Sun nature table

 I am constantly rearranging our spaces to fit the current season of our lives.  This summer we've been doing lots of time at the kitchen table, learning, playing and working.  So I made a little nature shelf area right next to the table (under the window.)  Everything on this shelf is to be touched and played-with, of course!

I'll describe in detail what was there during our "sunshine" unit.

These two little cards were colored with chalk--I did one and Q did the other. 

 On the backs of them were our sunshine song (Mr. Sun) and our fingerplay. 

 This was a little sunshine made (sorta) by Beck.  He was wanting to cut with scissors.  I held the paper for him and he made slits all along it.  As I was cleaning up for the day I grabbed a piece of orange paper and rolled it up inside the red and it made a perfect little sun!  So onto the nature table it went!  He loves carrying it around saying, "sunshine" or something that sorta sounds like the word.  :)

 This is just a wooden/felt sunshine I already had that we added to the table. 

 I cut the previously mentioned sunshine paintings into little pieces and put them in this gold bag.  The kids enjoy putting them in, taking them out, carrying them around, etc. 

 This is one of Beck's paintings--we did a lot of painting with the colors of the sun.  I cut a dry painting into a (sorta) sun shape and attached a stick to use as a waver. 

 Summer tealight candle holder from HERE:

Quinn traced the pattern, cut out and sewed this (with my help only to hold it still while she sewed) and I sewed on the beads. 

We also have some sunshine-y artwork hanging--some paintings I cut into our initials after they were dried, a star Beck made (after we talked about the fact that the sun is a star--about which Q still doesn't believe me), a collage sun Beck and I made together, and a few other paintings.  And a random shark Q still doesn't want to take down even though it was made in May.  :)

 

We also have a little "sun gnomie" that lives on the nature shelf this month, but he was hiding when I took the picture.  He has since been located (hiding in a bouquet of my flowers) and I will soon photograph him and post.