Autumn Nature/Seasonal Table

Collecting treasures from your nature walks with your children and making seasonal crafts from natural materials is a wonderful way to honor the changing of the seasons. Display these on a nature/seasonal table and allow your children to arrange imaginative scenes. Pine cones become trees, branches become fences or benches for wee folk. We have a variety of wee folk that can live on your Autumn table. Or make a doll from one of our doll kits, such as this wee Chinese lantern doll. A wonderful book for nature/seasonal table inspiration is The Nature Corner. Share photos of your Autumn nature table on our facebook page! Happy Autumn!

Witch stage Puppet for Halloween Story Telling

I love this witch stage puppet . Is is a wonderful , larger sized puppet and not too awfully scary for the little ones especially if they get to touch her before the puppet show! Use this puppet to act out any classic fairytale where a witch is involved! Or make up your own! She could also sing any of your favorite Halloween verses. What a wonderful Halloween treat for the children! Here is an example of a fun Halloween witch verse:

Witches' Brew

Dead leaves, seaweed, rotten eggs, too.
(Children pretend to throw ingredients in cauldron.)
Stir them in my witches' brew.
(Children do stirring motion.)
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
(Children pretend to cast spell using hand movements.)

ooo ooo
My witches' brew.

Spider web, moldy bread, mucky mud, too.
(Children pretend to throw ingredients in cauldron.)
Stir them in my witches' brew.
(Children do stirring motion.)
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
(Children pretend to cast spell using hand movements.)

ooo ooo
My witches' brew.

Floor wax, thumb tacks, purple paint, too.
(Children pretend to throw ingredients in cauldron.)
Stir them in my witches' brew.
(Children do stirring motion.)
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
(Children pretend to cast spell using hand movements.)

ooo ooo
My witches' brew.

Wrinkled prunes, mushrooms, motor oil, too.
(Children pretend to throw ingredients in cauldron.)
Stir them in my witches' brew.
(Children do stirring motion.)
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
(Children pretend to cast spell using hand movements.)
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
(Children pretend to cast spell using hand movements.)

Midsummer's Eve Book

The Flowers' Festival is a perfect midsummer's book! A little girl is lucky enough to spy on the flowers and vegetables getting ready for their midsummer's celebration! Even the house plants join in! It will become a family summer tradition!

May Fairy Flower Garden

We used fairy garden seeds to plant a beautiful fairy flower garden. We also attracted many lovely butterflies as well. A fun project to share with your children.

Waldorf Alaphabet Cards

These beautiful Watercolor alphabet cards are a playful entry into the otherwise abstract world of letters. we have included them on our nature table and my son , who is a beginning reader, just loves thinking of Spring words to spell out with them. Some words we have included so far have been, "rabbit", "blooming", flower" and "chickadee". Included in the deck, there are other suggestions for using the cards as games as well. Buying two deck will allow you be less limited in word choices for spelling. For the bunny garden, we added some potting soil to the bottom saucer of a clay pot and planted some cat grass. We Kept it watered and had grass within 5 days! This works nice if you want to display a tabletop Lenten garden, bare before the Holidays, transformed and full of life afterwords.

Tell Me A Story Cards!

These cards are perfect gifts for girls or boys! A Story Adventure! Shuffle cards and turn over each card , one at a time, to create a different story every time you play! Here is an example of a beginning of a story from the Mystery in the Forest deck.
"Once Upon a time there was a beautiful and peaceful kingdom. But on the night before the fairy princess' Birthday, the people of the kingdom realized that all of her Birthday Presents went missing! Raccoon decided ,since he was a creature of the night, that he should take the key to the kingdom and search high and low for them...."
Each time a new card is turned over you continue to add to the story line! SO MUCH FUN! Children will ask to "do it again" and again! Eventually they will want to try their hand at being the story teller!
Also available in a deck called Fairy Tale Mix Up.

Candlemas: Spring is coming when winter is through

Candlemas (Feb 2nd) marks the midway point between Winter and Spring. This is a great time to share the book The Story of the Root Children with your young ones. Mother Earth takes a candle in hand as she awakens all the little root children so they can prepare their flower dresses for spring!
Another way to bring this story to life is to craft these root children sack dolls for your nature table.