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Yesterday, the kids and I bundled up and headed out for a winter hike with one simple goal: collect materials for nature-inspired crafts.

No other agenda. No rush. Just slow walking (AKA tumbling into the snow every 5th step) with eyes wide open for special, beautiful things that caught our attention.

We gathered pine boughs, fallen sticks, pinecones, bits of bark, clusters of pretty green moss, and dried leaves still tucked beneath the trees. By the time we reached the truck, the pockets of the hiking backpack were full of small nature treasures. The kind of ordinary things that often go unnoticed - but become magical once brought home, reimagined, and transformed.

Today, we’re starting something new: 7 Days of Winter Nature Crafts.

Each day this week, we’ll make one simple, nature-inspired craft using what we found - paired with a beautiful winter picture book (or three) to read together. I’ll update this post with photos as we complete each craft, but for now, consider this your invitation to do the same in your own home.

These winter crafts for kids are designed to:

• Encourage creativity without overwhelm

• Use mostly natural or low-prep materials

• Connect books, outdoor time, and hands-on learning

• Be doable with toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary kids

  
  

7 Days of Nature Inspired Winter Crafts

You don’t need a perfectly stocked craft closet or a PhD in Pinterest for these kid-friendly art projects - just curiosity and a willingness to enjoy these fun (and a little bit messy) moments with your littles.

Day 1: Twig Snowflakes

Book Pairing: The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino

Using small sticks collected on a hike or nature walk, arrange simple snowflake on paper or cardboard and secure them with glue. Use a low-temp glue gun for the best hold without the risk of burning fingers. If you wanted to make hanging snowflake ornaments, skip attaching them to paper and instead finish the snowflake by wrapping the center (where the twigs cross over each other) with twine and leaving a long loop on the end. Kids could also paint the snowflakes white or with glitter glue to give them a sparkly, snowy appearance. This craft is open-ended and forgiving - perfect for little hands.

The Story of Snow pairs beautifully with this activity, helping kids understand how snow forms while they create their own winter-inspired designs.

(Day 1 Update: We loved this quick and easy winter craft! It was the perfect amount of structure and freedom for my 2.5 year old, who chose where every stick would go, then put glitter glue anywhere she pleased. It took about 10 minutes but could have easily been extended if she would have painted them. These twig snowflakes are so cute, I think we'll make more in a variety of sizes another day and hang them on our winter tree that stays up in our house through March. They would also make a perfect handmade ornament gift from your kids next Christmas! This was a great opportunity to talk about uniqueness and how each of us are individual, just like a snowflake. A beautiful faith-based lesson could be tied in by talking about how God made us each in His image but we're not all the same.)

Optional Additional Book: Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Skills Built: Noticing small details, fine motor skills, early science curiosity

Day 2: Animal Track Potato Stamps

Book Pairing: Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee

Cut potatoes in half and carve simple animal track shapes so the track pattern is raised. Think of woodland animals you would see this time of year where you live - birds, rabbits, fox, deer. Give kids a piece of white paper to represent snow and a small plate of blue paint. Let them dip the potato stamp into the paint and stamp the paper to represent tracks. You could even do a different color of paint for each track type. Talk about which animals might leave these tracks in winter and where you might find them outdoors.

Although Tracks in the Snow is (spoiler) about a little girl leaving her own prints in the snow, it helps children learn observation. I love when my own daughter gasps and tells me she's found her own tracks on a winter hike. You can connect the animal prints they’re stamping to real winter wildlife through other stories and encourage observation on future walks.

(Day 2 Update: I was NOT prepared for how hard it would be to carve the animal tracks! Buying woodland animal print stamps would have been so much easier, but if you insist on the DIY, here's how I did it: I used a small, sharp paring knife to cut large Russet potatoes in half, then outlined the shape of an animal print with a black marker on the cut face of the spud. It's easiest to cut long straight lines first, cutting out the rough shape on the face of the potato, then cutting carefully around the skin edge to create the upraised print. After you have a rough stamp shape, you can carve the finer details and rounder edges. This was definitely more of a craft for me than my daughter, but she loved stamping the animal prints in various shades of blue to resemble tracks in the snow. I honestly love how it turned out and I'd put it up as a piece of handmade winter art in our house!)

