Nature Crafts with Kids

Looking for fun projects to keep your kids busy this summer? Look to nature for plenty of inspiration and use what you find to make fun crafts.

Creating nature crafts makes learning fun and gets you and the kids outside.

You can create simple projects like twig photo frames, leaf print place mats, flower and nature wreaths, with whatever you collect on a nature hike, or a crafty mobile with leaves, twigs, flowers, pine cones and small pebbles.

If you want great step by step instructions for some projects check out Family Fun. I found great projects there like Pounded Flower Prints. This is one even my little guy would like to do since it involves hammering the flowers. They also have similar project for flower prints on fabric which they call nature prints. I wish I would have found the easy wreath birdbath for last week’s For the Birds post but it works great here too. Another cute nature project I found is the pine cone photo holder.

Another source of nature craft inspiration is the book Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy. In Green Crafts for Kids you’ll find ideas and instructions for driftwood boats, driftwood tic-tac-toe games, dried flower fairies, pine cone animals, and walnut babies.

Once your kids have created plenty of awesome nature crafts consider having an eco-art show in a special room in your home or in the garden. This way the kids can show off their handy creations and talk about what they used to create such beautiful works of art.

[Image by leslie.keating and used under a Creative Commons license.]