Category: Crafts and Projects

Finding animal tracks Nature Walk: Whose Tracks Are These?
Crafts and Projects · Jobs of a Preschooler · Ramblings

Nature Walk: Whose Tracks Are These?

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

(This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I greatly appreciate all purchases you make using these links. Thank you!)

I had mentioned in a previous post that your little ones can be scientists by taking a nature walk to make some interesting discoveries.

Maybe your little ones would like to find some animal tracks in sandy, muddy, or snowy areas. Guidebooks that show animal tracks can be very beneficial to identify the animals that made the tracks.

My family has found many tracks over the years. Below are a few samples of animal tracks we have found.

These are tracks we found on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River. We knew they were bird tracks, but we weren’t sure what kind of bird.

bird tracks

We looked at the guide found here (from USGS Education), and it appears as though they are heron tracks.

This is another picture I took on an island in the Mississippi River. The deer who left these tracks behind would have had to swim across the river to get to this island.

deer tracks in sand

We explored the small island for a little bit, but we never found any deer.

These were dog (or coyote) tracks found on the same island. It can be fun to make up stories to go along with discovered tracks. What kind of animal was it? What was it doing?

dog tracks in sand

We were guessing the tracks below were from a dog visiting with its family. That seemed like a nicer story than a coyote following the deer.

There are multiple tracks in this mud we found at a Wetlands Center we visited.

tracks in mud

Here is a large turtle track we saw while visiting MacArthur Beach State Park in Florida.

turtle tracks on beach

I’m glad we had decided to take a tour with a park ranger while there otherwise I’m not sure I would have recognized this as a turtle track. The park ranger was kind enough to point it out to us and tell us that it had been left by a turtle laying her eggs the night before.

We have enjoyed many field trips to nature centers and parks. On one visit, the naturalist showed us multiple animal track samples and allowed the kids to create their own animal track molds.

One of my daughters molded a Canadian goose print.

canadian goose track mold

My other daughter molded a wolf print.

wolf track mold

We used rubber molds of animal tracks when we created these animal prints out of plaster of paris. If you are interested in making a mold of an animal print you find outside, you may want to read How to Make a Mold of Animal Tracks with Plaster of Paris on Frugal Fun 4 Boys or this booklet from USGS Education, which includes an animal track reference guide.

Searching for tracks may lead to a hungry kid. You could continue with the theme of tracks with these cute animal track snacks as seen on Loreen Leedy’s website.

It may be fun to discuss another animal track animals leave…scat! You may want to save this discussion for after snack time, though. A cute book to check out about animal tracks and their scat is called Track that Scat! by Lisa Morlock.

Track that Scat book

Will you find (or make) any tracks today?

brown sugar creations Build “Sand” Castles Inside Using Brown Sugar
Birthday Party · Crafts and Projects · Jobs of a Preschooler

Build “Sand” Castles Inside Using Brown Sugar

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

I have enjoyed planning numerous themed birthday parties for my daughters over the years. One of my daughters decided she wanted an underwater themed birthday party a few years ago, which I had a lot of fun planning, decorating, and hosting with her.

I wanted to incorporate something like sand castles as decoration at the under water themed party, but I didn’t want sand brought into my house. It occurred to me one day as we were baking that brown sugar packs well and looks like sand.  Brown sugar is also inexpensive and edible, so I decided to create a few brown sugar animals as decoration on one of the tables for her party.

Brown sugar instead of sand

I thought they looked cute. My daughters have since had fun making their own brown sugar castles and creations, which I wrote a post about on Hands On As We Grow. You can read it here if you would like. (I wrote the post in March when we still had snow on the ground, and it was bitterly cold. This week, it has been in the 90s all week, so I found it funny the post says “It’s still too cold where I live to build sand castles at the beach.” It’s amazing how much the weather can differ from month to month in some locations!)

Anyways, my daughters played with brown sugar while I was writing the post for Hands On As We Grow, so I could take some pictures of what I was talking about. One of my daughters made a brown sugar submarine.

brown sugar creation

My other daughter worked on building a brown sugar tower.

brown sugar creation

They worked together and created a castle with a craft stick flag and bridge.

brown sugar castle

They had fun trying to destroy their brown sugar castle with little catapults (measuring spoons) filled with cannons (packed brown sugar).

destroying brown sugar castle

I had cookie trays for them to use to try to contain all of the brown sugar. We still ended up with brown sugar on the counter, floor, and them. All of which was rather easy to clean up. The remaining brown sugar went back into a bowl for the next time they want to build brown sugar creations.

Building with brown sugar is messy, but it’s fun!

Check out the following posts for more building fun.

 

 

Scientist supplies Become a Little Scientist on a Walk
Crafts and Projects · Jobs of a Preschooler

Become a Little Scientist on a Walk

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

It’s not officially summer yet, but many kids will be starting summer break really soon. As the weather continues to warm up, I am looking forward to taking walks with my family.

My daughters and I have enjoyed many nature walks over the years. We have had the opportunity to take walks at nature centers, state parks, national parks, and on various other walking trails.

Did you know kids can collect Junior Ranger badges by completing tasks at national parks? My daughters have each received a badge for completing a packet and going on a guided hike with a park ranger at one national park. You can call national parks and ask what they offer for the Junior Ranger program. Otherwise, you can find more information on the National Park Service’s website here if you are interested. I have seen some families go to multiple national parks and collect badges at each one. National parks also often offer free programs throughout the summer (and the year) in addition to the Junior Ranger program. Normally the information for upcoming events can be found on their websites.

