A Minute Out of the Norm: “I Spy… Nature”

This week I am visiting my parents. They are about a five-hour drive from my home so when we go to visit we usually stay awhile! (Not that I can complain about five hours. We were many many more hours away from my own grandparents growing up.) My parents’ have a great home for their grandsons to visit: acres of property, hills to rough and tumble on, old ‘hunter’s stands’ for great forts, and a dirt driveway for Tonka-trucks and -bulldozers. What more could could the little guys want?!

Well maybe to be home. The whining started yesterday afternoon, I’m bored, I miss my bike, I miss my friends… etc etc. I racked my brain with thoughts of what can we do during down-time when they are wanting a little “Mommy” time. So after dinner we donned our ‘hiking boots’ and went for a nature walk. We put wild-flowers, grass, clover, even a wild-turkey feather in our bag.

Then we headed home. After baths, to get rid of the bug-spray, the boys laid out their treasures and we put a little dab of glue on each piece of ‘nature’ and stuck it to paper to make a collage. At this point we could have hung-it up to enjoy but instead we decided it would be a great piece of art to send to Dad, who is off in the great-wild world serving our nation.

To make this even more fun: The 5 year-old loves “I Spy” books and he had me write out a special page with some of the items, titleing the page “I Spy…”. So now hubby will open up his picture and not only enjoy the nature of Michigan but the reminder of how the two of them would sit and enjoy looking through the I Spy books.

If you are looking for something to get out with the kids and shake it up a bit go for a ‘Nature Hunt’. Perhaps you can send your treasures on to a deployed spouse, a grandparent, an aunt or uncle. Hiking, Spying, Picking and then making something for someone else was definitely the highlight of our evening!