Get muddy. Play in the mud with sticks or make mud pies.

Start a rock collection. Collect rocks, toss some in a nearby pond, and then read books about them.

Roll down a hill. There is nothing so glorious as a good old fashioned roll down a hill.

Find peace. Close your eyes, lie on your back with your face turned up to the sun and just.... listen.

Find spring colors. Tote along the camera on your next walk and go on a photographic color scavenger hunt.

Go on a nature hike. Stock your kids field bags with fun items so they can examine nature up close.. Don't forget a sturdy pair of shoes.

Rainbow window. Grab some window markers or washable paint and paint a rainbow on the windows. You could also use our faux stained glass instructions to make a rainbow window with cellophane! Or, make a prism mobile that sprinkles rainbow joy on the walls.

Flower art project. Cut plain white paper into a flower shape and use the paper when creating spin art.

Flower printing. Use flowers of different shapes and sizes, dip in paint and press onto paper for a flower printing art project.

Craft a bug hotel. A bug hotel is surprisingly simple to make and will be appreciated by garden insects.

Make a nature mandala. Collect rocks, flower petals, seed pods and other materials. Arrange items in a mandala.

Bird nesting ball. Put together a ball of materials birds can use to build their nests.

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Winter is a great time to feed the birds. Before your next nature walk, you'll also want our tips for winter birding with kids! Then, when spring arrives, be sure use our ideas to encourage kids to help backyard birds build their nest.

Pinecone Bird Feeder

Suet feeders like this one are good for woodpeckers, chickadees, flickers, nuthatches, and wrens.

During our trip to rural Oregon, the boys enlisted the help of their grandpa to make two different bird feeders. The first was a suet pinecone bird feeder.

Orange Half Bird Feeder

Orange and other fruit attract orioles, catbirds, tanagers and grosbeaks.

You may need an adult to help with the orange half bird feeder. In our case, the kid shouted out the instructions to the adult!

Step 1. Cut an orange in half and nail the two halves into a piece of wood.

Step 2. Drill two holes in the wood underneath the orange halves and insert small dowels or other objects to make perches for the birds.

We used a pen and pencil for the perches, which makes me laugh. It is typical of my dad to just grab whatever is handy and works rather than hunting around for something that might be more aesthetically pleasing. But then you didn't come to this blog for beautiful crafts.

Step 3. Nail the feeder into a tree!

MORE: Winter activities for kids (with printable check list)

Hanging Orange Bird Feeder

Seed feeders attract a wide variety of birds! Cardinals prefer feeders like this one where they can perch on a platform.

My favorite is these classic hanging orange bird feeders.

Step 1. Scoop out orange halves.

Step 2. Poke 3 equidistant holes in the edge of the orange peel. You need at least three holes to keep the feeder from tipping over and spilling out all the bird seed.

Step 3. Thread string or twine through the holes for hanging.

Step 4. Fill the scooped out oranges with tasty bird treats. We used commercial bird seed and added cranberries. My son wanted to adjust his feeder so the cranberries were on top looking pretty! No doubt the birds appreciated that extra step.

MORE: Picture books to inspire a love of nature

Paper Roll Bird feeder

With a few household items your kids can make a bird feeder out of a cardboard roll to hang on a tree or on the porch. The feeder uses shortening or peanut butter, bird seed and a paper towel roll. You can see our instructions for a paper roll bird feeder in a previous post.

Tips

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has loads of tips about feeding birds. Their tips about where to put your feeder, and what to do if birds don't come are particularly useful.

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Do your children have field bags? As devout ramblers in our local urban part, we've had fun filling our field bags with fun supplies and gear. My boys LOVE having a field bag of goodies to tote along with them outdoors. It makes them feel very important and official even though they may not be backpacking or camping in the "real" woods!

I realize  some of these field bag supplies for kids may not be precisely essential for a walk in the park with mom. However, having it all sure makes a nature walk more fun. Plus, I've often found when the kids are ready to head home before I am, that a little peek in the bag is often just the right distraction to keep them interested in the great outdoors.

Happy walking!

