Nature based crafts, activities, and rituals to bring in the season of abundance.

Everything is better in summer — cue Olaf! Okay—maybe not everything, but I do feel like there is a distinct lightness and sense of relief in this season. I have not always felt this way. There have been many years when the solstice arrives and I feel like the year is basically over—all downhill until January 1. When the Summer Solstice arrives, the days begin to shorten and we enter the second half of our (Gregorian) calendar year. When I started viewing the year in relation to the sun and learned about the Julian calendar and other calendars that viewed spring as the start of a new year my feelings changed. When spring is the start of the year—which mirrors nature’s new beginnings, then I feel free to let winter be a season of rest. I do not feel like I have to celebrate the holidays, finish all of my annual projects and goals, declutter and clean my house, and have all of my planning in place by January 1. I am free to let winter be my rest—just like everything in nature. Planning and doing is spring work. The pressure is off. Whew.

Now that I have given myself a block of rest after the holidays and have moved my annual finish line, I do not feel pressured to view my summer as the last half of the year. Quite the contrary—we are just three months in. This is the height of the year. A season of fullness, of action and rest. It is spontaneous and fast. The season of summer is akin to the afternoon of the day.

One of my core values is fostering a love of creation and a spirit of stewardship with my child. Part of imparting those values to her is modeling living seasonally with intention. Here are some of the projects we will be doing this summer (or have done in the past) to help foster a reverence for the natural world. I hope it inspires you to consider what activities you may do with your child(ren) this year.

1. Collect fruit and/or herbs and make a sun tea.
2. Make or buy a flower press and press flowers found along the roadside on our daily walks (you could go to a u-pick flower farm too). Mount the flowers on paper to frame them or laminate into bookmarks. These are great gifts for grandmas and aunts!
3. Make a summer nature journal. Watercolor plants found and animals observed, then practice writing their names in the journal.
4. Make homemade fruit popsicles with fruit from the yard or berry u-pick trip.
5. Bundle fresh herbs, hang dry, then use mortar and pestle to grind into seasonings to give as gifts during the holidays.
6. Model beeswax sheets into summer themed shapes and adhere to beeswax candle for our table.
7. Propagate plants — also a great gift idea for a hostess.
8. Make a sun dial and read books about ancient time keeping.
9. Sow seeds indoors for our fall garden. Paint or draw a garden plan together.
10. Bake sun bread and read the book Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven.
11. Make refrigerator pickles with ingredients harvested from our garden or purchased at the farmer’s market.
12. Make gf+df ice cream sandwiches with Sweet Loren’s cookies and Talenti gelato.
13. Felt (needle or wet felting) a sun and bunny and/or deer to add to our wool toy collection and strengthen fine motor skills.
14. Make large flowers from construction paper to hang from the ceiling in our homeschool room.
15. Explore the different shapes in nature and use Sun Art paper to preserve them.
16. Make a summer wreath with vines from the yard and dried grasses and flowers collected.
17. Go to the beach and/or springs and collect shells to decorate a frame and/or box with.

I hope this helps you as you plan an intentional season with your family.

With love,

Sunshine

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