After a long winter chickens crave fresh food, just like we do. We love feeding our chickens dandelions and other healthy plants in the spring time. They get so excited when we throw a handful of dandelions in the coop and it seems like they can’t get enough! I thought this chicken boredom buster would be a fun and cute way to feed chickens. It seems to keep them busy for a long time and cures some of the boredom of sitting in the coop!

Are Dandelions Healthy for Chickens?

Yes, dandelions are considered a healthy and nutritious addition to a chicken’s diet. They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and chickens often enjoy eating them. **Please make sure you do not give your chickens dandelions that were sprayed with pesticides.**

Here are some health benefits of dandelions for chickens:

• Intestinal Health: Dandelions improve digestion, strengthen intestinal barrier function, and enhance the gut’s microbiome.
• Nutritional Value: Dandelions offer chickens a good source of nutrients, particularly vitamin A, C, and K, as well as minerals like iron, potassium, and zinc.
• Color of Egg Yolks: Dandelions can help contribute to a deeper yellow egg yolk. 

Can You Put Cardboard in a Chicken Coop?

Yes, you can put cardboard in a chicken coop. In fact, many people use cardboard as an inexpensive bedding option. Chickens will not eat cardboard as it is indigestible and not a part of their natural diet. Chickens are more likely to peck at and play with cardboard, potentially using it for nesting or dust bathing, rather than eating it. 

One warning, most modern inks used on cardboard are non-toxic, but it’s always best to use cardboard without any printed designs or colors. Or, use the non-printed side for the activity. 

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies for the Chicken Boredom Buster:

• Cardboard- Either use an Amazon box or use these cardboard sheets
• Pencil
• Marker
• Dandelions
• Clip

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How to Make the Dandelion Pecking Board:

This is super easy to make! You just need to draw a vase on cardboard and poke holes above the vase. We used a sharp pencil to poke holes. 

Then you can poke dandelion stems and leaves through the holes! The leaves are also very nutritious, so don’t forget about those!

We first did the exact same activity many years ago. The intention was to help kids work on their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination by picking dandelions and poking the stems through the holes. I thought this was a nice way to extend the activity and this way, the dandelions don’t go to waste! If you have kids at home, make sure you get them to help! It will benefit them as well as the chickens:)

The chickens took a couple minutes to get used to having the pecking boards in their coop, but LOVED it once they started pecking! It kept them busy for a while and I took the cardboard out when they were finished. 

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I hope you enjoy this chicken boredom buster activity as much as I do!

-Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

How to Make Rocks Shiny

Totally Adorable Spring Picture Books for Kids

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This is our first dandelion craft of the season! It was so easy to set up and my son had so much fun making this crown! Make a headband style crown or try a larger more realistic crown like our Stunning Nature Crown. Either style will turn out adorable and the cardboard frame can be save for more nature crowns!

Ready to make one or two? Here’s what you’ll need….

Supplies:

• Strip of cardboard- We used extra poster board and used the white side. 
• Scissors or crafting knife (for adult use only)
• Sharpened pencil
• Tape

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RELATED: Check out 25+ Nature-Inspired Summer Activities for Kids

Here’s How We Made This Dandelion Crown:

Step 1:

First, cut strips of cardboard. Wrap a piece of string around your child’s head to see how long you need the strip to be. Make sure you add an inch or two of cardboard so you can staple the ends together. Our strip was about 24 inches long by 1.5 inches thick. You can cut thinner strips if you don’t want to see as much of the cardboard. 

Step 2:

Poke holes in your dandelion crown frame with a sharp pencil. Make sure the holes are large enough to fit a dandelion stem.

Step 3:

Staple the ends together. 

Step 4:

Cut the excess piece of cardboard strip so the dandelion stems can poke through a single layer of cardboard. 

Step 5:

Head outside and pick dandelions for your crown. As you can see, we have a TON of dandelions in our yard! Don’t worry, we saved plenty for the bees. I suggest doing this activity only if you have an abundance of dandelions:) 

We searched for large dandelions to poke through our dandelion crown. 

Depending upon a couple factors, you can keep your dandelions loose during this step. If your holes are too big, your dandelion stems will fall out. We found it helpful to hold the crown parallel to the ground, as pictured below.

You can also tape the stems as you go. The dandelions won’t budge with this method! 

These crowns are so cute when complete! My son was known as Prince Dandelion for the day:) We are holding on to the cardboard crown frame for summer wildflowers!

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I hope you give this dandelion crown a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love this activity as my boys.

