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Maine has 39 commercial tree species. Among them: aspen, birch, red and sugar maples, several types of oaks, white and red pines, spruces, balsam fir and others.
(http://www.forestsformainesfuture.org/forest-facts/)

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Remember to only pick ones up off the ground and not from trees!

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20 Ways to Play with Sticks: Get Outside, Find a Stick & Have Some Fun!

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Inside: 20 super ways to play, create and explore with one of the oldest toys in the world - the humble stick! When it comes to childhood toys more often than not, simple is best. Take the humble stick, for example.

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a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.

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Make this simple and easy pine cone bird feeder as a perfect spring activity to connect with nature and find some new friends.

After a very long winter, the sun is finally shining. We have been spending a lot of time outside and enjoying the warmer temperatures. On one of our recent nature walks, we discovered pine cones on the ground. After each student picked one, we decided to make Pine Cone Bird Feeders for all of the birds returning from the south.

How To Make Pine Cone Bird Feeders:

These easy-to-make bird feeders are not only fun to make but they are inexpensive too.

Supplies:

You can usually find all of the supplies that you need at your local dollar store. If you live in an area where you can't find pine cones on trees, you can order them from Amazon.

To prepare for this activity, scoop some peanut butter from the jar and put it into the small bowls. I usually have one bowl for every two or three students to share.

Next, pour some bird seed into the small bowls. Then, give each student a paper plate or plastic tray. If you don't have plates or trays, I recommend that you do this activity outside.

Before beginning this activity, you may also want to cut the twine or string into pieces that are about 8 inches long for each student.

Directions:

To begin making the pine cone bird feeders, your students will place their pine cone onto their paper plate or plastic tray and spread peanut butter on it. I have found that it is easiest for young children to spread the peanut butter with a popsicle stick.

Next, the children will sprinkle the bird seed on the pine cone so it sticks to the peanut butter.

Your students can then tie the twine or string around the top of the pine cone and hang them from a tree or hook.

Making Pine Cone Bird Feeders is always one of our favorite activities during the school year. My students love to hang them outside our classroom window and watch all the different birds that come to visit.

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Make Pine Cone Bird Feeders with the Kids This Spring

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here. Make this simple and easy pine cone bird feeder as a perfect spring activity to connect with nature and find some new friends. After a very long winter, the sun is finally shining. We have been spending a lot of time outside and enjoying the warmer temperatures.

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While some mothers and educators prefer pristine clean kids at the end of the day. I do not.

If my kids are messy, I KNOW they've had a good day. Dirt on their face and on their clothes means they've been playing and that makes them happy.

And that makes me happy.

When it comes to mud play, it's pretty obvious I'm an advocate. So, when I found out there was an International Mud Day I was thrilled. Of course, mud day can be EVERY DAY but as a way to get other mothers to give it a try, I can see the benefits of making it a dedicated day.

Why let your kids play with mud?

It's a sensory wonderland

There's different types of mud to explore

It's creative

It's SO, SO fun!

Issues with your kids getting muddy? Read this! It's bound to help you change your mind!

Mud Play Ideas

Here are 20 marvelous mud activities to try with your kids. If you're like me, you'll want to try them all too!

1. Mud Ice Creamery. Kids are going to love making their own ice creams. You only need a few utensils, a bit of dirt and some ice cream cones and their afternoon will be filled with wondrous pretend play.

2. Mud and Nature Play. How gorgeous is this mud and nature lady beetle. See what other gorgeous creations they made.

3. Muddy River Play. Make a river using aluminium foil and watch them play the afternoon away.

4. It's simple to create a wonderful invitation to play with mud just by putting a whole bunch of kitchen utensils outside. It's all good, just give them a good wash afterwards. *wink*

5. Make Cup Cakes. Muddy cupcake play. So many ingredients to try!

6. Muddy Wormery. Get a little muddy by making a wormery and watch the worms dig down into their new home.

7. Mobile Mud Pit. You don't have to make a dirt pool in the backyard. Make a mobile mud pit and move it around the backyard so the mess doesn't all build up in one spot.

8. Mud Bricks. This idea is soooo clever. Make awesome mud bricks and build build build!

9. Dirt Investigation. Mud and dirt isn't just good to play with, it's also fun to learn about. Pull out some investigation tools like pipettes, magnifying glasses, and tweezers and let them explore the wonders of dirt.

10. Coffee Shop Mud Play. I just love this unique idea. Our kids see us drinking coffee all the time, it's only fair they get to role play making their own coffee. Mud works perfectly for this. I'll have a latte thanks kids!

11. Mud and Nature Pies. Kids are going to love making mud pies. Try mud and petal pie or dirt and leaf crumble. The pies they can create are endless!

12. Muddy Car Wash. Time to get those little toy cars out, make them really muddy and then wash them all off. Every child is bound to LOVE this activity.

13. Clay has similar properties to mud but with a slightly different texture. Try adding more and more water to see how it changes.

14. Mud Stew. Get some ingredients together and make a mud stew. The essential ingredient - dirt and water!

15. Constructions Site Mud Play. Get those toy trucks and trailers out and find a muddy place for your kids to play in and let them go on the beaten track.

16. Fairy mud play. If you have a little one that's not quite interested in getting dirty themselves, this mud play activity can help. Fairy mud play could get them enjoying some messy play!

17. Muddy Clay Faces. Time to mold this muddy clay into super funny faces. So fun!

18. Mud Donuts. The mud bake off is here and these mud donuts are so inspiring. Love the nature sprinkles on top!

19. Mud monsters. Don't just let them play with a mud kitchen, let them coat themselves in mud. Oh my, this is an event they'll always remember! #makingmemories

20. Painting with Mud. Guess what we did today! Painting with mud was so therapeutic. You can paint with mud using tools but we used out fingers!

21. Writing with Mud. I couldn't help adding just one more mud activity I found. A fun way to build literacy skills!

I hope I've inspired you to let your kids get their fingers, hands and even body dirty. Even I'm excited about try many of the mud activities over the next couple of weeks. It's school holidays, so we have plenty of opportunities to get dirty.

The best part about these mud play ideas is that they're totally free. Dirt is everywhere! Go on, get into it!

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20 Top Mud Play ideas to get your kids enjoying the outdoors!

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While some mothers and educators prefer pristine clean kids at the end of the day. I do not. If my kids are messy, I KNOW they've had a good day. Dirt on their face and on their clothes means they've been playing and that makes them happy. And that makes me happy.

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Maine is actually called the Pine Tree State for its abundance of white pine!