Back when we lived in Massachusetts, nature crafting was one of my kids’ favorite activities! Since we lived on a half acre lot next to a forest, they had plenty of space to find twigs, leaves, and rocks to work with.
Now that we live in a condo in California, they don’t have as many readily available resources, but it remains one of the best ways to get the kids to spend hours outside.
Last week the kids decided to make nature people. They spent hours collecting bits and pieces of mulch from our condo courtyard (city kids’ nature, I suppose), searching for the perfect shapes for the people they wanted to make.
Then they wrapped their people in leave outfits and drew faces on with our beloved Crayola washable markers* (beloved because they wash out of everything).
*This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Their people went on to go on many adventures – fantastic pretend play!
Have your kids done any nature crafting recently?
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Thanks for sharing.
Happy little creations! So resourceful!
I love their nature people!
Thanks, Jen!
Are they still playing with their nature dolls? I love this craft!!
Emma was making accessories for them yesterday :)
Absolutely adorable. Those little people are so sweet!
Thanks, Jeannine!
Thanks for featuring my Star Wars Angry Birds craft!
You’re welcome! My son adores Star Wars Angry Birds, and your craft was very clever.
Thank you for this! “Crafting” with kids so often implies glue, structure and instructions. I love the freedom and creativity in nature crafting you’ve reflected in this post.
Thank you, Jane! I find that kids come up with all sorts of neat creations when they are allowed to make things however they like.
I love how they saw potential people-shapes and clothes in mulch and leaves!
I don’t think I will ever see mulch as “just mulch” again.
How adorable, MaryAnne! I love their little smiles :) This is a great reminder for me to gather some stuff to make nature art with. Probably the last thing they worked on was picking flowers and using them with their play doh creations.
Thank you, Nina! I love the idea of picking flowers to use with play doh. We will have to give that a try.
I love those markers too. Though my kids are starting to prefer Sharpies much to my dismay.
My kids adore Sharpies, too. I think they like that they never smear.
Creativity of your kids always amazes me. I wish you lived closer, so my daughter could hang out with them ;)
I would love that.
I am so glad you liked my yo-yo activity.
It’s a great science exploration for kids!