Gather:

clean sock
newspaper
long piece of yarn (about 5ft.)
2 TBS oil (canola, vegetable, etc)
1/2 cup water
food coloring (optional)
jar

Set up:

1. Add water to jar.
2. Add oil ***not exactly sure what the purpose of the oil is, it might keep the sock from drying out quickly.
3. Drop a few drops of food coloring into the oil. This is optional, it just makes the sock look pretty.

4. Take the clean sock and stuff it with newspaper, tie it closed with the yarn. It will look like a pull toy- you could add eyes and long ears to it and call it Fido if you want  .

5. Take the sock for a walk in a field or woodland. 

As you probably figured out, the point of the sock dragging along the ground is for little seeds to stick to it; well, the little ladies weren’t finding the seeds sticking on their socks, so Rainy started throwing it into the thistle patch hoping for seeds to stick.

She even got to the point where she was sprinkling seeds onto the sock. I think this experiment would have worked better if Dave hadn’t just mowed the path.

Grass and thistle seed collection picked along the way-

6. When your sock has gathered enough seeds, carefully place the sock into the jar of the water/oil mixture.

7. Set it in a sunny window and keep the sock moist. Don’t overdo it with the water, you just want the sock to be moist or it could get moldy. It might take a few weeks for the seeds to germinate, be patient and make sure the sock stays moist.

  If you are participating in Outdoor Challenge Mondays, be sure your blog link is below; if you still want to participate let me know and I’ll add you to the list.

5 orange potatoes, the five of us, little eco footprints, potje thee, silverpebble, the work of childhood, searching simplicity, love living simply, strasilo, semi-handmade, this little kitchen, school time adventures, heirloom seasons, the loving path, a place like this, the magnifying glass, pebbles in the water, chocolate eyes, we are here, rosy-posy, oakbee farm, my year in haiku, time to craft, child in harmony, serendipity, secret water, free flowing ways, se7en, a smile a day, where ada likes to wander, wide open campus, what are we doing today mom?, chasing domestic bliss, dim sum, bagels and crawfish, adventures of a flake, frontier dreams, the snail’s trail, goose and binky, over the crescent moon, it’s a wild life, my world edenwild, the binker files, lil muse lily, foursquare schoolhouse, obaitori, boys in the woods, bumbles and light , wonder in the woods, terrallectualism, semi-crunchy mama, Gwynneth, All Things Beautiful, we are here, shivaya naturals, free to learn and lovin it, moment to moment, being brooke, roots & wings co, little greenapple farm, 5 Orange Perks, home made simple, mommy and me

“That’s all.”

-make a flower press and press some flowers
-make a field guide of your yard
-visit a park without a swing set
-take a hike with a loved one
-hug a tree
-whisper a secret to a flower
-pick a bunch of wildflowers for a friend- remember the rule “if there’s more than 10 you may collect a few, less then 10 don’t be a greedy fool!”

-visit a butterfly house
 -go on a hike and draw a map of what you see
 -build a fairy house using things only found in nature
-find a creek with a bridge and play “pooh sticks”
-instead of picking flowers, water them
-search for animal homes
-help a seed plant itself

-get to know a tree in your yard
    *find the animals that live in your tree
    *observe the ground under the tree
    *check the tree trunk for holes or insect eggs
    *use a magnifying glass and search for insects
    *search for scratches on the trunk
    *listen for sounds that come from the tree
    *listen with a stethoscope for water rushing inside the tree
    *lie on the ground and look up at your tree
    *climb the tree

-ask your child to finish these sentences about the summer-
   1. I would like to go to…..
   2. I would like to play……
   3. I want to learn about…..
   4. I’d also like to play……
   5. I want to read……
   6. I want to make…….
   7. I would like to see…….

