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DIY

How to Make an Easy Nature Paint Brush With Kids

August 22, 2020 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Creating your own diy nature paint brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors.

Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings.

If you are digging deep into a nature-based unit study or you just want a unique nature-based unit study add-on to do with your child, look no further.

Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

These fun and simple diy nature brushes are an inexpensive and creative way to get your kids into the great outdoors exploring, creating, and coming up with unique new ways to use natural objects.

DIY NATURE PAINT BRUSH FOR KIDS

Toddlers on up to middle schoolers will enjoy gathering their own materials on their next nature walk or from your own backyard, creating paintbrushes, and then painting their unique masterpiece with their DIY tools.

This activity is perfect to go along a general nature study, a tree unit study, or an art unit study.

Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids.

You will need:

  • Craft sticks (or sturdy sticks)
  • Small rubber bands
  • Collected leaves, flowers, ferns, grasses, etc…
Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

Begin by taking your little nature explorer outdoors to collect leaves, long grasses, flowers and their stems, ferns, and any other material you think will make good “brushes”. 

It’s fun to experiment with the different textures and shapes so be sure you gather a large variety of different items.

Our Journey Westward

Next bring them in and straighten them up into little bundles, varying the size here and there.

Place one end of the bundle on the end of your craft stick and wrap a small rubber band around the end until it is tight and secure.

Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

The easiest way to do this is to wrap it around the opposite end and then roll it upwards over your brush.

DIY NATURAL PAINT BRUSH ACTIVITY

Use scissors to trim the ends of your leaves and grasses shorter. They are more like actual paintbrush bristles. Also, this makes a great fine motor activity for preschoolers. Of course, don’t use the same scissors we used. Just saying’.

Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

Next, challenge your child to paint a nature picture on a canvas or large piece of paper. 

Our Journey Westward

We practiced on a scrap piece of paper to see what texture and coverage each brush gave.

Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

Encourage them to experiment with different size brushes and see what types of textures you can make from the various brushes you have made, solid strokes, wispy strokes, tapping the canvas, etc..

The Basement Workshop Store

We went with a simple tree this time, but are eager to try more advanced art with them soon.

Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

You can use acrylic craft paint or try watercolors for a lighter look. 

Our Journey Westward
Creating your own diy nature brushes from items on your next nature walk is a fun way to bring science outdoors. Turn all sorts of leaves and flowers into beautiful rustic paintings. Look how to make easy nature paint brushes with kids. CLICK HERE!  
#diynaturebrushes #homeschoolnature #natureforkids #nature #scienceforkids #handsonnature #handsonart

Wash out your brushes when done or toss them into the compost bin and make more.

HANDS-ON NATURE STUDY

Why should you do nature studies with your child?

6 Reasons Why You Should Do Nature Studies With Your Kids

  1. Nature studies are the base for all science studies and creates a personal connection which helps your child later with more advanced studies;
  2. Spending time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine is calming and relaxing for you and your child. It is also a great way to get exercise and get the wiggles out;
  3. Nature study encourages your child to develop the skill of investigation;
  4. It is a great activity for the entire family and even the youngest member can appreciate and enjoy what nature has to offer;
  5. It gives your child a respect for the earth and their place in it; and
  6. Kids develop a greater understanding of the impact we all have on the earth.

Nature brushes are a great way to use natural materials to make art supplies and make science fun, but there are ways to expand this hands-on craft.

5 Ways to Expand On Nature Anatomy

Before making the paint brushes you can

  • use the items you have collected to identify which plant it comes from;
  • press flowers and leaves with this diy flower press;
  • make rubbings using the flat side of crayons;
  • sketch your findings in your nature journal; and
  • check out this list of nature inspired novels to use as read alouds.

In addition, use the app Inaturalist to help you identify what you find.

LIVING NATURE BOOKS

Don’t stop here, investigate further with some great nature books to turn this activity into a full unit study.

Use Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman.

Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids by Kim Andrews.

Exploring Nature Journal for Kids Observe and Record the Outdoors by Kim Andrews.

Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids by Gail Gibbons.

Exploring nature with your kids can cover so many subjects when you use a unit study approach.

Teaching about the outdoors is a natural way to learn which kids love. Not only can you include many different subjects, but adding a hands-on craft or two, makes learning stick.