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Washing

We brought the acorns home and of course the first thing we had to do was wash them, which was also a fun sensory experience. They were collected from an urban sidewalk after all and we have all kinds of nature in the city.

Washing them proved to be very entertaining for my son and he spent lots of time swishing them around in a small tub of water, spooning them out and making up stories about tugboats.

I'm not surprised washing acorns was so much fun, given the timeless popularity of a simple bubble car wash activity.

Sorting

I got out the ice cube tray. The small sections were great for sorting acorns. Sometimes he used a spoon to place them in the cube sections, other times he used his pincer grasp and picked them up.

He thought it was fun to see how many he could fit in each section before they started spilling out. Try using acorns in one of our many ideas for sorting activities.

Dropping

Since acorns are small, they fit through a variety of openings. First he tried dropping them down a cardboard roll.

He giggled as he aimed them into the cups of a muffin tin. We used muffin tins for fine motor practice with pom poms, too.

Next he poked the acorns through holes cut into the top of a yogurt container (you may recognize that container from the ever popular "playing the slots" activity we've done in the past).

Playing

All that directed fine motor activity was well and good, but I think his favorite way to play was using his toy trucks and trains to run an acorn delivery service for the neighborhood squirrels. Fine motor practice and imaginative play, what could be more wonderful?

We'll have to add "acorn delivery service" to the list of 20 ways to play with toy cars.

Acorns. Who knew they could be so enthralling?

By the way, acorns aren't the only excellent fine motor manipulative from nature. Try making pomanders with kids for fine motor practice. It smells good, too!

Idea originally published 2012, updated 2023.

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Sure you could instruct your children to mark pots of newly planted seeds with a simple piece of masking tape or a craft stick label, but why not harness their creativity to make something a little more exciting!

Plant your plant marker craft session according to the interests of your kids. If your kids love to craft, this could turn into a hours long crafting activity. Or, if your children always claim to "hate art" like mine do, keep it simple.

The purpose of a this plant craft project like this is not to encourage you to imitate our exact project but to share how easy ideas to keep the kids entertained are always right around the corner.

How to Make Plant Markers for an Indoor Garden

Fortunately, when your kids are making plant markers for an indoor garden like growing beansprouts or planting paperwhites, they don't need to worry about making the markers waterproof!

Instructions

Cut several cardboard rectangles. You'll need at least one per pot.

Decorate the cardboard labels however you wish, using stickers, markers, or other materials.

Glue or tape a craft stick to each.

Pop the correct plant marker into its corresponding pot!

For my 5 year old, who is not yet reading or spelling fluently, I wrote down the name of the plant on each cardboard rectangle and he applied the corresponding letter sticker on top. See how I snuck in a bit of literacy and spelling practice?

I think they add a bit of fun to our window. What do you think?

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Helping your child make a leaf wreath won't cost you a thing, but will provide you with fond memories and it is fun, handmade addition to your fall decor. Add it to a wall of thankful leaves and your child's mini pumpkin printing art and voilá, your child has done all the decorating for you.

Leaf Wreath Instructions

The very first step to creating the fall wreath of your dreams is to take a nature walk with your kids! Along the way you could also go birding (be sure to use our birding tips!) and your kids can fill out a page in their nature journal (learn how to start a nature journal with kids!).

However, the most important thing to do on this nature walk is to collect a basket of beautiful fall leaves. If possible, collect freshly fallen leaves that are still a bit soft. They will crisp up soon after applied to the wreath, but soft leaves won't crumble during the crafting process.

Wreath Materials

How-to

First, cut a wreath shape from your card stock. The size and shape is up to your child. Perhaps they want to make a square wreath, or a triangle. Let them decide!

Next allow your child to take some time to decide how they want to arrange the leaves. Some kids may want to start gluing down foliage right away, others may take a while to determine the exact placement of the leaves on the wreath.

Squeeze out some glue onto the wreath shape. It can help if you spread the glue a bit with a plastic knife or wood craft stick, but that's not necessary.