-build a bat house
-catch fireflies
-camp in your backyard
-creek walk for an afternoon
-pretend to be a different animal for an afternoon

-lure moths to your yard by hanging up a white sheet and lighting a lantern behind it
-watch the moon for 3 months and draw their phases
-visit a local park you don’t visit enough or haven’t visited before
-make thank you cards for local park employees who work so hard to make nature easily accessible to you and a safe place to visit
-lay on a blanket and watch what flies overhead for 20-30 minutes
-take a hula hoop, place it on the ground and observe what lives in that small space

Outdoor challenge participant- Crystal and her two little cuties from  semi-crunchy mama

  If you are participating in Outdoor Challenge Mondays, be sure your blog link is below; if you still want to participate let me know and I’ll add you to the list.

5 orange potatoes, the five of us, little eco footprints, potje thee, silverpebble, the work of childhood, searching simplicity, love living simply, strasilo, semi-handmade, this little kitchen, school time adventures, heirloom seasons, the loving path, a place like this, the magnifying glass, pebbles in the water, chocolate eyes, we are here, rosy-posy, oakbee farm, my year in haiku, time to craft, child in harmony, serendipity, secret water, free flowing ways, se7en, a smile a day, where ada likes to wander, wide open campus, what are we doing today mom?, chasing domestic bliss, dim sum, bagels and crawfish, adventures of a flake, frontier dreams, the snail’s trail, goose and binky, over the crescent moon, it’s a wild life, my world edenwild, the binker files, lil muse lily, foursquare schoolhouse, obaitori, boys in the woods, bumbles and light , wonder in the woods, terrallectualism, semi-crunchy mama, Gwynneth, All Things Beautiful, we are here, shivaya naturals, free to learn and lovin it, moment to moment, being brooke

“That’s all.”

The Challenge

I couldn’t resist the challenge of making some flower cocoons myself and got the little ladies involved. There was one rule to follow for this challenge- all items to make the cocoons must come from nature, no man-made glue or tape was allowed. So the little ladies picked flower petals and agreed on honey as the glue to stick the petals together, knowing that the bees use nectar, they thought honey was the next best thing! Then we got started making the cocoons.

 Fauna found this challenge very easy; I’m guessing  it’s because she used a lot of honey and doesn’t mind sticky fingers!

 Araina had a little trouble with this challenge; so she designed a new iris species instead.

 Denali helped with clean up. We didn’t know that huskies liked honey! 

*Now to go and wash the honey out of my hair. Thanks Fauna!

Outdoor pic for today- the little ladies have been great at tending to the garden daily.

  If you are participating in Outdoor Challenge Mondays, be sure your blog link is below; if you still want to participate let me know and I’ll add you to the list.

5 orange potatoes, the five of us, little eco footprints, potje thee, silverpebble, the work of childhood, searching simplicity, love living simply, strasilo, semi-handmade, this little kitchen, school time adventures, heirloom seasons, the loving path, a place like this, the magnifying glass, pebbles in the water, chocolate eyes, we are here, rosy-posy, oakbee farm, my year in haiku, time to craft, child in harmony, serendipity, secret water, free flowing ways, se7en, a smile a day, where ada likes to wander, wide open campus, what are we doing today mom?, chasing domestic bliss, dim sum, bagels and crawfish, adventures of a flake, frontier dreams, the snail’s trail, goose and binky, over the crescent moon, it’s a wild life, my world edenwild, the binker files, lil muse lily, foursquare schoolhouse, obaitori, boys in the woods, bumbles and light , wonder in the woods, terrallectualism, semi-crunchy mama

Twig Easels

I received some wonderful art from a favorite blogger friend and Etsy artist last week.  Andrea is a fellow nature lover and has an amazing way to illustrate what she sees and how she feels in nature. I needed a way to display her art properly and knew using nature was a must so I came up with these little twig easels. All you need to make them are twigs and glue (or tiny nails).

Using 3 twigs, glue (or nail) the “A” shape of the easel together.

Then, glue the fourth twig to the back which makes the third leg of a tripod shape. Let it dry and it’s ready for display.