You’ll love all the fanstastic ideas I have here for you to round out making these diy nature paint brushes with your kids.

Look at this list below:

  • 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors
  • Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook
  • Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook
  • Hands-On Mixed Media Flower Art Fun Nature Study
  • Hands-On Literature Nature Study: Simple Tree Craft

What nature craft activities do you like doing with your kids?

Hugs and love ya,

1 CommentFiled Under: DIY, Hands-On Activities, Nature Based Activities, Science, Science Based Tagged With: hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, nature, nature journaling, nature study, science

Beautiful 2019-2020 Academic Calendar – 2 Pages Per Month (Lollipop)

April 26, 2019 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I am sharing the second color choice for the 2019 – 2020 Academic Year Calendar –2 Pages Per Month at a Glance. It is the Lollipop color option.

Homeschool Planner Pages

Let me remind you of where all the color choices are for this option so you can be sure to look them over each year. They are kept here at Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers.

2019 to 2020 two pages per month Academic calendar for your 7 Step Homeschool Planner - Lollipop @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Curriculum Pages for Planner

The second thing I want to remind you of is that I have FREE calendars that are made for a quick glance that I share on the same step, Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers and planning calendars are also different because they are for planning and tracking school weeks.

The homeschool planning calendars are kept at Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! and I will be sharing them soon too.

The two page spread I share today is for keeping appointments for any of your family’s needs whether it’s personal or homeschool.

2019 to 2020 two pages per month Academic calendar for your 7 Step Homeschool Planner - Lollipop @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Also, this two page spread can be used in a home management binder, blogging planner, financial planner or fitness planner.

My copyright allows you to print it as many times as you need it for your needs.

Hope you love this color choice and you can get it now!

2019 to 2020 two pages per month Academic calendar for your 7 Step Homeschool Planner - Lollipop @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

TOS

Important: READ THIS FIRST.
Before you email me asking where your download link is or tell me that it is not working, read this to ensure that you get your pretties timely and that you don’t pay for something and not get it.

• All my products are digital. You will not receive a physical product for anything in my store. A digital physical year calendar does not mean a physical product or calendar.
• Downloads are INSTANT. When you pay, you will receive an email with a download link INSTANTLY. Depending on your internet connection, the email could be just 30 seconds or so, or a bit longer. The point is it will be soon, not a week later,etc.
• The email with the download link will go to the email you used for paypal. If you used your husband’s paypal, your downloads will go to that email. Please check that email and your spam before emailing me telling me you can’t find it.
• Please put my email tina @ tinasdynamichomeschoolplus dot com (of course substitute the right symbol for dot) in your address/contact list so that your product does not go to spam

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer.

You can grab this newest beautiful color option now.

Look at these other fun homeschool planner pages.

  • Glam It Up Package

    Glam It Up Package

    $4.99
    Add to cart
  • 2. Ultimate DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

    2. Ultimate DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

    $5.99
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  • Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages - Mink Over You

    Editable Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages – Mink Over You

    $2.50
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  • Editable Weekly General Planning Page

    Editable Weekly General Planning Page

    $1.99
    Add to cart
  • Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    Dynamic and Fun Human Body Lapbook for Multiple Ages

    $5.00
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  • Doodle Curriculum Planner Cover Store 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x

    Doodle Coloring Curriculum Planner Cover

    $1.75
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  • Sunkissed Curriculum Planner Cover

    Sunkissed Curriculum Planner Cover

    $1.75
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  • 0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    $1.75
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  • 00. Ancient Civilization History 20 Coloring Pages

    00. Ancient Civilization History 20 Coloring Pages

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  • 1. The Best Undated Dynamic Daily Homeschool Planner

    1. The Best Undated Dynamic Daily Homeschool Planner

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  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form

    Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form

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  • Editable Front Cover - Coral Inklings

    Editable Front Cover – Coral Inklings

    $1.75
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7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” Begin building your free planner

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

2 CommentsFiled Under: Curriculum Planner, DIY, Home Management Binder, Homeschool Planner Tagged With: 2pagepermonthcalendar, academiccalendars, calendar, curriculum pages, curriculum planner, homeschool curriculum planner, homeschoolplanner, organization, organizationalprintables, planner, planning

2019-2020 Academic Calendar – 2 Pages Per Month (Dreaming)

September 8, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I am sharing the first color choice for the 2019 – 2020 Academic Year Calendar –2 Pages Per Month at a Glance. It is the Dreaming color option.

