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Page 12 tradewindsweekly.com powered by recycler.com Sept. 29 - Oct. 6, 2022
Set Up a Nature
Discovery Nook
Set aside a space on your kitchen
counter or a table in your family room
to showcase your kids’ summer nature
collectibles. Their own museum of
natural wonders can be enjoyed by
friends and family who come to your
home. And when they do, the kids can
tell them where they found the treasure,
what it’s called and something
interesting that captured their imagination.
Best of all, this collection zone
will be a constant reminder of the time
you spent together discovering the
mysteries and beauty of the world we
live in.
Add collected finds this fall and, for
fun, classify and label them with small
strips of index cards (date the excursion
and describe the item), just like
in museums. For example: “This nest
fell off the oak tree in the backyard
on a windy day. I found it behind the
garbage can. I discovered yarn in the
nest. I think the yarn came from the
bird feeder that was hanging from our
swing set last year.” For such an item,
encourage your child to find a book
about nests or research them online.
Find out what kind of bird made the
nest and learn the likely color of the
eggs that were in the nest at one time.
If your family traveled to new places
this past summer, or if you plan to take
weekend trips this fall, the items can
also be displayed in attractive ways on
the table. If you have collected sand
from different beaches, for example,
layer it in a clean, clear recycled jar.
It’s fun to see the range of colors and
types of sand from beach to beach.
And, it’s a unique way to recall a trip
to Clearwater Beach, Florida, in 2021
or Santa Monica, California, in 2022.
For indoor rainy-day fun, use some of
the sticks and stones for crafting. Here
are two ideas:
— Flat rocks aren’t just for skipping
across the surface of a lake. Make a turtle!
Choose a flat oval stone for the body,
and glue small ones underneath, stretching
out to the sides to make four feet and
a tail, with a larger stone for a head. Add
two pebbles for eyes.
— Make a twig vase with a recycled
tin can. Use shears to cut similar-width
By using flat rocks and pebbles,
anyone can craftily make a turtle.
branches, an inch or so longer than the
height of the can. Place two large rubber
bands around the outside of the can, one
near the top and one near the bottom.
Insert branches side by side, as if building
a twig fence around the can. Wind
twine or raffia over the rubber bands to
cover them, and then knot.
***
Find more family fun at
www.donnaerickson.com. Write to Donna
at Info@donnaerickson.com
© 2022 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.