I think this is such a cute way to display Andrea’s art!  
*Please visit any of the following links to see more of Andrea and her amazing art- cider & faun,   believing nature, littlebighead etsy shop  

Twig Dragonflies

The little ladies had to join in the fun and made dragonflies from twigs. They thought maple seeds were just too fitting for dragonfly wings.

We tied them onto a stick to make a mobile that is hanging in the kitchen.

Now to go and get those little ladies inside for their showers, then to bed!

The Outdoor Challenge Participant of the day- Cara and her son Bugsy, of Oakbee Farm, went on a dragon hunt the other day and found this beautiful creature- 

 Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- 157 so far! It’s never too late to join; people are still entering daily!

lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise,luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia,becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney,branflakes,jessica, renee, haiku,brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth,julie,kyndale,kelly,lizzie, eileen,ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita,lisa, jenn, montessori, marita,jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella,missy, elizabeth, sarah, eileen, lisa, stacy, jennifer, tulsileaf, lisa C, morticia, angela, rana,jamie,lisa c, luz, charley, heather, valerie, kirsten, rachel, annie, kendra, beth s, lindsey, michelle, megan, jen, jenni, gabby, renee,korina, linda, adventurekerrs, laura, melissa, eva, jenny, amber, deb, wendy, courtney, shanti, msrev, kellyi, tammy, julia  , maureen,indigomum, andrea, mindy, becky, dawn, sarah,michelle, shelley, amber, nicole, cara, ginny, kris, tawnie, nancy, alex, kathi, ana, sarah m, stephanie, jen, dena, sharon, courtney, colleen, jillian, jennifer, amanda, desiree, vanchy, crystal, ashley ,

If you leave a link on the days you participate, I will know I have permission to share, for Outdoor Challenge Participant of the Day.

A picnic of veggie wraps and a special Hanson’s pop under Rainy’s favorite tree (Scarlet Maple); take notice of Rainy’s face, she was upset because Porter was sitting beside her. You see, she’s not a big fan of little brothers; turns out she has good reason, by the end of the picnic he had poured his can of Hanson’s pop right down her back on purpose! Porter loves Rainy and will do whatever it takes to get her attention! He got it alright!

We made 75 jars of jelly- dandelion and violet. Please visit here to see how we did it.

After our friends went home, I caught my little ladies with a ladder under the Redbud tree so they could reach the yummy tasting blossoms!

Taste like sweet peas!

We also did a little listening experiment called Fox Ears. You know how many animals have cupped ears that move toward the direction of the sound they hear? Notice our dogs Denali and Sophie have triangular shaped ears that are cupped forward-

Try making these triangular shaped ears by cupping your hands behind your ears and- here’s the weird part- open your mouth wide.

Now, move your hands around your ears to hear in many different directions. You might look silly, but you will hear better.

Outdoor Challenge Participant of the day- little cutie Pidge here, from Nugg Blog,  is helping his mama in the garden. This little guy prefers to be outdoors and mum has a difficult time getting him indoors at night for bed.

 Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- 131 so far! It’s never too late to join; people are still entering daily!

lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise,luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia,becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney,branflakes,jessica, renee, haiku,brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth,julie,kyndale,kelly,lizzie, eileen,ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita,lisa, jenn, montessori, marita,jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella,missy, elizabeth, sarah, eileen, lisa, stacy, jennifer, tulsileaf, lisa C, morticia, angela, rana,jamie,lisa c, luz, charley, heather, valerie, kirsten, rachel, annie, kendra, beth s, lindsey, michelle, megan, jen, jenni, gabby, renee,korina, linda, kerrs, laura, melissa, eva, jenny, amber, deb, wendy, courtney, shanti, msrev, kellyi, tammy, julia  , maureen, indigomum, andrea, mindy, becky, dawn, sarah

If you leave a link on the days you participate, I will know I have permission to share for Outdoor Challenge Participant of the Day.

“The purpose of Children & Nature Awareness Month is to celebrate the benefits of experiences in the natural world to children, and to all of us, and to offer alternatives to nature-deficit disorder,” said Dr. Cheryl Charles, President and CEO of C&NN.