Wildflowers!

I especially enjoyed  taking these pictures of my neighborhood wildflowers. I saw them driving by and had to pull over.  They appear each year as a fresh surprise, white, pink, sunshine yellow...

The wildflowers embody so many of the gifts available in nature:  wonder and delight in a childs eyes and for anyone that will take the time to look, rejuvenation, quiet enjoyment, and sheer beauty of the balance of colors!  I remember walking along the road with my Mom and stopping and picking wildflowers to bring home and put in a cup for the table to share the beauty of nature.  So now with my camera I can share them with you!   I hope you go on a walk with your family and see what you can find along your roadway.  Take a photo and share, I would love to see your wildflowers where you live!!!

Leafy Crafts

 A leaf...

 Fall is a great time to introduce children to different trees in the neighborhood during this cooler and colorful time of year. Kids  love a scavenger hunt so you can make a game of it to look for a variety of leaves.Take a walk along a leafy lane with a young one and you simply can’t help having fun and learning something new.
I am recieving beautiful leaves at storytime from the kids as they walk along the path!

There is so much to talk about and a way to nuture their love of nature....

why the leaves are falling, what colours you see, the different shapes of the leaves....

Do you know the names of the trees around you? Can you catch a leaf as it falls?

Collect some favourite shapes and colours and bring them home to make a leaf picture.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

I have done many scavenger hunt games with my kids in the neighborhood and my girlscout troops.  It is a great way to get the kids to look for nature around them.  My Junior Naturalist are starting to enjoy getting out and walking around at the sanctuary and with the weather cooling off, I am always looking for ways to get my kids groups at work interested in our pineland trail and found this great idea link here: Scavenger Hunt.  I am going to print up some cards for the plants and wildlife on our property and send them in search!  I hope you can find this inspirational for you and your kids!

The tree which moves some to tears of joy

is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.   Some see nature all ridicule and deformity...

and some scarce see nature at all.

But to the eyes of the man of imagination,

nature is imagination itself. - William Blake