I am that kind of mom that likes to think she will decorate for each small holiday with little splashes of festiveness throughout the house. In reality, I am that mom who buys holiday items from the previous year on clearance, then throws them in a storage tote for next year, never pulling them out.

I had BIG plans when I took down all the Christmas decorations, I was going to adorn the house in red hearts and pink ribbon. Valentines day is less than 10 days away and I just put up our first decoration.

I remember seeing a DIY project on Pinterest last year, they were these little cupid arrows made from twigs. It was going to be a beautiful February day in Ohio, so we headed outside to get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine. It has been overcast for the last few weeks so to have the temperate soar to 53F was an anomaly and we were going to take advantage of it.

My kids do not always enjoy leaving the house to go explore nature and play but they know that if they refuse, I will only force it and make them stay out longer. I always feel better after being outside and breathing in the fresh woodsy air so, today I joined them. The children played while I cleaned out the chicken and the barn, tidied up some things misplaced or knocked over by the many winter nights that all 11 barn cats have sought refuge in our heated barn. This was not my idea of soaking up the fresh air, but it needed to get done so the animals can breather better.

After a few hours we went on a hike exploring our backwoods, looking for signs of intruders (animal or human), signs of spring and fun nature surprises. My 5 year old was wearing down fast so I asked her to collect some twigs that we could make arrows with.

I have found, when little ones are getting tired and bored on a hike, that sending them on a fun task or mission gives them purpose which they are quick to jump on. She collected about a dozen twigs before she was ready to head back in.

Supplies:

Twigs (collected on a nature walk)

Glue gun (I used a low temperature hot glue gun found at Walmart for like six bucks so the kids could work on it with very little help from me.)

Felt (red, pink, purple)

Twine (for embellishments)

White paint (optional embellishment)

I am not sure if will get out the Valentines day decorations that I have stored in a clear tote in my closet, but these little arrows are out. They were simple to make, and I absolutely love little crafts that my kids make. Well…., not all crafts are created equal, I don’t really want that pipe cleaner painted sun hanging around my house for too long.

These will certainly get packed away and stored in hopes of pulling them out next year or maybe even 10 years from now when they are all on their own, and the house quiet and empty.

If you want to get your kids out in nature more, we love the book The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms, this is where my kids got the term “nature surprise” from, as the book asks you to find them when out in nature. I am always shocked by how many new small discoveries we make when actively looking for our own nature surprises. I am also surprised at how my kids will fight over who found the ‘nature surprise’ first! Everything seems like a competition when you have more than one child. It is an extremely rare day when we make it through our nature walk without some sort of bickering or fighting.

As spring approaches I think I will do a blog post on our nature walks and the books we love.