My daughters have also learned a lot about national parks through the National Park Service’s Webrangers program. This is a free online program, which you can access on the National Park Service’s website here. You are required to create a user id and password so all of the completed activities can be saved. Kids can earn virtual badges and rewards as they complete each activity. Children are also offered a physical badge once all of the activities are finished. My daughters learned quite a bit while completing the Webranger activities.

Maybe you would enjoy walks with your little one on a “mission as a scientist”. Your little one could be a scientist just like the girl in the book Jobs of a Preschooler. You may want to search for something specific each time you go on a nature walk such as:

I’ve noticed when we search for specific items, my daughters seem more focused on looking around and exploring than if we are just “going for a walk”.

For even more fun, you could pack a little “scientist bag” filled with a notebook, magnifying glass, binoculars, camera, and pencils. Depending on what you are searching for, a little guide book may also be helpful to identify animal tracks, flowers, etc. (Libraries often have guide books to borrow if you don’t have one.) Sunscreen and bug spray are also beneficial on nature walks, although it is best to keep it off of hands especially if handling interesting finds.

scientist supplies

Your little one may have fun drawing, taking pictures, and studying (as long as it is safe to do so) interesting discoveries along the way. The drawings and pictures can be added to a little science journal (a notebook or binder with papers) if desired. Both of my daughters have had fun creating their own binders filled with photos they have taken. If you choose to collect items, you may want to check policies. Some places have rules against taking any items, so all of the leaves, flowers, acorns, etc. must remain there.

Outdoor exploration often leads to conversations and research to find more information about specific items. For example, what is the difference between butterflies and moths? What are the different kinds of animal homes?

Hands-on learning can be a lot of fun. I don’t know about you, but I end up learning quite a bit along with my daughters when we do activities like this. The world is our classroom. Have fun discovering new things and learning as you take a walk!

I will be writing posts with pictures based on themed specific nature walks for you to see (and share) with your little ones. Stay tuned!

Jobs of a Preschooler- I'm a scientist...

What will you discover on your next walk?

 

 

disappearing glass experiment How To Make Glass Disappear
Crafts and Projects · Jobs of a Preschooler · Ramblings

How To Make Glass Disappear

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

Last summer, my daughters and I enjoyed some programs at our local library as part of the library’s summer reading program.

At one science program we attended, a large clear glass aquarium was set on a table in the front of the room. The aquarium appeared to be filled only with a yellowish color liquid, which we later found out was vegetable oil. I was surprised when the presenter and a volunteer wearing gloves pulled numerous glass beakers, test tubes, and jars from the aquarium.

Apparently, Pyrex glass appears practically invisible inside other glass containers filled with vegetable oil. I had to try this at home!

My daughters and I gathered our vegetable oil and glass Pyrex bowls.

disappearing glass experiment

One of my daughters added the vegetable oil to the larger bowl.

disappearing glass experiment

Then, my other daughter filled oil in the smaller bowl. I can see why the presenter and his assistant were wearing gloves when they did this experiment!

disappearing glass experiment

Once filled, she placed it in the larger bowl.

Disappearing glass

After experimenting with the bowl facing up, we decided to flip the little bowl upside down and place it back into the large bowl. The top part of the bowl is visible where there is no vegetable oil, but the bottom part is not as easy to see.

disappearing glass experiment

It looks as though the little bowl has disappeared on the bottom of the large bowl. Just like magic!

disappearing glass

Maybe your little one would like to be a “magician” like the girl in the book Jobs of a Preschooler and try to make things disappear with this simple experiment!

Magician from Jobs of a Preschooler

What can (s)he make disappear?

You can check out these posts for more science fun.

 

 

 

Fun craft to teach financial responsibility Fun Craft to Teach Kids Financial Responsibility
Crafts and Projects · Writing Appearances

Fun Craft to Teach Kids Financial Responsibility

Brigitte BrulzLeave a comment

“How financially savvy and responsible are your children? How good is their Money IQ?

Do they understand ATM machines and credit cards don’t actually offer an unlimited supply of money?

Are the words debt, budget, interest, income, and savings like a foreign language to them?”

This is the introduction to an article I recently wrote that includes ideas to teach children financial responsibility. If you are interested in reading the article with more than 20 tips to boost your child’s money IQ, you can read the article here.

One of the tips I included in the article is creating a “bank” with your kids. My daughters and I had a lot of fun creating their little banks.

To create the banks, I hot glued four square bottomed containers (purchased from the Dollar Tree) together. Then, we labeled each of the jars: donate, invest, save, and spend.

My daughters decorated them with ribbons. They could have added stickers or other decorations, but they decided they didn’t want to.

Fun craft to teach financial responsibility

I explained the bank concept further in the article entitled How to Quickly Boost Your Child’s Money IQ posted on A Fine Parent:

“My daughters and I enjoyed making their “banks” together. Each bank consisted of four square plastic containers with lids that I purchased and hot glued together. My daughters decorated the containers and labeled them: Donate, Spend, Save, and Invest.

We discussed what donate (give to others), spend (buy items), save (short term and long term), and invest (long term) meant, although they didn’t add anything to the invest container initially.

As my daughters received money, they divided the money into the separate containers. I had also created a sheet of paper similar to a checkbook ledger, which they updated (with my help at first) as they deposited or withdrew money from their containers.

This allowed them to easily see how much they had within each container, and it was great practice for balancing an actual checkbook. Every once in a while, we would take the money out of each container to count and make sure their total balance equaled what was written on the sheet.”

Fun craft to teach financial responsibility

Do you have any other fun tips to teaching children financial responsibility?

For another fun craft to teach children about money, check out the following post.