Most of us have friends and family that spread around the country, maybe even the globe. We have such an amazing time learning about what is right out our backdoor and delight in sharing it with others. It is also great fun to get a package full of nature's goodness from far away. This would be a great time to contact a relative or friend to arrange a nature exchange for the kids as gifts for the holiday this year.
We always have a nature table full of good things to share. We set about gathering up the best examples of our favorite nature finds.
As we add new things to the collection we make a list.
Sea glass.
Mussel shell with seaweed hold.
Crab claws.
And sometimes add things that are not exactly nature made but we find often on our walks.
The sea glass above and this bait bag from a lobster pot are great examples. It says somethings about our local area and might just inspire some research by our recipients.
The smaller fragile things get wrapped up in tissue paper and placed into an egg carton. The larger items get wrapped up too and it all goes into the box.
Sometimes we also include pictures of the kids out in nature, some postcards of local wildlife (our Museum of Natural History has a great collection) or some supplies for a nature based craft.
Another fun and easy gift from nature.
Have you ever done a nature exchange? We would love to hear about it.
~Dawn
