The holidays are a great time for family bonding. But how can you bring everyone together, having fun, while sneaking in a bit of educational value for the kids? With nature arts and crafts, of course! Using your natural surroundings is a great way to help young crafters boost their creativity and enhance their imagination while having plenty of fun.

Art from nature?

Yes, you can find plenty of art supplies in your backyard or at the nearest park. From flowers and leaves to rocks and shells, there are many incredible materials to work with. 

If you’ve decided to try a few arts and crafts with your kids this holiday, it’s a great idea to go out as a family and collect your ‘supplies’ together. If you want to make an outing out of it, you can plan a hike or a picnic. 

Nature art ideas to try at home 

There are many fun nature art ideas to try at home. Some of them include: 

• Painting shells or rocks 

This is a super fun activity for the whole family. Start by collecting a variety of shells or rocks. Then, choose an interesting theme, such as shapes or different colour shades, and let your family paint their chosen rocks or shells. Once completed, they can be used as decorations in the home or as ornaments in the garden.  

• Making mandalas

Mandalas can be made from flowers, leaves, sticks and stones. Start by placing a meaningful item in the centre. Then start placing other items you’ve gathered near the centre first and move outward from the centre until a circular design has been created. Smaller mandalas make beautiful centrepieces on tables, while bigger ones can simply be admired in the garden. 

• Crafting bookmarks

Remember the bookmarks you made from pressed flowers when you were a child? Now, you can bring the fun to your own kids. All you need is paper, scissors, glue, flowers and leaves. Pressed bookmarks may take a few days because you have to press the flowers and leaves in an old telephone book and wait until they’ve dried out. Once they’re ready, you can glue them to the paper to make the bookmarks. These bookmarks make special gifts for loved ones. 

• Making hanging mobiles

Mobiles can be made from twigs and branches, seeds, and coloured yarn. Arrange the items you’ve collected in the order you want to hang them. Then, attach the items by dangling them from pieces of twine in various sizes. Decorate the mobile with paint and glitter. 

• Creating seashell necklaces

After a day at the beach, you can bond with the kids by making cute seashell necklaces. All you need are seashells of different shapes and sizes and pieces of twine. 

• Painting leaves 

For younger kids, painting leaves are a fun activity. Collect a variety of different leaves in the garden or park. Then, paint them in different colours. Before they dry, press the painted side on a piece of paper. The result is a colourful leaf collage. 

• Creating nature journals 

For your older kids, making nature journals are a great idea. Start with a blank book and create an interesting cover from items you’ve collected outside. A nature journal is great for drawing, writing poems, making notes and adding interesting pictures or photos. When it comes to nature journaling, the only limit is your imagination! 

Learning through nature art 

Nature art activities are perfect for bonding with the whole family, but they are also great for teaching your kids about their natural surroundings. Through nature arts and crafts, you can also cultivate an interest in art and allow your kids to appreciate the natural world around them from an early age.

Start your nature journaling with your family? 

If you are interested in starting nature journaling with your kids check our free resources will help you to get started in a way that suits your and your family’s unique needs as well our affiliate NaturExplorers , Exploring Nature with Children and Homeschool Nature Study. For all Nature Study Bundles please check our shop.