leaves. It would be so much fun to make a bunting for inside the house with beautiful leaves found in nature and it's such a simple craft. Check out Morning Sun Rae to find out how to make them.

Homemade Terrariums

I love these little homemade terrariums from Analog Me SO much! Check out the cute little animals used in some. For complete directions, head over to the blog and see how to make them. It's so easy!

Sparkly Dragonflies from Nature

These sparkling dragonflies from Twig and Toadstool are the perfect nature activity. You don't need much to make these beautiful toys. I love the idea of making a mobile with them. I also love the idea one reader had about using mussel shells from the beach instead of maple seeds. Here in Hawaii, we have the shells, but not the seed pods.

Faux Butterfly Collection

I am floored by this faux butterfly collection by Paper View. I like the idea of changing her craft up a bit and using it as an educational tool. Just go online and download some butterfly clipart. Then print it out on a color printer and cut out the butterflies. (The most precise way is to use an Xacto knife, so parents may need to do this part.)

Print out the butterfly names separately and have the kids look the butterflies up in a field identification guide. After matching the butterflies with their name, they can glue them to a board or frame with the appropriate name underneath. These would make a great educational project that is also decorative.

Tide Pools

This series is from a trip our homeschool group took to some local tidepools. The kids took a bucket and some fish nets and used them to collect any type of sea life they could find.

Holding a live sea urchin

There were sea urchins, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, a worm and a coneshell. The coneshell was an excellent lesson in beach safety as they are venemous and can be deadly. The children learned how to identify and recognize several marine species using identification guides.

Handling marine invertebrates

The kids also had a lot of fun handling the non-venemous animals. Sea cucumbers are slimy and will expel their guts when threatened. Unfortunately for the poor sea slug (who was not harmed) the kids got a first-hand look at how this happens and why.


A couple of the older boys made drawings of the animals that we found and wrote down key information about identifying them as well as their habitat and lifestyle. Printout sheets are a great way for the kids to keep records of what they learn.

Of course, once the lesson was finished, the animals were returned to the tidepools where they were found.

Recycled Earth Day Binoculars and Nature Journal

I just love this cute binocular and nature journal set from Our Big Earth made from recycled materials. It reminds me of being a kid and running around with a toilet paper tube, pretending it was a spyglass. This would make a great project for Earth Day or every day!