“If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

Playing on the beach, Bodega Bay, March 2012

{I’m taking a little time off this week to spend time with my girls, host a cousin sleepover, and catch up around the house. I’ll be popping in to share a few photos of our day to day. Have a wonderful week!}

Burn off some energy this Leap Day with a jumping, hopping, leaping obstacle course.

I’m sure your kids can think of many different ways to move by jumping. Here are the ones we thought of, to get you started:

• Play hopscotch. Draw with chalk outside, or make with masking tape inside.

• Try a long jump. Tape a measuring tape along the jumping area (or mark measurements with chalk) so you can see how far you jumped.

• Jump as high as you can.

• Hop on one foot. How many times can you hop on each foot?

• Jump rope

• Do some frog jumps.

• Run and leap over a stick, broom, pool noodle, etc.

• Hop like a bunny around cones or other obstacles.

• Jump in and out of a hula hoop.

• Lay pillows or couch cushions on the floor and jump from cushion to cushion.

• Jump off something, like a tree stump, small stool, or sidewalk curb.

P.S. Have you ever taken photos of your kids jumping? It’s a lot of fun and the outtakes are great for a laugh.

Have any jumping activities to add? Have anything fun planned for Leap Day this week?

A few days ago, the girls and I spent an afternoon rummaging around the backyard collecting leaves, sticks, rocks, bark, and other nature bits. Our plan was to find heart-shaped things, or arrange items in a heart shape, and take photos for Valentine postcards.

We had such fun “staging” our photographs. The girls were so cute searching for just the right patch of dirt or perfectly-shaped rock for their vision.

Here’s a list of the photos we tried, to give you some inspiration:

• rocks, all the same color, arranged in a heart
• heart-shaped leaf (clover)
• sticks, broken into pieces and lined up to make a heart
• draw a heart in a patch of mud
• bark pieces to make a heart outline
• two overlapping leaves
• chalk-drawn hearts on tree stumps
• make a heart shadow with hands

And, here’s a peek at our favorite photos:

We took all our photos in the backyard, but you could take photos on a nature walk or a trip to the park. We found that shady areas gave us the best results. Have fun experimenting and take lots and lots of photos!

If your yard is covered in snow, try drawing hearts in the snow. Lucky enough to live near the beach? Shells, rocks, and driftwood would make excellent photographs. And, hearts drawn in the sand are a classic!

I’m printing our favorite nature valentine photos 4″x6″ on heavy card stock paper. We’ll add a loving message and a postcard stamp, and send them to some special people.

Have a wonderful weekend!