Tag Archives: nature

Day & Night

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We recently discovered the coolest little easter egg (and book), and wanted to share it!

Fatima’s Great Outdoors (Kokila, 2021) is written by Ambreen Tariq – author, activist, and founder of @BrownPeopleCamping. The story follows Fatima Khazi and her family as they go camping for the first time. From building fires to fending off spiders, the family learns a lot about what it means to come together and learn new things. There are so many reasons to love and enjoy this book, and it’s beautifully illustrated by outdoor enthusiast Stevie Lewis, who we meet here.

The cover of the book is bright and charming, but when you remove the dust jacket…SURPRISE! The scene turns to night!

And yes, the back cover does that as well, but you’ll have to acquire a copy and see the lovely image for yourself! Better yet, turn this into a story time and activity with this simple (but SUPER popular) Dixie cup lantern…

this little light

Or you can put together this legal-size manilla folder backpack and supplies!

little camperDon’t forget to pack the marshmallows!

Beautiful Lights, Beautiful Night

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It’s a simple project, but oh-so-beautiful! Design your own aurora borealis in Arctic skies, then light it up for a creative and colorful glow box!

We read The Lights the Dance in the Night by Yuval Zommer (Doubleday Books, 2021). Beginning as specks of dust from the sun, the story follows them as they whirl to Earth and change into gleaming, shining, lights for Arctic animals and people! Poetic and gentle, this book is just lovely to read and share.

You’ll need:

  • 1 box with a clear lid or window (more on this below!)
  • An assortment of tissue paper
  • 1 string of LED mini lights
  • White, blue, and yellow poster board
  • Scissors, tape, and glue stick for construction

The box for this project will need to be a good size, sturdy, and have a clear lid or window. I found some 12″ x 8″ x 2.5″ cake boxes on Amazon that totally did the trick (20 boxes cost $19).

Now for the aurora borealis! Open the box and glue tissue paper snippets on the interior side of the window. We found glue sticks to be the best way to adhere things, because you can clearly see the glue going on and it dries clear! When the sky is finished, tape a string of LED mini lights to the back of the box like so:

Close the box and use poster board to create a landscape on the front of the box. We used cool Arctic colors: light blue, dark blue, yellow and white. The boxes turned out great…especially this one with a FLYING UNICORN!!!

Go a Little Wild!

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Yes, there’s a time and place for proper behavior, but what happens when a tiger wants to go a little…wild?

We read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Little, Brown, 2013, read here by Glasgow’s Improvement Challenge) Mr. Tiger is feeling stifled in the city with its mundane homes, drab clothing, and polite conversations. So he tries something different. He (gasp!) drops on all fours. This begins a chain of experiences that ultimately ends with Mr. Tiger running around the wilderness in just his stripes. But it’s lonely being on your own. Can Mr. Tiger’s friends maybe change a little bit and join him? Because sometimes, a little wild is a good thing!

In keeping with Mr. Tiger’s duel lives, this project begins with his house in the city…

Then rotate the box to visit the wilderness on the other side!

You’ll need:

  • One 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” craft box (a large tissue box works too)
  • 1 smaller box for the interior
  • Green and brown poster board
  • Construction paper
  • 1 toilet paper tube
  • 1 tiger house template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Scissors, glue, and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Begin by cutting the top off the large box, as well as two windows on opposing sides. Next, glue a smaller box inside so your toilet paper tube tiger can peep out of the windows. Finally, use poster board and construction paper to decorate the city and wilderness sides! For added wilderness texture, we offered kids fabric flowers, green tissue paper, crepe paper streamers, and paper crinkle. The results were AWESOME!

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We do, however, want to give a special nod to the creative individual who decided to put a hobbit door on Mr. Tiger’s city abode…

Next, use construction paper and markers to decorate a toilet paper tube like a tiger. Also, since clothing plays an important role in the book, we taped a little top hat to the top of the city window, and a little Hawaiian shirt to the bottom of the wilderness window.

There’s funny dialogue in the book, so we added speech bubbles on the tiger house template, as well as directions signs for the blank sides of the box!

We absolutely LOVE Peter Brown’s work…check out Creepy Carrots, this illuminating underwear, a growing garden, and a visit to Peter’s studio!

Lovely Loons

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Is there anything more beautiful then the sound of a loon calling? How about the fact that they carry their chicks on their backs when the little ones need a rest? Katie captured the loon love in this simple story time project AND provided the extra bonus at the end of the post!

We recommend reading Little Loon and Papa, written by Toni Buzzeo, and illustrated by Margaret Spengler (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2004 – read aloud here by Hannibal Ferret Story Books). Papa Loon is trying to teach reluctant Little Loon how to dive under the water. When Papa disappears below the water’s surface, Little Loon swim away and gets lost. After bumping into several different animals, Little Loon hears Papa’s call and summons the courage to dive and reunite with his dad!

You’ll need:

  • 1 small tissue box
  • 2 toilet paper tubes
  • Black, white, and brown paper
  • Scissors, glue or tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Common loons are easily recognizable by the unique markings on their feathers and their striking red eyes. They also have extremely identifiable calls, which you can often hear as background outdoor sound bites in TV shows and movies. And as you see here, adult loons will carry their young chicks on their backs to give the babies a break from swimming or to protect them from predators. Just AWWWWW!

Image courtesy of Wikicommons

To make the adult loon, cut a small tissue box down to approximately 1.5″ tall. Cover the box and a toilet paper tube with black paper. Snip 1/4″ slits into the sides of of the toilet paper tube, then slide it onto the box. For the feathers, you can use patterned and silver markers like Katie did, or just go with white paper. The beak is construction paper, as are the eyes (which you should definitely color in red!). The black pompom for the top of the head is optional.

mama loon_3

To make the loon chicks, cut a toilet paper tube in half, then wrap each section with brown paper. Add paper wings, beaks, and eyes – or simply use markers to add these features. Feather crests are an option as well! Place the finished chicks onto the back of the adult loon, and marvel in the cuteness!

baby loons_3

The inspiration for this project was an actual pair of loons, lovingly nicknamed Benny and Joon, who reside together on a lake in northern Wisconsin. Katie and her extended family vacationed on the lake this summer, and were treated to daily visits and concerts by Benny and Joon. Listening to the haunting call of the loons was one of the highlights of their trip, along with tubing, waterskiing and catching plenty of fish!

Ready for 30 seconds of total relaxation with Benny, Joon, and gentle, lapping water?