∼Tara

Looking for more cardboard nature craft and activity ideas?! Check out:

Rainbow Flower Threading Board

A Simple Butterfly Symmetry Activity

The post Easy Dandelion Crown appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Summer vacation is here which means we have all day to get outside and enjoy nature. Most of our time is spent in free play, but sometimes it’s nice to have an activity ready to go to mix things up a bit. Summer days can be long, so start collecting your ideas now! 

This rainbow activity is fun for kids of mixed ages, interests, and abilities! If you have multiple children, you can make one board for each child or encourage team work and have them share the same rainbow board. 

Just a quick reminder to only pick flowers in your own yard! 

Ready to give this rainbow activity a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Flowers
• Sharpened pencil to poke holes in the cardboard.
• Cardboard– These cardboard sheets are a convenient option if you don’t have any to reuse. 
• Something sharp to puncture holes in the cardboard- I used a sharp pencil. 
• Scissors or X Acto Knife– These are excellent for cardboard crafts! They are very sharp ONLY for adult use.

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Related: Check out Nature Sun Catchers Made With Recycled Items

Here’s How I Made the Rainbow Activity Boards:

Step 1:

Make your rainbow board. I used 2 different sized bowls to trace half circles on my cardboard. Next I cut it out with an X Acto knife. This doesn’t need to be perfect because it will be covered in flowers!

Step 2:

I drew simple rainbow lines with a pencil on my cardboard. Then poked holes with a pencil for threading the stems. 

Once it was all set, we headed outside and went around our yard quickly to check out our current flower situation. We looked at the different colors that we currently have and decided which ones to thread on the board. We decided on red, yellow, green, and purple! 

My boys are obsessed with identifying plants ever since our sticky scavenger hunt activity, so this was a fun activity to tap into that interest again!

My four year old loved pointing to the plants and identifying the colors!

Our creation looked more and more beautiful with each color we added!

I love that we can reuse this rainbow activity board over and over again! We will try this activity again during wildflower season:)

You can also try to place wax paper on top of the flower rainbow and place a heavy book on top to press the flowers. This way the decoration will last much longer!

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I hope you give this rainbow activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

A Simple Flower Name Activity

Fun Ways for Kids to Collect and Craft With Nature In All Four Seasons

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I’m always trying to think of fun outdoor activities for my kids. My ideas seem to be endless in spring because there are so many beautiful new pieces of nature popping up! Dandelions are one of our favorite spring flowers to craft with and collect. We have thousands of them in our yard and the life cycle is so fascinating to observe. I love that one day our field is dotted with beautiful yellow dandelions and then overnight they turn into magical fluffy puffs. 

My boys love to pick them for wishes so I thought it would be fun to make up a story about a lady named Misses Wishes. Learn about her below!

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Cardboard
• Marker
• Dandelions
• Sharp pencil to poke holes of the dandelions

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RELATED: Check out Dandelion Shape Board

Here’s How I Made the Boards:

Step 1:

Create your wishing board. I drew a simple face and poked holes with a pencil on her hairline. Make sure you poke the pencil all the way through to make wide holes!  

You can make any hair design that you would like! She can have long flowing locks or a short hairdo. 

Step 2:

I introduce Misses Wishes with this little poem: “Meet Misses Wishes. She is a lady that visits us every spring to hear our dandelion wishes. She loves dandelion puffs just as much as you, so give her a dandy puff hairdo and she will help make your wishes come true.”

My four year old loved collecting the dandelion puffs and threading them in the holes! He made a few wishes along the way, but didn’t make one for each dandelion. He said, ” I don’t have that many wishes.” 

Threading the dandelion stems through the holes is great fine motor work! My son also learned he had to be patient and gentle when threading the dandelions so the seeds wouldn’t fly all over the place. 

He was so excited when it was time to blow the seeds from Misses Wishes fancy hairdo! My son squealed with joy as the seeds went flying and dancing above his head!

I have to say, the before and after hairdos are equally fabulous! My son wanted to display the board in his room and looks adorable! It’s a sweet reminder of our time spent together and the wishes he made that beautiful spring evening. Give it a try today and make some springtime memories with your kids!

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I hope you give this simple nature activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Dandelion Rock Family

Double-Sided Nature Crown Board

The post A Cute Dandelion Wish Activity for Kids appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We LOVE dandelion puffs! They are a sweet reminder that summer is on it’s way and the carefree days will soon begin. My boys love picking them, making wishes, and blowing the seeds into the air. Those beautiful seeds look like little fairies suspended in air dancing off into the sky!

This activity is wonderful for getting kids outside and working on fine motor skills. It’s super simple and might even become a spring tradition for your family!

