Three Nature Craft Activities to Do With Kids

Getting creative with the kids shouldn’t cost the earth. These simple nature ideas encourage children to re-use what they already have at home, look to their environment for inspiration and get outside to appreciate how beautiful our natural world is. 

Nature Treasure Hunt

Kids love a good treasure hunt and there’s nothing easier than creating your own nature hunt to encourage your little ones to look a little closer and appreciate the beauty that can be found in their own backyard or local park.  

You will need:

• A piece of old cardboard or the inside of a cereal box
• Coloured crayons
• A basket or bucket to collect treasures in
• Sticky tape (optional)

Let’s do it! 

1. First, you’ll need to make your nature hunt list – this can be as simple as colouring little swatches with crayons so the kids can find matching colour items from nature (try using earthy tones), or if you’re feeling really creative, draw little pictures of the typical things you might spot and be able to collect on a local bush walk or wander to the park (i.e. Flower, seedpod, bark, dried leaf, smooth rock, dandelion)
2. Roll up your treasure hunt guide and pop it in a basket or bucket. 
3. It’s time to get hunting! Give your kids their hunting kit and ask them to place the treasure items in the basket once they have found them (or stick them onto the nature guide in the right spots with sticky tape)
4. Once all the items have been found, take your bounty home and use your collection to make a beautiful nature picture with your children.    

Recycled Jewellery 

This threading activity is great for hand/eye coordination and developing patience and perseverance in young children. You can use anything you like to make the ‘beads’ of your recycled jewellery – upcycling is the winner here!

You will need:

• Thread or string 
• Cotton bud
• Cut up paper straws, old beads, cardboard from old cereal or biscuit packets, coloured pasta (this can be made together another time – using food colouring and vinegar to dye the pasta), leaves, flowers, any other bits and pieces that can be made into a ‘bead’ by adding a hole.   
• Holepunch
• Textas 
• Scissors

Let’s do it! 

1. Cut bits of old cardboard into geometric shapes and get the kids to decorate with textas or pencils. Use a hole punch to make a hole in each piece. 
2. Cut other bits and pieces into smaller shapes to add to your bead collection. 
3. Collect dried leaves and flowers and add a hole with a hole punch, turning them into natural beads.
4. Cut a cotton bud in half and use sticky tape to attach it to the end of some string. This will make it easier for little hands to thread with. Tie a knot in the other end of your string.
5. Help your child to thread different ‘beads’ onto their string. 
6. You can make a necklace, bracelet or even a mobile out of your nature beads and recycled creations! These bright and colourful creations make the perfect gift for family and friends for special occasions like birthdays or Mother’s Day.      

Bug Hotel 

Encourage your brood to be wildlife warriors by building a bug hotel from things you’ve found in the garden and in the recycling bin! Your bug hotel will act as the perfect habitat to attract a variety of mini-beasts to your garden which is wonderful for environmental diversity and also a great outside activity that will continue to spark your child’s interest as they regularly check on their big hotel for new guests!  

You will need:

• A large plastic bottle
• Scissors
• Sticks 
• Pine cones
• Bark
• Garden twine or string

Let’s do it!

1. Get a grown up to use scissors to cut the bottom and top off a plastic bottle or cut the bottom off an old plastic plant pot.  
2. Use the string or twine to thread through your empty hotel and create a large loop at the top so you can hang your creation once finished. 
3. Layer your hotel with sticks, bark, pinecones and anything else you might find in the garden, until it is filled tightly without gaps.
4. Find a space in the garden for your new bug hotel to go. A place hidden amongst the garden foliage is a great idea so shy insect friends can come and visit any time they like! 

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