I saw this idea on A Whole Nine Months and thought that as her little boy is younger than Monkey, and obviously enjoyed it, that we should give it a go…. But, have to be honest, I kept putting it off! I just wasn’t sure how it would go, whether he’d be interested in the nature hunt side, and how much mess we’d make with the painting… But that’s the point of the Creative Challenge, pushing myself to step outside of my comfort zone, and be more creative, with playtime in this case!
So one day we headed out on a little nature hunt and to start with it was mainly me doing the hunting part, while Monkey spent a good few minutes hugging a tree??
Though he did get quite interested in a feather.
But then he got a bit obsessed with a stick, ok, branch and tried for ages to bring it with him.
He was honestly doing this for AGES, I have loads of photos and a couple of videos of it. He’s such a determined little Monkey but eventually I persuaded him it was a bit too big to carry and we did a bit more nature hunting.
Then it was home and time to get the paints out! We also noticed that one of the daffodils in the front garden had been trampled at some point so we picked that up to explore with too.
And, basically, he had a whale of a time, exploring the leaves and twigs in the paint..
and generally just getting really messy 🙂
So all in all, lots and lots of fun and definitely worth a try – and with the two elements this took up quite a large chunk of the day – which is always excellent in my view! 🙂
Have you been on a nature hunt?
Looks fun! I’ve had a go at this with Boo, but not Little Man yet. I love how happy Monkey looks painting 🙂
It’s great isn’t it? Makes the mess worthwhile and I think he’ll appreciate the nature hunt side more as he gets older 🙂 xx
He looks like my 3 years old nephew! I recognize the same joy on his face……..
Ha ha really? That’s lovely 🙂 xx
Look at that concentration and smile> priceless.
#letkidsbekids
Ha ha thanks it’s great isn’t it? Xx
cant wait for spring so that we can do this too> everyday =P
Oh I know, i just want to be outside with Monkey all the time at the moment! Can’t wait xx
He looks like he enjoyed himself
That stick is huge! And look how he concentrates on his artwork. Lovely #letkidsbekids
I know but he was so determined bless him! Xx
Nature hunts are great fun and then painting with it too is a lovely idea. Looks like he had a lot of fun and created a lot of mess to go with it 🙂
Thanks for sharing #LetKidsBeKids
He did and the happiness on his face makes the mess worthwhile 🙂 xx
We like collecting bits from outdoors too, we’ve been arty with pinecones and leaves. He really looks like he is enjoying himself there x #letkidsbekids
Its lovely to do something a bit different isn’t it, and he really did enjoy himself! Xx
Looks great fun, I do so much stuff with my 4yo because he loves it, and isn’t quite so messy anymore… Need to start getting the wee girl involved a bit more 🙂 #LetKidsBeKids
Aww yeah its difficult to know when they’re ready for it I think but I bet she’d love it 🙂 xx
Nature hunts are great fun (and they don’t grow out of them either) Love all the painting he did using the leaves. #LetKidsBeKids
It is one of those activities that spans all ages really isn’t it? Thanks 🙂 xx
We’ve not tried a nature hunt yet but your little man looked like he really enjoyed himself. And I love the tree hugging at the start, always very important! #LetKidsBeKids
Haha of course, very important 🙂 He did really enjoy himself so you should definitely give it a try! 🙂 xx
Loads of fun… fab clicks!
My girl love playing outdoors. It’s a such a fun thing to do, isn’t it?
Thank you, it was a lot of fun and playing outdoors is great fun! xx
Loads of fun… fab clicks!
My girl loves playing outdoors. It’s a such a fun thing to do, isn’t it?
Ooh, fab idea and I love his face-he really is having a ball isn’t he! As for the branch-that made me smile 🙂
Thank you, he did have a lot of fun, but honestly him and branches (eye roll) 😉 xx
This is lovely. We’ve done a few specific hunts for stuff, but my boys love picking up random stuff anyway. Don’t always do much with it when we’re home, except I do remember making a picture frame once, I blogged it a while ago. Sorry I still haven’t linked up to your linky, I found this through mini creations, but I’m not sure my post for that really fits yours. I need more time to write about my current creative challenge 🙂
Yeah it was quite nice having a purpose for all the sticks he brings home actually haha 🙂 no problem honey, look forward to reading it when you do get a chance 🙂 xx
I love his face when he’s got his hands in the paint. Such joy! Priceless #minicreations
it’s lovely isn’t it? xx
Nature Hunts are brilliant – I used to work with school children and this was one of my activities. I generally found the younger the child the greater their searching and imagination powers were – especially when I asked them to find things they weren’t exactly there i.e. a dinosaur or a fairy!
Aww now there’s a good idea 🙂 xx
Oh look at his little face! What an awesome post 🙂 Mine love doing this too- its so lovely watching their amazement at the things we adults just walk past everyday!
x x
Thank you, I love seeing hom so happy I have to admit! It’s great isn’t it? xx
Lucas says – Once again, Monkey proves how cool he is. Loving the fact that he’s gone back to basics and found his material!!! I did have a giggle about him being a ‘Tree Hugger’!!
Graces says – Lucas, I REALLY wonder about you sometimes……. Thanks for linking to #minicreations Monkey – one of our favourite GL Gang members
Thanks guys 🙂 xx