Wild and Free Handcrafts- Recipe for a Fun Family Experience While Learning!

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book from Harper Collins, via EdelweissPlus,  free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

Synopsis:

Wild + Free Handcrafts is a beautiful, four-color resource book for parents, educators, and caregivers to enjoy doing hands-on activities with kids. A handcraft engages one’s hands, requires a level of learned skill, encourages children to do their best work, and produces an end product that is useful. It has been used in homeschool settings for decades as one way to encourage kids to work with their hands and discover a skillful craft. It is also a great way for traditionally educated kids who are home for the summer, or in afterschool programs, or with their families on the weekends, to do fun activities that will stimulate imagination and creativity.

This book will feature crafts such as:

• Felted acorns
• Paper beads
• Nature wreaths
• Cocoa mint lip balm
• Woven willow hearts
• Finger knit bracelets
• Eco-dyed kitchen towels
• Fairy tale treehouse
• Flower crowns
• Bug hotel

With the same lush photography as The Call of the Wild + Free, this book includes step-by-step pictures that show parents how to do the craft, and essays on the usefulness and purpose of handcrafts as a tool to spark children’s curiosity and wonder.

Review:

This unique books gives parents thirty-two nature based/recycle activities to complete with their kids, that not only provide some really fun family time (how about an outdoor hike for material collecting?), but also teach kids to reuse what is available to themm, to have the wonder of nature and to build confidence in their own creativity! If you are older than a millenial, than many of these crafts are going to seem VERY familiar, as they are ones that we had in girl/boy scouts, or in class (you know when teachers could do fun stuff with kids that wasn't part of 'the list'!). We have done just about all of the ideas in the book, but some of them are a bit different, like the Springtime Suncacthers, to we may try them with some of the blossoms starting up in the yard! This is a fun book that allows you to reconnect to the kids/grandkids, and bring back fond memories of YOUR childhood to share with them! Don't miss this one!

About the Author:

Ainsley Arment is the founder and leader of Wild + Free and co-host of the weekly Wild + Free Podcast. Leading a movement to raise kids and homeschool in a new way, she thinks deeply about making the most out of life and ensuring that her five children—Wyatt, Dylan, Cody, Annie, and Mike—have a fertile seedbed for their own uniqueness and creativity. She lives with her husband, Ben, and their children in Virginia Beach, Virginia.