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Mother’s Day Nature Weaving Loom
You can craft with your child at any time of the year but make this Mother’s Day very special by making a nature weaving loom with your child. Let’s start by taking advantage of the beautiful weather, go on a nature walk and collect flowers, leaves, branches, sticks, pinecones and other items to do this fun activity together.
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- 3 or 4 Sticks
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- Various natural items for weaving such as leaves, flowers, branches, twigs, etc.
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- Yarn (you can substitute with twine or string)
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- Scissors
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- Optional: Elastic bands
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1. Lay the sticks out in a shape of a square or triangle and secure each corner with a piece of yarn or twine.
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2. Knot the yarn to the frame and begin wrapping by going back and forth to make the loom.
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3. Secure the end of the yarn to the end of the frame. Your loom is ready.
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4. Weave the nature items into your loom
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5. Your Mother’s Day project is finished.
You can start this activity with a simple invitation. “Let’s go for a nature walk for this Mother’s Day and see what we can find to make a craft together.” This is a perfect way to encourage your child to enjoy the natural environment, play and engage, and promote mindfulness. Ask your child, “what should we take with us to collect the nature items? How should we dress?” Encourage your child to investigate what the weather is like outside and support self-help skills by modelling how to dress properly when you go for nature walks.
While walking outside, use discussion prompts based on the senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Encourage exploratory curiosity through touching trees and plants if it is safe to do so. Questions such as “What do you feel by touching this leave or this pinecone? Can you hear the bird singing? What else you can hear? Look at this flower, what colors do you see? Do you know the name of this insect? What do you smell? Can you describe it to me?”. By asking different questions, you provoke your child to observe, notice their surroundings and help communicate their experiences. Be fully engaged with your child when collecting these items, whilst being safe.
When you sit to make the frame, help your child to measure the sticks using a ruler. This supports their math skills. Allow your child to choose the shape of the frame. Meet your child at their level and support them as much or as little as needed when they wrap and weave the nature items through the loom.
Tip: You can adapt this activity to your child’s age by changing the questions you ask, how far you can go on a walk for and how fast or slow your pace is. Also, you can assist your young child to collect the items, carry the bag and help more during the process of crafting.
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