"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
Forest Crafts
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. Making a forest craft, such as a nature crown, is an excellent way for us to encourage a nature connection in children.
Learn how to make a nature crown and grab free leaf identification 3-part cards below to use with your nature collection.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Amazon links are not affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclosure.
Free Leaf Identification 3-Part Cards
Learn more about trees and leaves with these free leaf identification 3-part cards. These 3-part cards are designed to be used with a collection of leaves, with the Mirus Toys double-sided leaf puzzle, or with your favorite books.
Match leaves found in nature or the double-sided leaf puzzle pieces to the picture cards for object-to-picture matching.
With 14 different species to explore, there's plenty of opportunity to get creative. Leaves include oak, poplar, maple, walnut, aspen, pine, alder, ash, olive, eucalyptus, willow, cypress, acacia, and horse chestnut.
To use these leaf identification cards as 3-part cards, print 2 copies and cut the labels off one of the copies. The youngest of kids can match the picture cards. As kids are mastering letter recognition and letter sounds, they can practice matching the label as well.
The Nature Crown
On this day, we went out in search of nature's jewels to adorn a homemade headdress. We were inspired by the Nature's Headdresses activity from Play the Forest School Way. This book has a lot of excellent ideas if you're looking for a forest craft that kids ages 3 and up can enjoy.
From tying knots to scavenger hunts to building a fire, this book has it all. There's a nice mix of art, exploration, adventure, and survival skills. There are also activities to do year-round. This book is a great resource for families.
Gathering Materials
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. Afterward, 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 the Nature Crown
Back at home, our 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 funny 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 many art supplies for kids to enjoy creating new things. Sometimes, imagination is all that is required. It's also a great way to encourage a child's connection with nature.
What are you enjoying outdoors right now? Would you like to design a nature crown?
If you enjoy connecting with nature, check out these gardening tips and our rabbit routine.
How to Make a Nature Crown
How to create a nature crown: a forest craft using materials found in nature and Play the Forest School Way, a woodland games, crafts, and skills book.
Materials
- Play the Forest School Way
- Construction Paper or Cardstock
- Scissors
- Tape
- Natural Objects
Tools
- See Materials List
Instructions
- Brainstorm what type of nature items children might like to have on their crown.
- Encourage kids to collect items from the forest floor and place them in a basket or buket. Assist as needed and avoid poisonous materials.
- Assist the child as needed in cutting the construction paper or cardstock 3-4 inches wide and long enough to fit around their head. You may need to tape multiple strips together to create a long enough strip.
- If you have double-sided tape you can place a long strip down the center of the construction paper for adhering your nature items. Otherwise, you will use pieces of tape to secure the nature items to the cardboard crown.
- Assist the child with placing their crown on their head.
- They may want to spend some time enjoying their reflection in the mirror.
- Encourage them to discuss how they feel with their nature crown on their head.
- Older children can extend their learning by identifying other types of crowns or headdresses worn by humans.
- Kids can also explore what kinds of things animals make using nature items.
Notes
Full Lesson Info and Pictures at: https://happyhomeschooladventures.com/natures-headdresses/
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