Ready to make a dandelion wish luminary!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Jar– This isn’t the exact jar I own, but it looks very similar! Try using a plastic jar if you are worried about the jar breaking. You can also buy just the handle attachment if you already have mason jars. 
• Flameless Candle
• Scissors
• Dandelion Puffs

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RELATED: Check out Pressed Flower Lanterns

Here’s How We Made the Dandelion Wish Luminary:

Step 1:

This is a really simple activity! Start by putting a flameless candle in your jar. I put a little piece of rolled up tape under the candle to help it stick to the bottom of the jar. 

If you have a jar with a lid, you could tape the candle to the lid so it hangs upside down in the jar. That way, you won’t release all of the seeds when you turn the candle off for the night. 

Step 2:

Now it’s time to collect your dandelion puffs. My four year old collected them and I cut the stems off right at the base of the puff. I gently placed the puffs in the jar, making sure I didn’t release the seeds. 

My son made a sweet wish for each dandelion puff he collected. One time he wished for 1,000 puppies and I let him know that will most likely not come true;) 

Once it was finished, my boys had so much fun walking around our yard with it. Every now and then, they would stop and hold the dandelion wish luminary up to their eyes to check out the intricate and beautiful detail of the dandelions!

These would make a whimsical addition to any fairy garden or try lining your yard with them! We only have one at the moment, but plan on adding more dandelion wish luminaries to our collection tomorrow!

My boys were not ready to part with their dandelion luminary for the night, so we used it as a nightlight in their room! The soft glow was a sweet reminder of the wishes they made.

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I hope you give this dandelion wish activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

CLICK HERE to See Beautiful Nature Printables at Your Fingertips!

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

DIY Dry Erase Tree Stump

Double-Sided Nature Crown Board

The post Dandelion Wish Luminary appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We have a ton of new spring flowers popping up in our yard right now, so I thought it would be fun to help my boys identify the plants growing around them right in their own backyard. I created a reusable “sticky” flower scavenger hunt board that we can use throughout the year. I already can’t wait to try this in the fall! This board will look so beautiful decorated with colorful leaves. 

Please try a plant identifier app to make sure you aren’t using poisonous flowers for the activity! The spotted dead nettle does not sting and is actually considered a culinary herb. Also, I suggest only picking flowers in your own yard.

Ready to give it a try!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Cardboard
• Clear Contact Paper
• Tape
• Marker
• Flowers

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RELATED: Check out A Simple and Beautiful Nature Craft to Try Today

Here’s How I Made the Flower Scavenger Hunt Board:

Step 1:

Create your board- Give it a title and divide the board into two parts. Make sure you include a “find it” side and “stick it” side.  

Step 2:

Put the sticky contact paper on your flower scavenger hunt board, sticky side up. I sized the contact paper so it fit right under the “find it” and “stick it” labels and just big enough to cover the front side only. I used packing tape to secure the contact paper to the edges of the cardboard. 

Or you can use double-sided tape like we did in our Stick Nature Picture.

Step 3:

Create labels- This is an optional step. I cut out little pieces of contact paper for labels. I put them on the board, non-sticky side up so I could write on them. This way, I can peel the labels off when we’re finished and we can identify different pieces of nature next time. You can always just write the names on the cardboard if you want this to be a one and done type of activity. 

Remember to ONLY include plants that you know are not toxic! I went around my yard with a plant identifier app called “Picture This” to make sure I only included safe plants on this board. Believe it of not, I found a type of daffodil and marigold that are toxic!

Step 4:

I stepped outside quickly before I introduced the activity to my boys to add a flower example next to the labels. Then I handed the board to my boys and challenged them to find these flowers in our yard! They loooove scavenger hunts, so they were pretty excited!

The dandelion was pretty obvious since we have thousands of them on our unsprayed lawn, but I had to include it because it’s a favorite for our family!

They quickly moved on to the bluebells. I tried to included the leaves on the board for all of the flowers to help them with the identification process. 

The boys loved sticking the flowers on the board!

About 20 minutes later, the boys found all of the flowers! They had so many questions about the flowers during the scavenger hunt, so we went around the yard with our plant identifier app to learn more about the flowers on our board and different plants! 

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I hope you give this simple flower scavenger hunt a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

DIY Caterpillar Stone Puzzle

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The post Sticky Scavenger Hunt appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

We’ve been sharing a bunch of dandelion activities this spring and I have a couple more ideas for you! Today, I want to share our dandelion name activity. I love this one because it took me 2 minutes to set up and kept my little guy busy for a good 30 minutes. It’s not easy for those little hands to thread dandelions on the board, so this was a good challenge for him! 

My son has been writing his name in all capital letters, so this is a great way to get him thinking about just capitalizing the first letter of his name. 

