Hi friends,
This is yet another long overdue post. But my children (and I) have had such fun with this, I just had to post about it again. :)
Last spring we participated in our second Nature Exchange with Silvia her family. Once I mentioned it to my children, they immediately went into what I call "nature treasure hunting mode" and found so many things to put into our box.
Here are some of the things we sent to our friends...
a mockingbird nest, Hickory nuts, wild Rose hips, milkweed seeds and pods,
and a black rat snake skin, feathers, a pine cone, a (very dead) female Black Widow spider, a tooth from a horse skull, and last, but definitely not least, a skunk skull, fur, bones, and teeth...minus the skunk scent, because they had been laying out in the hayfield for a year. So thankfully, almost all of the scent had dissipated. :) And just to be on the safe side, I asked Silvia if it was ok for me to send the Black Widow and the skunk items. Being the nature lover that is, she said yes!
Now to what we received from Silvia and her family...
She and her girls were like us: searching high and low for the perfect things to send. And Silvia nailed it for us. Now, let me clarify: it was a Nature exchange, but Silvia decided to scour her area for one our favorite treasures of all: books! I cannot even express how excited my children were to open the box and find it filled with books.
Take a look at the wonderful books she sent. (I couldn't get a photo of all the books, because my children each grabbed one and ran off to devour it. ;))
Notice the poetry books on the left...can't get too many of those in our house!
I would encourage you to try a Nature exchange with a friend. It's just a matter of exchanging addresses and setting a date to mail the boxes. It will be a wonderful learning experience that you and your children won't soon forget.
As for me and my children, we would love make the Nature exchange an annual event.
How about it, Silvia? :)
"Let them get in touch with Nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight and habit through life.." ~ Charlotte Mason
