nature

Autumn is a fantastic time for nature-based crafts. With all the natural materials falling from the trees, there is a plethora of creative opportunities. Fallen leaves especially lend themselves to crafting projects. Take a walk with your family, collecting the fallen leaves you find along the way, and then use them to try out the crafts described below.

Leaf Prints

You need leaves, paper, paint brushes, and your choice of paints. I suggest tempera for younger crafters.

Jiddu Krishnamurti was a philosopher and spiritual teacher born in 1895-1986 in India; he was brought up in England. He was one of the foremost spiritual leaders in the world.  He is not aligned with any religion; his teachings are neutral. His belief was that the value and beauty of nature was inextricably connected to the beauty of spirit.

“To understand the immeasurable mind,

The mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.”

-J. Krishnamurti

Everyday life can be noisy. Taking time away from all the chatter and clatter is very good for one's mental state. It helps you calm your thoughts and connect with yourself on a deeper level. Here are seven ways to savor the silence.

It does not take a lot of glitter to make craft time special. You can source many fantastic crafting materials both from the recycling bin and the outdoors! When you are looking to stimulate your child’s imagination in the outdoors, these crafts can help you out.

Fall is here, which means crisp weather and plenty of fall produce. Why spend autumn indoors when you could be outside? Here are 10 ways to enjoy fall by heading outdoors. 

Have you heard of forest bathing? It doesn’t involve a bath, and doesn’t necessarily need water. Instead, it involves nature, yourself, and time to breathe.

A weed by definition is a plant that is unwanted and is growing in competition with cultivated plants. However, many "weeds," when taken out of human judgement, are playing vital roles in their ecosystem, be it holding the soil onto a hillside or feeding the bees that pollinate our vegetables. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many plants that are considered weeds are actually very useful and beneficial to humans as well. Here are some special plants coming into season right now that might surprise you with their usefulness.

Imagine a world where weekly garbage pickup didn't happen. Would you still make as much trash every day, knowing it would eventually consume your entire sidewalk, possibly even your home? We often forget how privileged we are to have garbage pickup services—not everyone is so lucky. We give very little thought to what happens to our garbage when it's sent away. The truth is, it doesn't go away. It goes to landfills, likely located in poor communities, where it emits toxic gasses bad for people's health and the earth.

The Summer Solstice has come and gone, and we are well into the dog days of summer. Perhaps some summertime monsoons have started where you live, or perhaps you are having dry desert days. In any case, there is still plenty of time left before many children return to school and it is always good to have some new ideas up your sleeve to have fun with your kiddos—even if the rain comes your way and changes your outdoor fun plans.

We live in a plastic world, and I don’t mean superficially.