What better time to start thinking about spring projects than mid-winter when temps have recently been plummeting as low as -50 degrees with the wind chill. It gets rugged here in northern Minnesota, and on days of being cooped up indoors, it tends to lead to many different indoor projects, dreaming up ideas, and getting creative. We’re getting excited about our big spring and summer project of turning our little red barn into a nature exploratory and dreaming up a space that encourages hands-on learning outdoors. Over this most recent, frigid cold stretch, my home-school planned and organized a fundraiser to help fund setting up our dreamed up space with new field guides, wild foods books, and other materials that are great to have on hand when exploring the outdoors.

Every year, we like to set up a new space or means of exploring nature together. When my son was really young, we opted for a long wooden bench with a variety of second hand kitchen utensils, along with a few cook pots, bowls, dishes, and a strainer. He loved cooking up all sorts of mud pies and what not in his own special kitchen. We always liked to switch out a few things to keep free exploration fresh and new. From magnifying glasses to kid-safe hand mixers, it was fun to see what he’d think up and play out with his imagination using the materials we’d give him.

As he’s grown over the years, we’ve provided materials to build numerous fort structures using his imagination to create his own outdoor space. I try not to be such a pack rat, but I really do not like throwing things away that can be re-purposed into perfect awesomeness. When tents rip out, we save the stakes and rain fly. We re-purpose lightly used, cloth shower curtains, and collect miscellaneous cloths and mats. Providing age appropriate tools has also been a fun addition giving him the means of creating what he envisions. A really fun, little product we found one year, Stick-lets, made it really easy to create quite a few structures with kid’s favorite outdoor toy, the stick. Click on the images below to check it out!

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We’ve also created a cool garden tee-pee as a trellis for our pole beans. What a great way to make an easy snack when you’re a mama or a papa! We loved reading under the shade of the garden tee-pee during hot summer days while snacking on green beans and edible “weeds” in the herb garden. It was a lot of fun designing and working together as a family on this teepee structure. Now, that my son is growing up and shooting up like a weed himself, we want to create a really cool nature exploratory that has space, shade, and a really cool set-up that encourages exploration on the topics of interest on any given day. So here we are mid-winter setting up a really rad home-school fundraiser selling “Winter Care Kits” of Calendula Lavender Salve and Slippery Elm Lip Balm to help fund the creation of this dreamed up space.

Planning and Setting up your Nature Exploratory

This is exactly what we’re thinking on at the present moment. Creating a space for kids and their adults to explore nature together has so many options. The first thing my family is thinking about is what we enjoy doing together in nature and how to create an open space that encourages the creative mind while following interests. We have some space, but our little red barn is not super spacious. Utilizing the main level space and the attic without cramping the learning stations is going to be important. Here are some things we are considering as we dream up our little space. Should you ever choose to create a similar outdoor space, I hope it gives you some ideas!

How can you Utilize Items you Have on Hand?

Using old storage bins, trays, organizers, book shelves, and pieces of furniture you may have on hand that are not being used is a good thing to consider. Think about the other types of things you have or could obtain which you could re-purpose into pure awesomeness. How can you best set-up an organized method to your madness?

What Different Types of Learning Stations will you Plan for?

Here we’re having fun thinking about the types of interests we want to ignite and what my family and friends enjoy doing and learning about outdoors. Some ideas for stations could include the following:

• An Identification Station (I.D. Books Focused on Plants, Trees, Animals, Rocks, Insects, Tracks, etc. Include a Magnifying Glass, Microscope, or Other Tools)

• Specific Themed Tables (Rock Tumbling and Rock Collecting, Herbarium Collection, Crafting with Natural Items, or Free Space to Rotate Activities)

• Current Citizen Science Projects (For Ideas, Read the Prior Post Fun with Phenology as a Family.)

• Nature-focused Book Nook (Books Covering a Wide Range of Topics of Interest. Check out the Books in the SHOP at Nature Art Exploration.)

• Nature Journaling Set-up (Read the Post Exploring Nature Journaling with Kids.)

• Creation Station for Art (Create an Artsy Space to Suit your Fancy! Maybe Include an Expressive Art Journaling Routine)

• Star Observatory with Telescope (Set-up a Telescope, Star Maps, Books, and Space to Doodle your Observations)

Additionally, it may be good to think about how you can be flexible with adapting to changes in learning goals or interests. This is a big one for my family, since we have a wide-range of interests, and our interests just keep expanding and evolving. I’m picturing creating a bin system of some sort for switching in and out materials aligned with various subjects, activities, or areas of focus.

I hope to share the progress of our nature exploratory as the project proceeds this spring, summer, and into the fall. Encouraging children to keep their curiosity and connection with the natural world is something that benefits them and our planet throughout their life-time and into the future. Children who are connected to the earth grow up to care about the earth. I hope you have enjoyed this post and look forward to sharing more about our adventures in the nature exploratory that my family creates! Thank you for joining Nature Art Exploration!