Let me remind you of where all the color choices are for this option so you can be sure to look them over each year. They are kept here at Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers.

Curriculum Pages for Planner

The second thing I want to remind you of is that I have FREE calendars that are made for a quick glance that I share on the same step, Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers and planning calendars are also different because they are for planning and tracking school weeks. The homeschool planning calendars are kept at Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! and I will be sharing them soon too.

The two page spread I share today is for keeping appointments for any of your family’s needs whether it’s personal or homeschool.

Also, this two page spread can be used in a home management binder, blogging planner, financial planner or fitness planner.

My copyright allows you to print it off as many times as you need it for your needs.

Hope you love this first color choice and you can get it now!

TOS

Important: READ THIS FIRST.
Before you email me asking where your download link is or tell me that it is not working, read this to ensure that you get your pretties timely and that you don’t pay for something and not get it.

• All my products are digital. You will not receive a physical product for anything in my store. A digital physical year calendar does not mean a physical product or calendar.
• Downloads are INSTANT. When you pay, you will receive an email with a download link INSTANTLY. Depending on your internet connection, the email could be just 30 seconds or so, or a bit longer. The point is it will be soon, not a week later,etc.
• The email with the download link will go to the email you used for paypal. If you used your husband’s paypal, your downloads will go to that email. Please check that email and your spam before emailing me telling me you can’t find it.
• Please put my email tina @ tinasdynamichomeschoolplus dot com (of course substitute the right symbol for dot) in your address/contact list so that your product does not go to spam.

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. I value your business and value you as a follower. I stand behind my products because they are actual products I use and benefit from too. Though I cannot refund purchases after you have been given access to them, I will do what I can to be sure you are a pleased customer.

You can grab this newest beautiful color option now!

7 Easy Steps – “Tons of Options & Pretty Color” Begin building your free planner

Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! Not a kazillion other people

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

You'll love this AWESOME color choice for a homeschool planner, student planner, or home management binder. It is an academic calendar BUT it has 12 months. Grab it today and use in all of your planners! Click here to get it!

Hugs and love ya,

2 CommentsFiled Under: Curriculum Planner, DIY, Home Management Binder, Homeschool Planner, Homeschool Tools, Storage, & Accessories Tagged With: 2pagepermonthcalendar, academiccalendars, calendar, homeschool, homeschool curriculum planner, organization, organizationalprintables, organizedhomeschool

Make a Hygrometer: Day 1 Hands-on Learning (Humidity in the Desert)

January 9, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Make a Hygrometer. Day 1 of Hands-on Learning Activities. Learn how humidity in the desert is measured @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusTaking a break from the books because we need a variation in our routine with everything going on right now, we are doing several days of hands-on learning with some upcoming unit studies. Today, we are learning about how humidity is measured in a desert, so we made an easy diy hair hygrometer.

Look at this list of supplies that you probably have on hand too at your house.

►Cardboard about a foot long and 9 inches wide
►A piece of thin cardboard. Ours was a bit too thick, you really want it thin here to make the pointer.
►A pair of scissors
►A strand of hair that’s one foot long
►A hot glue gun
►push pin
►dime
►pen for marking
►small cloth tape measure or regular tape measure

Make an Easy DIY Hair Hygrometer

Hygro comes from a Greek word that means moisture or wet and a hygrometer is a way to measure the humidity in the air.

An easy diy hair hygrometer is a great way to see a visual and learn how the humidity is measured in a desert because everybody understands a bad hair day. And hair behaves differently when the humidity is high or low.

This is the objective of this activity; when it’s humid, hair increases in length and when the air is dry, hair will shorten.

Look at this site where we got this idea from. It says:

Hair is made from keratin, a protein that is wound into a coil. The turns of the coil are held together by a type of chemical bond called a hydrogen bond. Hydrogen bonds break in the presence of water, allowing the coil to stretch and the hair to lengthen. The bonds re-form when the hair dries, which allows people to style their hair simply by wetting it, shaping it, then drying it.

Here is what we did.

1. Take the bigger piece of cardboard (called base) and cut two slits in the top about one inch from the left and separate the two slits about 1/4 inch.

