My son has a December birthday and most of the time the weather is cold, possibly snowy and not ideal for a day spent outside.
This year was an exception! The temperature hit 50 and we headed out to a local nature center for a fun event they had planned.
Fenner Nature Center in Lansing hosted a free Decorate a Tree for Wildlife event. The center is right in Lansing and has well maintained trails, a ton of bird feeders with a viewing window and regular programs for families and adults to attend.
Inside the center were table stations with bird seed, peanut butter, stumps, bark, berries, cookie cutters, markers, string, popcorn and fruit. Groups or individuals could participate and the kiddos I brought jumped right to work.
Together we created four stumps, a few popcorn and berry garlands, and a number of pine cone and bark ornaments. The kids were pretty happy with our tree! I was disappointed more families didn’t take the opportunity to get out and decorate, but it was pretty nice to have the place almost to ourselves.
After we finished with our tree we took a kid-directed nature walk (I let them choose the path, and when to stop and check things out) on the paths south of the Nature Center. We spotted a number of birds including a pair of blue jays taking a quick bath, a wild turkey, a few frogs and even a white tailed deer!
It was pretty amazing to run around with our coats off in December and I encourage you to check out what your local Nature Center has too offer all year round!
Talk to you soon,
Kristy
Nature with Family 