Nature Jar
This simple nature jar craft can lead to many nature study adventures. You never know when excitement over a frog or butterfly will ensue! I am always looking for simple projects to keep us at home and enjoying what is around us.
Keeping simple jars around ready to fill with wonder is at the heart of nature study. The great thing about a nature jar is that it is for all ages. Even mom can create a terrarium for the kitchen!
Use this as a craft project to get started on a backyard adventure. You can make this as simple or elaborate as you desire and I think it makes the perfect gift for cousins and friends for birthdays and any upcoming holidays.
It is a gift with a purpose to explore nature.
I will share the items in our nature in a jar and you can work from there. A nature jar can also be filled with finds from a neighborhood walk, what you find after rain or things you want to identify when you get home. Having a jar with a lid is great especially if you want to identify a bug that wants to crawl around until you release it.
Supplies for a nature jar kit
- plastic jar – glass is nice too but make sure it is age-appropriate
- a handful of rocks – we had small river rocks on hand, but any will do
- a handful of soil – dirt works well too.
- moss mat – for a gift I added a piece of green moss that comes in a roll you cut it to fit your project.
- acorns – pretty stones – Spanish moss – sunflower sticker
We made these for our convention booth, so we made them pretty by adding the paper sunflower. You can make them any way you like, even adding plastic frogs or butterflies to get the possibilities flowing.
I think this project would be great for a co-op class or for your children to make as gifts for the holidays. Very inexpensive and a handmade item. Those are always winners around our house.
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