Our Nature Display

As I mentioned in this post, we've added a nature display to our new classroom. I love the idea of bringing a bit of the outdoors inside and since we often go on nature walks and collect things, I thought it was high time we create a place for all our treasures!

Everything in the display is all natural and/or handmade, from the clay vase to the hand carved animals. I needle felted the owl (which is sitting on some local Spanish Moss), the patch of "grass" the deer is standing on and the lovely Mother Earth. The dried oranges are from a project James and I did last week, the pinecones were collected by me ages ago when we lived in Minnesota, and the little rug under the vase is hand woven (purchased on our trip to Honduras several years ago).

This is my favorite - I was fortunate enough to find this gray woven basket at a local artist's fair. I made one of these in junior high and I think I still have it! :)

The thing I love most about this display is that it's ever changing. I'll change the "theme" at the beginning of every month, but even throughout the month it's always being reinvented. I find we are continually adding to it and rearranging it. It's such a treat to touch and explore these items. James loves it and likes to add his own special touches...