Day 23: Natural Holiday Ornaments
We're working a little more on our 30 Days of Nature Art! Saturday, the planets aligned for us to arrive at the Nature Center at Pokagon State Park just in time for a class on Natural Holiday Ornaments! We were on our way to Ohio and Pokagon was right off the toll road for a quick stop.
The Nature Center staff had created several ornaments as inspiration--what great details, down to the skis! We heard Lauren will be leaving for Texas soon. She remembered us from our previous visits to Pokagon, such as our First Day Hike, Toboggan Run, Sledding, Winter Nature Center visit, and President's Day visit. We've gone other times, but haven't blogged about them all, enjoying bubbles, turtle sitting, and the Spring Shelter.
I really appreciated how they had lots of supplies out and categorized to use!
There were many options, each in their own container. I may steal their set up ideas for future programs! :-)
Notice the jacket on the floor in the background? While this child immediately knew what he wanted to make, his jacket almost always ends up in a heap wherever he decides to take it off. Of course, we took a break to clear the pathways before he got too deep into the gluing. Tacky glue and glue guns were out. Both work well, but the glue guns set faster. They are also a little more dangerous, so the adults used the glue gun as the children directed our efforts!
I was very impressed with my husbands efforts for his "dude".
There were a few items that didn't come straight from outside, like white cotton stuffing. My son used that to help with his Santa.
This younger guy tried the Tacky glue, but eventually realized the hot glue would keep it together better.
Here is my creation--a snowflake of sorts! It's huge, though, so I will have to find a special place to hang it! The boys each made their own creation, with access to plenty of loose parts! I loved seeing what they came up with!
We spent a little time at the Nature Center before we headed on to Ohio. I like how this entry shelf always has seasonal items and changes most times when we visit.
We always like checking out the bird feeders while at the Nature Center. There were plenty of Tufted Titmice while we were there and a big, fat squirrel! We also saw their wish list. I wrote a post about Wish Lists as part of the 31 Days of Nature Kindness series. They are in need of safflower seed. We purchased our 2014 State Parks pass as we entered--we're ready for plenty of outdoor exploration in 2014! I like that my husband suggested we go ahead and buy it! I'm usually the nature pusher, yet he recognizes that it is good for our family, too. I also like that having a park pass lets us just stop by the state parks for an hour if that is all the time we have. We don't feel like we have to get all our money's worth with just one stop as we know we'll be back numerous times. We have options and can just enjoy a small section at a time.
