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First things first! I want to thank Melissa from Little x Little Photography for collaborating with me on this fun project and letting us test this idea in her gorgeous studio. I know you will enjoy her photos as much as I do!

Supplies

• Pine Cones (Small or Large– I got my large pinecones from Trader Joe’s but these look similar)
• Star Paper Puncher
• Flowers, Leaves, or Other Pieces of Nature
• Gem Stickers
• Bells and Pipe Cleaners

Step 1: Gather your Pieces of Nature

I first heard of the genius nature confetti idea from Mother Natured. Nature confetti is wonderful because it’s biodegradable and won’t harm the environment or animals. On the other hand, the confetti and glitter that most people use for celebrations is made up of tiny pieces of plastic. These little pieces can end up in landfills or waterways and is a known environmental hazard for the oceans. Needless to say, I am now sold on this gorgeous nature confetti idea!

Our New Year’s Eve nature confetti is a little different from your typical nature confetti. In addition to the beautiful bouquet flowers we bought for the activity, I’ve been saving and pressing pieces of nature from special events throughout the year to add to the confetti. I added a couple wildflowers from memorable hikes, leaves from the first day of fall, and other special moments pressed in between the pages of books all over our house.

I displayed these gorgeous pieces of nature on the table and we reminisced about those special times we’ve had together this past year. This little step made this activity a little extra special and meaningful.

Step 2: Prepare Your Nature Confetti

This step was a lot of fun! My boys had fun working on their fine motor skills by tearing, cutting, and punching pieces of nature for our confetti. We used a star paper puncher to punch flower petals and leaves. The paper punch is really fun to use and the stars made the confetti a bit more festive!

Step 3: Prepare Pine Cone Shakers

Who knew pinecones make a the perfect confetti shaker?! This idea randomly came to me one day and I was so excited to try it!

First we added a little sparkle to the pinecone by adding gem stickers. This step is totally optional, but we also use these shakers as holiday decorations, so the gems make them a little more seasonal and decorative. Plus they mimic the shimmery glitter when you shake it. We’ll be saving these for years to come!

Next we added the bells. Leo threaded the bells with the pipe cleaners and I twisted them to the top of each pinecone. Now you have a nature confetti shaker and noise maker all in one!

I put the pinecones in a star shaped container and I stuffed them full of confetti. Try to get a lot of confetti on the ridges!

Step 4: Celebrate and Shake!

We tested out both small and large pinecones.

My boys grabbed one small pinecone in each hand and started shaking! The nature confetti flew around and they loved watching all the colors dance around them.

Last we tried the large pinecones! They were really big but my boys were able to hold on to them with no problems. These pinecones can hold a lot of confetti and it was a lot of fun to watch the boys shake it all out!

We can’t wait to try it again on New Year’s Eve!

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

∼Tara

Don’t put away that bouquet of flowers just yet! Check out A Simple and Beautiful Nature Craft to Try Today.

Check out More of Melissa’s Stunning Photography Here!

The post Pinecone Nature Confetti Shakers for New Year’s Eve appeared first on Little Pine Learners.

Check out these fun ways to add music to your own backyard! If you are looking for more backyard activities, make sure to check out 100 Low-Prep Activities You Can Do In Your Own Backyard.

Jingle Bell Geoboard

We thought it would be fun to welcome spring by turning our yard into a musical forest! The jingle bell geoboard is the first instrument we made. All you have to do is tie bells to rubber bands with string and let your kids explore with the materials. The boys started stretching the rubber bands over the nails as usual and then loved plucking the rubber bands to make the jingle sound. Sonny started making his own songs and singing along!

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Musical Stick

This is my favorite instrument we made! We went searching around our yard for sticks large enough to be walking sticks for the boys. Sonny helped me wrap thin colorful yarn around the sticks. We wrapped the yarn down the stick and then wrapped it back to the top and tied the ends together.

Then we threaded buttons and bells on a new piece of yarn and wrapped it around the stick just like the other piece of yarn.

We brought the musical sticks outside and the boys loved running around and shaking them! They also make for the perfect bonfire companion.

Musical Tree

We had so much fun with our musical sticks, I decided to make a musical tree! I tied bells and cymbals with twine and secured the instruments onto multiple branches of a pine tree. I hid some of the bells and chimes so the boys were given the chance to explore the tree while searching for the instruments. We talked about the different parts of the pine tree and the boys had so much fun shaking the branches with the bells and clapping the cymbals together!

Water Xylophone

The last instrument in our musical forest is the water xylophone. I’ve seen this done quite a few times, but it looks so pretty I had to try it! I got three of the same sized vases from the Dollar Store and filled them with different amounts of water.

I added liquid food coloring to make the water in each vase a different color. Sonny had fun gently tapping each vase with his drumsticks and listening to the different sounds each vase made. He experimented with tapping different parts of the vases and talked about how “it sounds different when I tap the top of the vase and the bottom.”

I suggested he tried using sticks as his mallet so he happily picked some sticks up off the ground. He starting experimenting right away and we discussed how the mallets make different sounds.

I hope you and your little nature lover enjoy these activities!

∼Tara

Looking for more fun outdoor activities? Check out:

Magnetic Tiles with Leaf Stickers

No Carve Mummy Pumpkins

The post Creating a Musical Forest appeared first on Little Pine Learners.