This afternoon the girls and I went around the house collecting recyclables and put together a Nature Study Kit to enjoy some educational outdoor fun!
There were lots of interesting containers to collect specimens — a baby food jar, a tea tin, a mint tin, and a leftover mesh bag from a sack of lemons. All I did was add a magnifying glass, a pencil, and we reused Emily’s old garden goody bag to store it all in. I put together the journal by reusing some of Emily’s old spin art for the cover and stapling in a few pieces of scrap paper to make up the book. In mind was this kit from Imagine Childhood.
Basically, almost any sort of interesting container can be reused to make your own Nature Study Kit!
Next, it was time to collect interesting nature treasures! Both of the girls had so much fun with this!!
Clara took her collecting job very seriously.
Emily enjoyed sorting the different types of leaves, bark, stones, and seed pods we collected — right from our own backyard!
She especially liked this tiny bit of moss!
So many interesting rocks!
Clara loved collecting twigs and clover to bring to the table.
Next, we made drawings in our notebooks to record all the details….
Emily asked me if she could take her nature study kit with her to the garden this evening, and I think that’s a terrific idea!!
Have fun!!
I linked this post to:
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Made By You Monday @ Skip to My Lou
July 26th, 2010 on 6:46 pm
Dear Valerie,
I am disappointed by the lack of insects. What good is the magnifying glass + sunlight for?
Love,
Mark
July 26th, 2010 on 10:22 pm
Gross!!
July 26th, 2010 on 7:19 pm
Now that looks like a day of fun and adventure!
July 26th, 2010 on 10:24 pm
Thanks so much, Debby! It was so fun watching both of them really enjoy this — plus we found another use for some of those neat containers.
July 26th, 2010 on 9:03 pm
Looks like a fun day exploring nature. I like how you created your own kit.
July 26th, 2010 on 10:35 pm
We did something similar to this last Summer, but this is a somewhat smaller version which makes it easier for Emily to carry around with her. We had a lot of fun this afternoon!
July 26th, 2010 on 9:05 pm
Your nature kit is SO cool! I saw that kit at Imagine Childhood too and loved it. It never occurred to me that I could improvise one! You are so clever…and frugal!
July 26th, 2010 on 10:33 pm
I knew I would find an interesting use for those recyclables one way or another…
July 26th, 2010 on 9:39 pm
I love this idea, Valerie! So fun.
July 26th, 2010 on 10:39 pm
July 26th, 2010 on 9:58 pm
Gorgeous. Would never have thought of something like this – but is a wonderful idea.
July 26th, 2010 on 10:34 pm
Thank you so much! It was fun to put together, and even more fun watching the girls explore our own backyard.
July 26th, 2010 on 11:11 pm
Another excellent use for the random little cases and boxes I keep saving, now I have a good excuse for it. That’s right I’m going to blame my kids for my being a packrat.
July 27th, 2010 on 9:28 am
Hee hee! I always save them too — they are just too nice to throw in the recycling bin!
July 26th, 2010 on 11:20 pm
This is such a great educational idea!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:33 am
There are so many GREAT children’s books to go along with this activity — We read Leaves, Leaves, Leaves by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. She’s one of Emily’s favorite authors! Have fun!!
July 27th, 2010 on 3:30 am
This is awesome! You are so clever!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:33 am
July 27th, 2010 on 3:54 am
Another terrific idea, we have a backpack filled with stuff to take on big trips, but this would be just the thing for the little ones around our property.
I am still looking for some sort of metal tins to use for the little travel kit. All I can find are mints and lollies in cardboard or plastic or a tiny little mint container that is too small.
I will have to keep looking, Australia is not called the lucky country for nothing!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:28 am
Emily and I had much larger nature kits last Summer too, and it may have been little overwhelming for her. I hope you can find some type of similar container! ((fingers crossed))
July 27th, 2010 on 7:43 am
cool! another use for the mint tins! thanks!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:26 am
I love mint tins — there are so many neat uses for them! Don’t throw them away!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:35 am
Mn, makes me wish I ate mints on a more regular basis…we don’t, ’cause my breath is always fresh…yeah…that’s right…ALWAYS… ;0)
July 29th, 2010 on 11:24 pm
It must be — I can smell your minty breath all the way from here!
July 27th, 2010 on 9:39 am
This is a nice way to recycle and discover nature. My only problem is that daughter loves to bring all those collections in house and then they magically end up as “soup” in her play kitchen and therefore spread all over the place.
July 29th, 2010 on 11:26 pm
Oh my goodness, I know exactly what you mean! Emily doesn’t have any desire to bring nature things in the house, but one of her friends does and they end up making “stew” all the time. I found all sorts of sticks and rocks in the play kitchen the other day… hope she didn’t bring in any critters!
July 27th, 2010 on 10:15 am
So much fun! I think we might do some collecting this afternoon too!!
July 29th, 2010 on 11:26 pm
That’s fantastic!! Have fun!
July 27th, 2010 on 10:42 am
Such a great idea. It reminded me of this little experiment.
http://thehappyscientist.com/science-experiment/square-grass-free
July 29th, 2010 on 11:27 pm
It was very much like that! Amazing what you can learn just by watching things in the grass, isn’t it?
July 27th, 2010 on 11:41 am
Awww so fun. Look at your two girls little nature hunters.
Something is different here? template or set up? the comment screen is different. Makeover perhaps? Very nice
July 29th, 2010 on 11:27 pm
Yes! We did a little makeover here at FFFB! I’m so happy you like it!!
July 27th, 2010 on 1:30 pm
Such a great and easy idea for those nature loving kids. Thanks for sharing.
July 29th, 2010 on 11:28 pm
July 31st, 2010 on 9:56 pm
Looks great – perhaps the trees and shrubs and mulch might be good for exploring and finding some bugs!
August 2nd, 2010 on 12:55 am
Another good idea!