"There is no description, no image in any book that is capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all of the life to be found around them in a real forest."
-Maria Montessori
(Updated 2021: Be sure to check out more of our favorite books, sorted by category, over at our shop.)
Background
We enjoy spending time outdoors and are always looking for creative nature-inspired art activities. It's amazing how much fun you can have with all that surrounds you that may otherwise be taken for granted. We try to be mindful of how fortunate we are to be surrounded by natural beauty and we, as parents, model that appreciation when we are outside with our little ones.
Today, we went out in search of nature's jewels to adorn a homemade headdress. We were inspired by Play the Forest School Way. This book has a lot of excellent ideas on activities that kids ages 3 and up can enjoy. From tying knots to scavenger hunts to building fire, this book has it all. In addition, it has a nice mix of art, exploration, adventure, and survival skills. Furthermore, there are activities to do year round. This is a great resource for families.
Gathering Materials for Nature's Headdresses
We gathered our gear and took off down a path through some trees. Next, we collected some flowers and leaves along the way, dropping them in my daughter's pail as we went. Afterwards, we made our way over to an open field of a nearby park, to refuel before continuing our search.
For language development, we like to use the Three Period Lesson. For this particular activity, we talked about the various flowers and trees in the area, while examining the leaves and flowers up close.
My son drank his milk in the stroller and watched his sister use a stick to dig up rocks, examining them one-by-one before adding them to our pail of treasures. Once she was satisfied with all that we had found, we weaved a few dandelions into our hair and made our way back home to create the headdress.
Creating Nature's Headdresses
Back at home, my daughter dumped the pail out onto our table and we worked together to tape the items to a 3" strip of construction paper.
Our kids love the sensorial experience of collecting items in nature. This is also a great opportunity for little ones to classify and sort objects. We spend a lot of time sorting and sequencing items found around our home and outdoors.
When we were done creating the headdress, we were both pleased. The end result was pretty awesome! I had a hard time grabbing a photo once we put it on. Our daughter thought it was so hysterical, and was so animated as a result. It's a beautiful piece of art. I love that we were able to experience this together.
I'm grateful for all the fun we had today learning about and exploring our environment. Most of all, I'm happy we were able to create a crown befitting our courageous adventurer.
Conclusion
We hope this gives you some ideas for fun nature activities to try with your little ones. You don't need to purchase a lot of art supplies in order for kids to enjoy creating new things. Sometimes, the imagination is all that is needed. It's also a great way to encourage a child's connection with nature.
What are you enjoying outdoors right now? What are you inspired to create? Would you like to design nature's headdresses too?
You can check out some more of our nature activities here. Art is here.
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