Ready to make these name boards!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Dandelions
• Cardboard– These cardboard sheets are a convenient option if you don’t have any to reuse. 
• Something sharp to puncture holes in the cardboard- I used a sharp pencil. 
• Scissors or X Acto Knife– These are excellent for cardboard crafts! They are very sharp ONLY for adult use. 

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RELATED: Check out Magical Pressed Flower Lanterns

Here’s How We Made Our Name Activity Boards:

Step 1:

Cut a piece of cardboard into whatever shape you choose! You could cut a star, heart, square, or circle. We decided to keep it simple went with a rectangle since we just made the dandelion shape boards.

I wrote his name in pencil and poked holes along the pencil line with a sharp pencil. I poked the pencil all the way through to make larger holes. This makes it a little easier for threading the dandelion stems. 

Step 2:

Invite your child to make his or her name! I encouraged Leo to start the dandelions at the top line of the “L” just like he was writing his name.

It’s easier if you work with shorter stems because they stay in the board easier when it’s pressed against the ground. Leo had to tear a bit more of the dandelion stem pictured below. You can also tape the stems to the back of the board like we did with our dandelion frame activity. 

We have thousands of dandelions in our yard right now, but Leo liked running around the yard searching for the perfect ones for his name!

He was so proud of his name activity when it was complete!

He carried it around the yard for the rest of the night, setting it against trees while he played! I couldn’t help but think that it would make a cute sign for a birthday party!

When finished with the name activity, you can take the dandelions out and save if for wildflower season!

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I hope you give this simple name activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Double-Sided Nature Crown Board

25+ Nature-Inspired Summer Activities for Kids

The post A Simple Flower Name Activity appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

There is such an abundance of natural learning materials during spring! We currently have thousands (literally) of dandelions on our lawn and we have been using them for all sorts of learning and crafting activities the past couple of weeks.

I love this dandelion craft because these flower threading boards are completely reusable. When we are finished with them, we can pull out the dandelions and save the boards for next spring or keep them close in the crafting closet for wildflower season!

Ready to make this dandelion craft!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Dandelions
• Cardboard– These cardboard sheets are a convenient option if you don’t have any to reuse. 
• Something sharp to puncture holes in the cardboard- You could use a ceramic clay needle and then a sharp pencil to widen the hole. 
• Scissors or X Acto Knife– These are excellent for cardboard crafts! They are very sharp ONLY for adult use. 

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RELATED: Check out How to Make a Simple Dandelion Frame

Here’s How We Did this Dandelion Craft:

Cut pieces of cardboard into different shapes. 

Step 2:

Poke holes in the cardboard. This is a job for an adult!

Use a sharp landscaping tool, but you can try a sharp pencil or anything else that can poke holes through cardboard. You can have a few dandelions on hand to test out the spacing of the holes. Try to have as much of the cardboard covered with dandelions as possible, so the holes are pretty close together. 

Step 3:

Now head outside and make your dandelion craft! This is the perfect hands-on activity for preschool aged kids that are working on shape recognition, hand-eye coordination, or fine motor skills! 

It’s easier to thread the dandelions if you use shorter stems. Longer stems can be a little bit more difficult to manage. As you can see in the photo below, the stems hang just a little under the board. 

This hands-on shape activity will definitely leave a lasting impression on children. They are so fun to make, look so pretty when finished, and feel so soft when you run your hand over the top of a completed dandelion craft!

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I hope you give this simple dandelion craft a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Dandelion Rock Family

10+ Simple and Beautiful Stone Activities for Kids

The post Dandelion Shape Boards appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Here is a word of caution before you get started! When collecting pieces of nature, try to identify as many as possible and make sure you aren’t collecting anything poisonous or that could cause an allergic reaction.

Ok, now on to the fun stuff! These activities are super easy because you can just print them and go! You don’t need to freehand any pictures or search for clip art online. Just print and head outside with your kids! 

And guess what?? There are nature printables included in this packet for all year round! There are specific labels all four seasons and different types of nature collections. 

Ready to get started? Here’s what you’ll need

Supplies:

• Pieces of nature
• Egg carton
• Tape/glue
• Scissors
• Printer paper
• My Wind Finds

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RELATED: Check out How to Make Flower Rocks

Let’s Start With Collecting Nature:

We love using egg cartons to collect nature finds! The separate compartments are perfect for collecting, sorting, and displaying your nature finds! If you are worried about salmonella, then I suggest getting a plastic egg carton so you can wash it. 