Optional Additional Book: Whose Tracks Are These? by Jim Nail

Skills Built: observation, pattern recognition, imaginative play

Day 3: Pinecone Bird Feeders

Book Pairing: Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Roll pinecones in peanut butter (or any nut-butter alternative) and birdseed. Secure a piece of natural twine to hang them outdoors or simply place them on the ground, in tree branches, or in a bird feeder. This is a simple way to care for wildlife while learning patience and quiet observation.

Owl Moon sets the tone perfectly - gentle, hushed, and full of winter wonder, encouraging kiddos to be watching for wintering birds that share your home.

Optional Additional Book: Winter Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow

Skills Built: responsibility, empathy, nature awareness

Day 4: Ice Suncatchers With Natural Treasures

Book Pairing: Snow Is… by Laura Gehl

Fill shallow containers like a small round Tupperware with water, add leaves, berries, pine needles, or small twigs. Fold a piece of twine into a loop and attach to your container with tape so that the ends sit in the water (to make a hook) and freeze overnight. Even better, freeze them outdoors if your climate allows. Hang the ice creations outside and watch how light, temperature, and time transform them.

Snow Is… captures the poetic side of winter and invites kids to describe what they notice - just like this craft does.

Optional Additional Book: A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer

Skills Built: sensory exploration, patience, scientific curiosity

Day 5: Storyteller Stones

Book Pairing: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

Paint simple symbols (a cave, snowflakes, winter wildlife, a fire) onto smooth stones. You can even trace the shapes and have your kids paint in the lines. Or use a black marker to draw over their paintings to clarify what they represent. Paint markers would work great for this project too!

Use them to retell Bear Snores On or invent new winter stories together. Just like bear "spins tall tales through the blustery night" (this is my favorite children's book, I can quote it line for line), encourage your kids to make up stories based on a combination of the stones.

This craft blends literacy, creativity, and storytelling - perfect for cozy afternoons.

Optional Additional Book: Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper

Skills Built: language development, sequencing, imagination

Day 6: Sun-Printed Pine Needle Art

Book Pairing: The Most Beautiful Winter by Cristina Sitja Rubio

Paint a piece of high quality paper with 1tsp turmeric mixed with 5tbsp of rubbing alcohol strained through a coffee filter. Pro tip: wear gloves for this project - turmeric stains! Arrange pine needles, small branches, and other natural materials on the paper and lay out in the sun for 6 hours. If you have a piece of glass to place over it, it'll work better and prevent everything from blowing away (even a glass baking dish would be okay!). Dip into a solution of 1/3 cup Borax and 1 gallon water. Allow to dry completely and ta-da, you have a sun print!

The Most Beautiful Winter celebrates quiet beauty and seasonal change, making it a thoughtful companion to this slow, observant craft.

Optional additional book: Winter in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Skills built: Observation, patience, art exploration, basic math

Day 7: Snowman Nature Sculptures

Book Pairing: Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

Whether you have snow or not, kids can build snowmen (or any type of winter creature or wildlife) from found materials—pinecones, stones, bark, or even crafting materials like yarn, felt, and playdough inspired by nature. Encourage kids to use their imagination to create sculptures out in the snow or even indoors with playdough and natural materials. Talk about textures, colors, and vocabulary as they build.

Snowballs encourages creativity and shows that every snowman can be unique.

Optional Additional Book: A Cozy Winter Day by Eliza Wheeler

Skills Built: problem-solving, creativity, fine motor coordination

Nature Crafts Are the Perfect Winter Activity

I love crafting with my kids. It's the perfect activity to add to your rotation - whether they're of schooling age or still much younger. Although the outcome may not be what you envisioned, allowing young children to experiment with textures, colors, and materials helps with sensory development, fine motor skills, creativity, literacy, and imagination.

Nature-inspired winter crafts are all about:

• Slowing down after busy seasons

• Connecting indoor creativity with outdoor exploration

• Helping kids notice the small, quiet details of winter

• Building rhythms that blend books, nature, and hands-on learning

  
  

Winter doesn’t have to be something we rush through. It can be a season of noticing, creating, and remembering. And crafting is perfect rhythm to add to your everyday routine.

I’ll be updating this post with photos as we complete each day - check back soon, and feel free to save this list or share it with another family looking for simple winter magic.

Sometimes all it takes is a walk and a good book to begin. 🌲❄️