Hibernation season is upon us. Can’t you feel it in the air? You fellow northerners anyway.

Even in the frigid months when snow blankets the ground, I still want Little Miss to be able to indulge in her favorite activity: building toad houses. While I will promote snow forts, sledding, and other winter activities as much as possible, our new baby will make outdoor activities a little more difficult this winter. I’m just as dedicated as ever to fostering a love of nature in the winter, even with a new baby, so I’ve concocted a different strategy.

I’m sure your kids have been doing about the same thing on walks as mine, squirreling away leaves and sticks and rocks and pine cones. The usual treasures of a child’s time outside.

I’ve saved them in big buckets so we can turn a cake pan in to an outdoor sensory table in January or create a stick picture frame mid-winter or simply have authentic decorations available for the coming holidays.

Try making your own version of our lovely fall tree. We decorated treasured leaves with green and red glitter, cut a trunk out of paper bags, and found animals (an owl, a squirrel, and… a parrot? the logic of a four-year-old!) We’re ready to host Thanksgiving!

For more natural crafting ideas, check these out.

• Family Fun
• Making Friends
• Kaboose

And to make fall last a bit longer, squirrel away a few of your favorite outdoor toys.

Tags: Craft, Free, Healing the Earth

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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