Do Kids Need Team Sports? My Answer 8 Years After Going Against the Grain In 2017, I published an article called 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Register My Kids in Team Sports where I shared why I didn’t sign up my three kids for organized team sports (think: hockey, soccer,...
A Gentle Guide to Inspire Your Year Ahead: A Nudge Word As 2025 comes to a close, I find myself entering a state of reflection. I’ve never been one to end the year strong. Instead, I lean into the slower-paced days between Christmas and New Year’s Day, the quiet gap...
DIY Acorn Felt Ball Ornaments: Christmas Craft Ideas (Classic + Snowman) Every autumn our family collects pockets full of acorn caps during our nature walks—sometimes off inner-city sidewalks too! Some years they sit in a little bowl on the table, and other years they...
St Lucia Day (St. Lucy's Day) Traditions for Families: Simple Ways to Celebrate Light in the Dark of Winter As darkness encroaches and the light wanes in late fall, we wake to dark mornings and busy December days. In our home, my children and I embrace St. Lucy’s Day...
Hello, December! December arrives with a hush, and yet life feels loud and busy this time of year—holiday preparations, to-do lists, concerts, and celebrations all crowding the calendar. On one hand we want to follow nature's invites to rest and slow down, and yet the...
“It’s a fox!” Not a live fox, but a furry orange lump lying on the side of the highway, eagerly (and illegally) rescued from its irreverent roadside grave by a mother on her way home from a primitive skills family camp with her two daughters. This first line and...
Hello, November! November holds a special place in my heart. It used to be one of my least favorite months, the beauty of early fall fading, the days growing shorter, the landscape turning gray, and winter’s sparkle still far away. Many years ago, my friend Dawn...
Halloween is here, along with all the spooky, magical things happening in nature as fall deepens. Spiders creep into cozy corners, webs glisten across the lawn, leaves turn skeletal, and owls hoot overhead. Who needs gory decorations when the outdoors is full of jump...
Maple Seed Dragonfly Nature Craft From spring well into fall, maple trees are bejeweled with curious winged seeds. Botanically, they’re called samaras (pronounced suh-MAR-uh), but you might know them as helicopters, whirlybirds, maple keys, or simply maple seeds. And...
Hello, October! The light turns honey-gold, leaves crunch underfoot, and the air smells like rain and woodsmoke. October invites us to lean into cozy routines while staying curious outdoors—listening for migrating geese, spotting fungi after fall showers, and savoring...
If you’ve ever watched your child pause to admire a beetle or a feather, you already know the magic of slowing down outside. Nature journaling for kids turns those small moments into lasting memories and gentle learning by capturing the beauty of the natural world on...
Towards the end of summer and throughout fall, rose plants are bejeweled with rosehips—the bright red seed pods of the rose. In minutes, those little beauties can become beads and be threaded into beautiful, biodegradable bracelets and necklaces—a perfect, low-prep...
Preserving Autumn Magic with Air Dry Leaf Bowls Slowly, nature nudges toward an incredible seasonal shift. The weather cools, nights grow longer, and deciduous trees know the time has finally come. My children notice the first signs of turning—a singed edge here, a...
Snorkelling is magical, isn’t it? Seeing what’s happening just beneath the water's surface—delicate corals, swaying seaweed, and colorful fish darting about—has captivated humans for ages. I still remember the first time my children and I went snorkelling together in...
Hello, September! Back-to-school season is here, but September isn’t just about sharpened pencils and packed lunches — it’s also an invitation to reconnect with the rhythms of nature. This month September nature connection calendar holds a special kind of beauty, with...
It might seem silly to be sharing a tutorial on making nature paintbrushes for kids. After all, paintbrush have been made from natural materials for thousands of years! According to Britannica, paintbrushes are one of human's earliest art supplies and were used as...