Place the leaves on the glue and press gently. If your child wants to overlap leaves, they may need to squeeze out more glue as necessary.

TIP: if the leaves pop up off the glue-y surface, weigh them down with small glass jars, or drinking glasses. This is where it helps if the leaves are still soft, because the weight won't crack or crumble the leaves.

BONUS TIP: Don't forget to use any leftover leaves for this fall leaf watercolor process art project!

Allow the wreath to dry completely.

Use the hole punch to place a hole at the top of the wreath and thread the ribbon through the hole and tie off the end.

Hang the wreath! If you want to hang it outside, it will need to be in a well-sheltered location, but you can hang it inside as part of the fall decorations, too!

MORE FALL FUN: 65 Family Activities for Fall (with check list!)

Idea first published 2008, updated 2023.

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Playing with snow indoors is a great indoor winter nature activity and is easier and less messy than you think.

Playing with Snow Indoors

We recently had a snowstorm that dropped 10 inches of snow! However, the weather was still very gusty with severe wind chill temperatures so I didn't want to take a 4 year old and a baby outdoors. However, if you didn't have a big snowfall, you can always make it look like you did with a DIY snowflake "stained glass" window!

What you need

Snow! Of course!

Mittens, in case your child's hands get cold

Waterproof mat

Towel, for clean up

Instructions

Place the waterproof mat on your play area. We used an large piece of a shower curtain that I had cut up. I secured it to the table with large binder clips.

Bravely open the front door and fill a bucket or your food containers with snow. Bring the snow inside and place the containers on the mat.

Now is the easy part! Let your child explore playing with the snow using the kitchen items. Yes, the snow will begin to melt, but that's okay. Rest easy, knowing that it melts into water, easy to clean up with a towel.

My son loved making snow muffins by using an ice cream scoop to ladle the snow into a muffin tin. (Do you call a silicon muffin pan a "tin"? I doubt it.)

Idea first published 2009, updated 2023.

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Kids can also make their own journal. Recycling kids' old artwork is a great way to make a personalized nature journal. You can get the instructions to make your own journal here.

Printable journal pages are a perfectly respectable way to go, especially if you want to use a nature journal as part of a class project or to complement a particular line of nature study. Here are some fun, free printable journal page ideas:

• This is a tree - writing and drawing page
• Seeds to flowers - a time lapse project
• Charlotte Mason homeschooling inspired printable nature journal
• A butterfly observation journal
• Montessori inspired journal pages

Nature Journal Prompts

A single leaf or a noisy woodpecker can inspire kids to write in their journal.

Although you don't necessarily need specific prompts, they can come in handy! Here are some nature journal prompts for kids:

• Find animal tracks. Draw them and record your observations about who they belong to and where they are leading. Write a short paragraph from the animal's point of view.
• Collect some seed pods. Identify, open, and draw them. Tape some to your pages.
• Write a poem about the nature that surrounds you.
• Press flowers, leaves, stems, or feathers between journal pages.
• Find five different leaves and describe them using your 5 senses.
• Take rubbings of bark or craggy rocks.
• Go birdwatching and record your sightings. Here are some great tips for birding with kids and here's how my bird-loving son recorded his bird observations in a hobby journal.
• Observe and record the behavior of butterflies or another insect of choice.
• Go for a color walk and take notice of all the hues and shades of foliage. As Crafty Moms Share demonstrates, this can be done even if all you have time for is a walk around the neighborhood. It's also an excellent idea for toddlers and preschoolers who still have developing drawing skills as you can see in her kids' journal pages.
• This mom demonstrates how she uses nature prompts when she goes nature journaling with kids.

Out-of-the-box nature journal ideas

Natural journaling doesn't even need an actual journal! Let that idea blow your mind. Now go check out this super cool nature journey stick from Growing Family.

Can you journal with homemade slime? You may not think so, but this family will convince you otherwise.

Books for Nature Journal Inspiration

Your kids will love hearing you read aloud some of our book recommendations for picture books to inspire a love of nature! In addition, the following titles will give them some more ideas about observing the great outdoors.