Here’s a little more about the nature printables for the egg cartons:

These labels are a fun way to personalize and decorate your egg cartons! There are 7 different egg carton collection prompts: summer, fall, winter, spring, flowers, rocks, and one for general use. These can be used as a scavenger hunt or inspiration for items to collect during the nature walk. There is also a cover that says, “My Wild Finds” that goes on the top of the egg carton. These come in color and black/white. The black and white are great for coloring.

Here are a few photos of different labels. This is the top cover for the egg carton:

Here is the summer version. Bring your scissors outside and invite your little ones to strengthen their fine motor skills by cutting pieces of nature and putting them in the egg carton. There is so much variety in nature during the summer! We might need to try a larger egg carton this year. 

Here is the fall version. You might notice the little holes in the egg carton compartments. My boys enjoyed poking the leaf stems through the holes and this made it much easier to display the leaves. 

Here is the rock version. This might be my boys’ favorite collection because the compartments are perfect for organizing the rocks:) 

You can see the rest of the labels in the preview in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

Once the items are collected, you can keep the collection together or decide to use pieces of it to create beautiful nature crowns, masks, and pictures! 

Let’s check Out the Nature Crowns and Masks: 

It’s so fun to see how the crafts change through out the seasons. The crowns and masks look completely different from summer to fall due the the pieces of nature available to us. Check out this colorful and beautiful nature crown from the summer the ferns and flowers make this crown look so regal! The nature printables for the crowns and masks make this activity so easy!

My son’s favorite color is green, so he loved the ferns. Next we made a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” mask. 

I love the fall crown too! We had a bunch of gorgeous Japanese Maple leaves that just fell from the tree so we put them to good use and glued them to the crown. 

You can see the rest of the crown and mask designs here in the preview in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

I Love How This Beautiful Nature Picture Turned Out!

I also included a wide variety of nature printables to decorate with nature!

These sheets can be used as loose parts mats or crafting pages. You can cut or rip flower petals and leaves into smaller pieces to make them fit better! If you are using them as loose mats mats, then you don’t need glue and kids can move and manipulate the pieces of nature in any way they choose. You can also print the pages on cardstock and laminate for loose parts mats to help them last longer.

If you would like to craft, then grab glue so the pieces of nature stick to the page. Read the prompts together at the top of the page and get busy creating! These pages come in color and black/white.

The butterfly photo is perfect for spring and summer! Look at how pretty it turned out. 

You can see the entire packet of nature printables in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

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I hope you give these nature printables a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more nature craft ideas?! Check out:

How to Make Nature Pinch Pots

Double-Sided Nature Crown Board

The post Fun Ways for Kids to Collect and Craft With Nature in All Four Seasons appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

You can make the hiking stick in your own backyard or on the trail, while you are hiking. I suggest picking dandelions only if you see an abundance of them to ensure there are enough left for the bees! Dandelions are the bees’ first food so it’s important to leave a bunch for them. We don’t spray our yard, so we have hundreds of them pop up during spring. We like to make these hiking sticks in our yard and then take them around the neighborhood for our evening walks. 

Ready to make a one!? Here’s what you’ll need..

Supplies:

• Dandelions
• Hiking Stick
• Double-sided tape

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RELATED: Check out 100 Low-Prep Activities You Can Try in Your Own Backyard

Here’s How We Made Them:

Step 1:

Head outside and search for a hiking stick. We tried this activity on several hiking sticks, and found the double-sided tape stuck best on smooth hiking sticks. We had one hiking stick with a lot of lichen on it and it still worked but it took a bit more effort to get the tape to stick. All of our hiking sticks were very dry, which I think helped the tape stick as well. 

We took about 3, 10 inch strips of the double-sided tape and wrapped them around each hiking stick in a spiral design, then pressed the tape pretty hard to help it stick. 

Step 2:

Now stick the dandelions to the hiking stick! I suggest picking dandelions after a couple of dry days so they aren’t wet. This will obviously help them stick better to the tape. 

We popped the dandelion heads off and put them right on the tape. We had a couple of fussy dandelions that didn’t want to stick, but overall they stuck to the tape nicely. 

They also make a cute decoration for the yard! The dandelions will look great for about 6-7 hours and then start to dry and wilt a bit. 

You might loose a couple of dandelions if you drop the hiking stick, but you can just stick them back on. I was going to try a hot glue gun, but I think the tape makes this more child friendly and you can take the dandelions and tape off when you are finished and try making a different hiking stick!

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I hope you give this simple nature activity a try! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.

∼Tara

Need more simple nature ideas?! Check out:

Get Kids Outside With These 10 DIY Hiking Sticks

How to Make Nature Pinch Pots

The post Spiral Dandelion Hiking Stick appeared first on Little Pine Learners.