Who needs synthetic paint bristles when the forest is full of flair? Inspired by “Wonder Art Workshop” by Sally Haughey — a magical mashup of art and nature — we’re making Nature Paintbrushes. So go on and gather eco-friendly, natural bristles, bind them to twigs, paint, and repeat. You Will Need: Sticks (aka nature’s handle)Leaves, […]
Outdoor Nature Sorting
August 6, 2025 Leave a Comment
Summer learning has never been so fun! Read “Hello Hello: Opposites” by Brendan Wenzel with the children In your care then sort items you find in nature into opposites outside. “Hello Hello: Opposites” by Brendan Wenzel is a vibrant and engaging picture book that explores the concept of opposites through a wide array of animals. […]
Matching Colors in Nature
August 9, 2023 Leave a Comment
Using a self-adhesive laminating sheet and cardboard I made this color matching game for my Nanny Kid to take on a nature hike. I had her walk around her yard and neighborhood to see if she could find petals of similar colors on the matching board. You Will Need: Cardboard Scissor and Xacto Knife Self-Adhesive […]
Handheld Butterfly Sun Catchers
June 22, 2022 2 Comments
This recycled craft is a simple and clever way to teach children about primary and secondary colors while recycling empty paper tubes. I allowed the children to decorate the craft sticks and choose what colored wings they wanted on their butterflies. But I used a glue gun to make all the wings without the kids […]
Mondrian Sidewalk Chalk Art
August 26, 2020 Leave a Comment
Creative Wednesdays Known for his Modernism abstract paintings, Piet Mondrian used the simplest combination of straight lines and right angles, creating geometric shapes of bold primary colors. After showing the kids paintings by Mondrian and reading “Coppernickel Goes Mondrian” go outside to make similar art using sidewalk chalk. Of course on a rainy day you […]
Summer Learning: Phonics Flower
August 5, 2020 1 Comment
Creative Wednesdays I’m not sure when or where I first learned to make phonics flowers but I started making them for the kids in my care in 1993. The goal of phonics is to enable beginning readers to decode new written words by sounding them out. Phonemic awareness helps children hear, identify, and manipulate spelling […]
Touch and Feel Sensory Balloons
July 29, 2020 Leave a Comment
Is this sand? Summer Learning: What Do You Feel? Summertime is a great time to head outdoors into nature’s classroom. Summer provides a perfect opportunity for kids to touch and feel new things. Kids love to feel and play with sand, touch soft petals on flowers, play with mud, touch and paint with soft feathers, […]
Craft Stick Patterns
July 8, 2020 Leave a Comment
Creative Play This is an inexpensive project to make for toddlers and preschoolers that just takes a few minutes to make. I start with making simple designs of triangles, squares, and rectangles for toddlers and make designs more complex as the children grow and develop their matching skills. Just google craft stick pattern ideas for […]
Matching Lower Case and Upper Case Letters Game
June 3, 2020 1 Comment
Creative Wednesdays Here’s a quick and easy project I made with my Nanny Kids. We simply recycled a cardboard egg carton and used plastic spoons they had left over from a party their family had last summer. Since it was a huge egg carton with more than 26 eggs I added some numbers to the […]
Peter and the Wolf
August 10, 2013 Leave a Comment
Weekly Trip to the Library One of the challenges of working as a nanny is finding activities my three charges (aged 3-years-old to 13-years-old) can all enjoy at the same time. But this week I remembered my favorite childhood classic Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the CD of musical themes. All three of the […]
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