It's a Jungle Out There!: 52 Nature Adventures for City Kids by Jennifer Ward. This book is divine inspiration if you think you can't go on nature walks when you live in an urban environment!

National Geographic Kids Get Outside Guide: All Things Adventure, Exploration, and Fun! by Nancy Honovich and Julie Beer. Although this book has way more to it than just

The Kid's Guide to Exploring Nature. This book is put out by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Education Team and teaches kids how to observe nature that helps them see the complexity of the ecosystem.

Now get outdoors!

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When your kids are stuck inside and getting cabin fever, heat up some cocoa and pick one of the indoor winter activities. When the weather is fine, bundle up, get outdoors to play in the snow and try one of the outdoor ideas!

BONUS! Get the printable list of all these fun winter activities for kids and check them off as you do them! Scroll down to the end of this post to get it!

Note: this post contains affiliate links that may earn commission.

Winter Pretend Play Ideas

Spark your child's imagination with these wonderful winter-themed play ideas or go on a field trip in your own home!

SNOW PLAY TRAY. If you've got snow outside, scoop some up and place on a baking tray on in a large shallow container. Add in some toy vehicles or other small, waterproof toys for a snowy pretend play scenario. Concerned about spillage? Place a large towel underneath the play zone. No real snow? Consider using insta-snow (not for children' who put things in their mouths) or shaving cream.

PRETEND PLAY STORY TIME. Can't get to the library? Set up a designated story time area in your home. Kids can arrange pillows on the floor, set up dolls and stuffed toys as eager listeners. A grown-up can read the story, or kids can read to their toys. For extra fun, set up a library story time craft with our sledding coloring page and snowflake stick puppets or winter-themed bookmark coloring page.

PRETEND MOVIE THEATER. Look forward to a 90 minute break as your kids make pretend movie tickets, set up a popcorn and candy stand, and arrange comfy chairs for viewing. For tweens, choose one of these best movies for tweens that are based on children's books, or for all ages, expand their viewing literacy with one of these great silent movies for kids.

KATY AND THE BIG SNOW PLAY TIME. After reading Virginia Lee Burton's classic tale, Katy and the Big Snow, sit back and relax with a cup of tea while your kids recreate the story on this diy Katy mat.

Indoor Winter Activities

Getting cabin fever? These indoor winter activities will keep antsy kids busy!

GAMES TOURNAMENT. Kids can spend time organizing and planning a game tournament (screen-free games, of course!). What games will they play, how many rounds? Will they create a bracket or a score board?

PLANT PAPERWHITES. Teach kids that good things come to those who wait! Planting paperwhites in a bowl full of pebbles is easy and no mess. Get the full instructions for how to plant paperwhites here.

WRITE LETTERS. Have your kids written their thank you cards yet? Even if they have, they can still send messages to far away relatives. Even better, get a pack of large index cards and have them make their own postcards!

WINDOW SNOWFALL. Learn how to create unique snowflake window clings with glue on your windows (and they're easy to remove and reposition!). Alternatively, you can brighten up your window with cellophane snowflakes. After you cut out a flurry of flakes, the cellophane will stick to windows with a little dish soap and water. Bonus: your windows will be so clean when you decide to finally remove them! Get the full instructions for the cellophane stained glass snowflake window here.

Winter Nature Ideas

A winter wonderland is a glorious place. Let winter nature inspire you and your children to explore the outdoors and harness the cold temperatures to make unique crafts.

TRACK THE WEATHER. This is a great project for science and eco-minded kids. Get out a large piece of graph paper and label the bottom axis with dates and the side axis with temperatures. Every day, plot the high and low temperature of the day, connecting the high temperature dots with a red line and the low temperature dots with a blue line. At the end of the winter, you will be able to see the general weather patterns.

GO BIRDWATCHING. Sometimes kids need a little encouragement to get outside in the colder weathers. Let them know it's easier to spot birds in trees with no leaves! A good pair of binoculars and a local birding field guide will further inspired them! Get our tips for winter birding with kids here.