2. Take the thin piece of cardboard and make a triangle pointer about 6 inches long. Then measure about half way down the base and over from the left about one inch. Attach the pointer there with a pushpin.

3. Take the hair strand, (I put some hot glue on one end at the top to keep it from coming out of the slit, slippery little sucker) and string it through both the top and bottom slits. Glue a dab of hot glue in place on top to hold the strand and a dab at the bottom to hold it.

And if all this sound like blah, blah, blah. Look at this picture.

How to make an easy diy hygrometer to learn about moisture

Attach the pointer to the base with a pushpin 1/2 inch from the left edge in the center. Take your time so your hair doesn’t break. Too, this works with healthy hair. If it is brittle, you won’t be able to pull it carefully taunt.
4. Hot glue the hair in place in both sets of slits, then hot glue a dime 1 -1/2 inches from the left edge of the pointer base.

Next, Tiny took it to the shower.

While he was showering, as you can see in the picture above, the hair lengthened because of the humidity and the pointer went down. That was humid or 100% humidity if you want to calibrate and use it to make other measurements for the day.

Your kid can take this outside during different parts of the day to see what it does and measure the pointer by marking it on the base for different times of the day. Record the time to see how humidity changes during the day.

Just remember, use a THIN piece of cardboard for the pointer because Tiny had to take an extra long shower because our pointer was heavy. He didn’t mind doing that this morning though.

Anyway, if your child takes it out during different parts of the day, he can calibrate where it points and learn how much moisture is in the air.

To hurry the process on along though, we got a blow dryer after it and the hair coiled and the pointer came back up to dry. This helps to understand humidity in the morning versus humidity in the afternoon.

Humidity is one way to describe how much water vapor is in the air and the hair hygrometer was such an accurate way to measure water vapor that it was used for many years.

Relating this to the Sonoran Desert, we learned that during the hottest, driest parts of the year in the Sonoran Desert the humidity may be around 15%. In other non-desert locations the humidity may be 80% or more.

Though we know deserts are very dry places, this really helped us to see why they are.

Also, look at my blog post, 365 Days Hands-On Homeschool Activities – One for EVERY Day of the Year for more ideas and look at my category for hands-on ideas for your unit studies.


Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: DIY, Hands-On Activities, Science, Teach Homeschool Science Tagged With: desert, earthscience, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, homeschoolscience

DIY Kitchen Tongs Holder (Using Paper Towel Tube)

January 16, 2016 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

DIY Kitchen Tongs Holder (From Paper Towel Tube)

Part of organizing this new small place we are in now is being sure that my kitchen is organized too.

DIY Kitchen Tongs Holder (Using Paper Towel Tube)

I have encouraged you over and over that when your home needs a bit of organizing love to stop your homeschool and organize it.

Diy kitchen tongs holder (using paper towel tube) is one of the few things I have been doing this year to get my kitchen running a bit more smooth since our move back to the states.

Look at what else I have been doing and that you may want to grab.

Grab my 31 day editable menu planner with 31 dinner ideas here, look at how I made diy brads cheap and chic here and diy family calendar with free printable cover here.

It may not sound like a big deal, but it is one of the pesty things in the kitchen that kept slowing down my cooking and that is tongs sticking together.

Or, maybe it was just one of those day where I had my fill with those tiny, but hugely annoying things in the kitchen and I undertook a quick diy projects.

It was one of those days where all my cooking utensils, especially my kitchen tongs, which I use a lot kept opening up in the caddy. Again, small, but totally annoying.

So I came up with a pretty and quick way to store the humble kitchen tongs in my utensil caddy or even in the kitchen drawer.

Look at what I gathered up real quick.

Collect items for diy paper towel holder @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

You know I am into easy and quick diy fixes.

So I grabbed my washi tape, some discarded paper towel tubes, and I had a pastry brush in storage (don’t ask me what possessed me to store that long term, like I was going to use it again..ugg), and some mod podge.

It took just a few minutes to wrap each paper towel tube and I used the mod podge and pastry brush to put a layer over it to seal it.

DIY paper towel holders

Tiny, but annoying problem solved for me.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Are you following my TWO different Pinterest Accounts?

Follow Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s board Home DIY on Pinterest.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Leave a CommentFiled Under: DIY, Home Tagged With: organizedhomeschool

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