Nature Inspires Creativity!

It was interesting to sit back and observe the way that being in nature brought out creativity in our girls while we were living by the lake. We didn't have a good Internet connection while living there, so screen time was easily avoided. The girls were homeschooling during that time, so they had more free time than they typically would, and we didn't have any friends in the area. With all of those factors combined, they needed to find things to do with their time and the backyard was one of the best places to do that. They found so much to do out there, and all of it exercised their creativity.

It was common for me to be busy in the cottage and to glance out the window to see a scene that looked something like this:

The girls outside on the dock, imagining things, creating things, and playing together.

Talia managed to create a couple of very functional tools for herself! A usable broom, to sweep the deck with, and a hammer to build other creations with!

Their imaginations ran wild, using burned sticks from campfires to colour things, carving wood, and tying things together with flexible fallen branches of the willow tree.

They created a long scoop out of a plastic cup and a long branch, which they used to fill fairy ponds with water (stay tuned for those photos), Katrina made a game with ramps for balls, built a wall with some random bricks, and created a large obstacle course for herself, among other creations!

Here are a few closeup photos of the fairy village they came up with. This was one of my favourites of their creations- so creative and cute!

Perhaps the best part of all was seeing them work together so happily!

I'm extremely grateful for the time we spent living at the cottage, even if it makes me long for a backyard even more than I already did! I hope someday we can live in a place with a backyard that can be explored, but until then I'll strive to get out into public nature areas as often as we can, to allow them to get those opportunities.