MAKE ICE WREATHS. This is one of our favorite winter crafts! Fill a cake pan (a bundt pan will create a center for the hanging ribbon) with water and nature items like cranberries, pine needles, holly, etc. Add a ribbon and freeze until solid. Hang up outside! You can see how we made ice wreaths (without a bundt pan) here.

BUILD SNOW LANTERNS. If you have snow, making snow lanterns is one of the most magical snow crafts you can make. Essentially, you build a handful of snowballs, arrange them in a conical shape and place a light inside. Get the full instructions here.

MAKE FROZEN COLOR GLOBES. For a fun way to liven up the yard in cold weather, you can't beat a collection of colored ice globes. Fill water balloons with colored water and freeze. When frozen, remove the balloon and place globes around your yard in fun designs.

FEED THE BIRDS. Tuppence a bag! (I bet you're singing it in your head, too.) Instead of dumping a pile of seeds into a tube and hanging it up outside, make one of these four clever diy birdfeeders!

Winter Art Activities

Decorate your home with your child's winter artwork!

PAPER SNOWFLAKES. Beware! Making paper snowflakes is highly addictive`. Watch our video to learn how to make them and then read about all the different ways you can use your newly created flurry.

PUFFY PAINT. Puffy paint provides a wonderful way to create three dimensional snowscape art work. Mix up a batch by folding together: 3 parts shaving cream with 1 part water and 1 part white school glue. Put in a plastic bag and squeeze out as you would when icing cookies. It's best to paint on cardboard or other hard paper surface. A full puffy paint tutorial is at Artful Parent.

SNOW PAINTING. Fill a few spray bottles with different colored water (use food coloring or liquid watercolors), put on your snow boots and head outdoors!

COLORING PAGES. When you need a quiet, indoor activity, try some winter-themed coloring pages. Here are some of our favorites:

• Penguin coloring page
• Skating party coloring page
• Four season trees bookmark coloring page

Winter Crafts for Kids

A good winter craft keeps kids occupied and gives them a sense of accomplishment. These are easy winter crafts! Some require adult supervision, but the others can be done all on one's own.

MIX UP WINTER SCENTED PLAY DOUGH. Bring the scents of winter's natural wonder indoors for some pretend play, fine motor exercise and creative fun with winter scented play dough. Use these recipes for pine, mint and hot chocolate scented play dough!

MILK CARTON CANDLES. This old-school craft does take a bit of preparation but the results are well worth it. You can use essential oils that are reminiscent of winter scents and add in broken crayons for a bit of colorful interest. Here are our full instructions for how to make milk carton candles.

PAPER LUMINARIES. Using a hand-held hole punch, punch holes in a paper lunch bag. Insert a battery operated votive candle and voilá, you have a easy diy luminary. Make a dozen of these for a glowing, festive atmosphere. For extra fun, use a snowflake hole punch.

GLASS JAR LUMINARY. This is a classic winter craft for kids and also makes a great gift! Upcycle a glass jar (peanut butter or jam jars work great!) from your pantry. Cut out shapes from tissue paper in a variety of colors. Paint the outside surface of the jar with white school glue and then stick on the tissue paper. You can add in sequins, stickers or other crafty elements. Allow kids the freedom to stick the tissue paper on however they wish, even if it doesn't live up to your high design standards! Insert a battery operated votive candle and admire your child's handiwork!

Outdoor Winter Activities

What kid doesn't love to get outdoors and play in the snow? In some locations, a snowy winter is elusive. But, not to worry! Four out of six ideas can be done, even with nary a snowflake on the horizon.

WRITE SIDEWALK MESSAGES. When outdoor temperatures dip, but the sidewalks are still free from ice and snow, a few positive messages and drawings will put smiles on neighbors's faces. Bundle up and take a bucket of sidewalk chalk outside. Walk around the neighborhood and decorate the pavement with inspiring words and drawings.

GO ON A SCAVENGER HUNT. Grab your clipboard and a pen! You can come up with your own outdoor scavenger hunt or use one of the millions that are on the internet. Here's a cute scavenger hunt with printable from KCEdventures.

