Nature Display in a Jar

Miss E and I enjoy collecting things from nature, and today we found a bounty of what we thought were beautiful seed pods from under a tree.  We collected a few and brought them home, and since I didn't know if they were poisonous reminded the little Miss not to eat any.  I did a little internet sleuthing, and found out the seeds are actually mature fruit from the Chinaberry Tree.  Birds will eat this fruit until they reach a drunken state, but they are toxic to humans if consumed in large quantities.

Well, the little Miss had already figured out she was going to paint her "seeds" and display them.  I started worrying that collecting the berries wasn't one of my finer ideas, and I knew she wouldn't just forget about her natural treasure.  I realized that this was a prime opportunity to discuss poisonous plants, and allow her to carry out her artistic plans under supervision.  I schemed up a plan to allow her to display her artistic creation but keep it out of reach from little hands and mouths.

Miss E stuck the berries in styrofoam to make it easier to paint them.  She chose the colors, and we painted each of the berries.





Thanks to our friend, Nawal, we have a stash of glass jars to use for our crafting, and we chose a glass jar to display our painted berries. Miss E added play dough to the bottom of the lid, and stuck the berries in the dough. I needed to build up the dough around the stems to keep the berries standing vertically.





I put the jar on top of the lid and sealed it shut with hot glue. Yes, I am still concerned about the poisonous, but beautiful berries.



Still cautious about the berries, we displayed them on Miss E's decorative shelves which are high out of the reach of curious tykes.



Nature displays in jar could be used with any natural treasure. You could paint the objects or not as colors in the outdoors are beautiful without any adornment, as well. With very little ones, I wouldn't try it using chinaberries, and use more caution with the unfamiliar berries, flowers, and leaves. My daughter is past the age where I need to worry as much about her exploring interesting things with her sense of taste.

Happy Collecting!

This post is featured in this week's "It's Playtime". Hop on over to the Playtime Linky Party to see other wonderful play ideas.