30+ Nature printables that will make clean up easier and faster

I’d had enough! I was well over cleaning up sequence, pom poms, and pipe cleaners but I was especially sick of cleaning up glitter.

It was in the house, out in the backyard, I even found it in between the sheets of my bed.

I was done!

I dramatically threw every craft item I hated in a bag – except for paint – and I gave it to the local kindergarten. They were thrilled and I walked out with a huge grin on my face knowing there would be no more glitter clean up for me.

But of course, I didn’t want to stop my kids from crafting. We love spending time crafting together.

I had the perfect solution. I was going to replace most of our craft items with nature.

How was this going to help with clean up though? I knew how, but first I had to set some ground some rules:

• Crafting would only happen outside – a perfect way to encourage the kids out of the house
• We will only use materials from nature (other than a few binding materials)
• Nature crafting was better for the environment, so once we’d finished crafting and displaying our crafts we’d add them to the compost and give back to nature.  I loved this rule as much as making clean-up easier.

So, how did I make cleaning up easier?

Because my children were outside, and most of the materials were natural, I’d get the blower out and blow the materials into the garden.

It took me 2 minutes, I’m not kidding! The first time I did it, I squealed with delight.

We’ve been crafting with nature ever since.

To make it even easier for you to craft with nature I’ve made beautiful nature printables that will provide hours of fun, learning, and creativity for you and your children.

This pack includes more than 30 printables but all have the ability to provide more activities just by using them with natural materials that change seasonally.

Check out what’s inside!

Why nature printables?

Jam-packed full of wondrous activities, I created these printables with three main objectives:

1. Encourage kids outside and collect some beautiful natural materials for art and crafts.
2. encourage children to engage in the tactile experience of crafting with the natural materials they collected.
3. Help mothers and educators avoid preparation time and help make clean-up time faster and easier!

Teachers, you can buy it from my TPT store!

What does each nature activity include:

I’ve tried to make it really easy for you. Each activity comes with its own page that features a list of materials and step-by-step instructions for setting up each activity.

You don’t need to spend hours and hours searching for nature art and craft activities on Pinterest. I’ve put together the nature art and craft resources for you and it’s going to save you so much time and bring your children so much wondrous play.

There are even a couple of printable sheets for days when you just have no option but to stay inside.

For educators

If you’re a planner – there’s over a month’s worth of DAILY nature craft activities available in this printable pack and many are versatile and can be used multiple times in different ways.
If you’re not a planner – these are great to pull out when you have nothing planned at all. All you’ll need is access to the outdoors and a few common craft items like glue and scissors to bring them to life. Some don’t even need that!

The how-to pages are perfect to display on your center parent board to show what activity the children will be participating in that day. There are also some helpful tips on how to extend their learning and how to best display your finished artworks.

 

How will it help my child?

I remember spending most of my time outside collecting natural ‘treasures,’ making mud pies or drawing in the dirt. My kids do that now too but they also love when I provide them with fun activities that they had never thought of doing themselves.

As an environmental educator trained in early years education, I understand the importance and value of creative play with nature. I ensure my children are given plenty of opportunities to play and explore items from their natural world.

Inside, you’ll find printables to help support play, weaving, patterns, sensory development, fine motor skills, and most importantly, creative thinking!

What are people saying about the Nature Art and Craft printables pack?

I stumbled upon Penny Whitehouse and her brilliant ideas through Instagram and am constantly blown away by her fabulous ways to encourage children to get out and embrace nature. This printable pack does not disappoint with lots of fresh ideas and great printables to go along with each one, this collection makes it easy to get outside and explore nature through arts and crafts. Joanna Walker  —The Blue Barn

Great hands-on packet for children to explore and appreciate nature. Printables and lesson plans make it easy to add to any part of your day. Incorporates math skills, creativity, and activities range from easy to more challenging but always engaging and fun. Olga Miklasz –Masters in Early Childhood and Bachelors in Recreation, currently Early Childhood Supervisor.

 Download your copy for just US$14 US$10
The nature around you is free!

 

Teachers, you can buy it from my TPT store!

 

 

Simply add nature!

Teachers, you can buy it from my TPT store!