MAKE SNOW ANGELS. If you have a snowy landscape, don't forget to do this classic winter activity! Lie back in the snow, move your arms and legs back and forth and admire the angels who visited your yard. And, hey, this counts as exercise.

ICE BOWLING. You don't need snow or cold weather for this game, but a freezer is a necessity. Fill a water balloon and freeze until solid. You could even use one of the frozen colored globes you made (see above)! Then, fill 9 water bottles. Freezing the water bottles is not necessary, but adds to the fun. You don't need plastic water bottles, your reusable ones will work just fine. Head outdoors and set up the bottles in a triangle formation. Step back a few meters and roll your ice ball to knock them down!

SNOW TAG. Running in the snow is a unique experience. Why not turn it into a game of tag? For extra fun, play one of these 10 fun tag versions, or make up a game of snowball tag.

GOURDBALL OR PINECONE BALL. Our family tradition is to play a game of gourdball every year on Thanksgiving weekend when it's time to take down the fall decorations. Kids love to watch the gourds explode when they hit them with a bat! If you don't have gourds, you can use pinecones. It's lots of fun, I promise!

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Here are some of our tried-and-true favorite indoor winter nature activities:

Playing with thin ice. My kids had great fun playing with thin ice. This idea was inspired by a visit to the local lake that wasn't quite frozen over. See how my boys explored a tray of thin ice that we made indoors. I'm a big proponent of free play and this was ended up being a great idea! They used rocks, toys vehicles, and sticks and it was surprisingly entertaining!

Bring the snow inside. See how we brought the snow inside for a winter-y traffic jam. Playing with snow inside is a wonderful and sensory-filled way to pass the time. Place snow-filled trays on a large towel or tablecloth to protect floors from the inevitable melted snow.

Create an indoor snow scape. Make Instant Snow! I realize this isn't exactly "natural," but my kids LOVED it, and it's an especially welcome activity when it is cold outside but there is NO SNOW, which frequently happens here in the Big Apple. Fill up a large, deep tray or tupperware bucket with the stuff, add a few toys and your kids are all set for an afternoon of pretend play. Later on you can repurpose the fake snow in mini winter terrariums like these. (Note: Do not put it down the drain!)

MORE: 28 Winter Activities for Kids with free printable checklist!

Get creative with rocks. I'm willing to bet your kids love playing with rocks. My kids adore throwing them in ponds and rivers. While they can't throw rocks inside, one of the most universally loved indoor nature activities is to decorate rocks. This is an especially good indoor activity for tweens. A kid armed with metallic Sharpies can make some super cool Zentangle rocks! Kids can paint on rocks with tempera paint, melt crayons on rocks, or use puffy paint to create vivid designs.

Show love to winged friends. Make bird feeders to hang out when it's not too chilly to open the door. We have four bird feeder recipes for you. Be sure to make some hot cocoa and pull a chair up to the windows for some indoor bird watching.

Fill your home with sweet and spicy fragrance. Make pomanders with oranges and cloves. It doubles as excellent fine motor practice!

Decorate with nature. Dry and string orange slices. We did this one year and then set them out in a neighborhood tree. We loved seeing it as we walked down the sidewalk and the process of drying the slices makes the house smell yummy. Get the instructions for drying orange slices here.

Set up sensory stations. A super easy way to play with nature indoors is to set a nature sensory bin. If your unfamiliar with sensory bins, here are some great instructions to set up a simple nature bin. Alternatively, make a winter "calm down" sensory bottle for little ones.

Experiment! Why not engage in a little science exploration? Throw all caution to the wind and make evergreen and berry winter oobleck.

Grow something. We plant paperwhite bulbs every year. Follow this simple tutorial for how to plant paperwhites, or grow something from your kitchen scraps. Read about how kids can regrow vegetable scraps. Or, plant items from your kitchen pantry and race to see whose grow the fastest!

Read! When you just want to relax and be cozy, read aloud to the kids. Here are some book lists to inspire you:

• Picture books about snow
• Picture books to inspire a love of nature
• Diverse picture books about winter

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