Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Keeping Company :: Our Nature Study Collection and Display

I was excited when I saw Celeste's prompt for this month's Keeping Company link-up because I am really pleased with our nature study collection and display.  Our display has lived in a few different places, and at one point moved to a temporary location on the hutch by our dining room table.  Well, this location ended up being not so temporary, because we all decided we liked it in this prominent place.

Yes, there it is, centered under that south facing window on our dining room hutch.

And here's a closer look of our display.  I got this wooden case from a homeschooler who was "retiring" because her kids were heading off to high school.  I'm not sure what she used it for, but when I saw it, it screamed "Nature Study Display!" to me.  My father-in-law informed me that it was a packing crate for soda bottles once upon a time, back in the days before plastic.  When we got it some of the smaller dividers were already missing, which has worked well for our purposes.

We keep bones, leaves, interesting rocks, pine cones, acorns, seed hulls, little things made of natural materials like a few pine needle baskets, dead insects and insect molts, dried lichen and moss, and sea shells on our shelves. We have a repurposed strawberry basket on the left that we use for holding feathers, and another basket on the right for bigger shells.  The wooden box on the right holds my rock, fossil and shell collection from when I was a child (I guess I've always been a keeper!)  My collection is a combination of bought and found, and I take it out periodically to show the kids some rocks, fossils and other things things we wouldn't find around here.

I've tried taking pictures at different times of day but the lighting is always difficult.  I wish I could share better pictures with you!

I lightly dust our display every six weeks or so, and twice a year - generally spring and late fall - I take it all off, dust, rearrange, and together sort through the accumulated treasures, deciding what needs to return outside and what is going to stay.  

Yes, it looks like a mushroom, but it is actually a growth we found on an oak branch several years ago.

The process of deciding what goes and stays has gotten easier as the kids have gotten older and more experienced.  We started this when my oldest was six or so, and it seemed like we had to keep everything forever back then!  But now they are generally a little more selective about what they want to see displayed, and about what they want to keep.  The youngers are a little less discerning, but they are generally willing to listen to their older siblings.  And I've been known to toss a few leaves and rocks outside periodically to keep the display from getting too overwhelming in between the big reorganizations.  I do try to ask first, and generally after something has been displayed for a couple weeks the child won't mind it getting put back outside.


11 comments:

  1. I love your Nature display, Amber! Lots of variation on those shelves. It gives me an idea for my hubby and boys: they could make one of these from the left-over cedar lumber from the book shelves they made last year. Thanks for the tip. :)

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    1. That is a great idea, Lisa! The cedar would look really nice - and I like the idea of giving your husband and boys a project too. :-)

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  2. I love this! There are piles of "nature displays" all over my house (mostly Evelyn's rock collections). I'm going to find something similar to keep it all organized and displayed.

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    1. Yes, we used to have that too, and I love having a place for it all so we don't end up with piles everywhere. Emma and Nathan have both really gone through a rock stage and when that was going on I set out a bowl or basket just for all the rocks that had to come home for display. And when it was full, it was time to do some sorting...

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  3. I am dying for a small cubby display like this one. I do like our tray, but I'd like one of these too, especially for items that are not in constant seasonal rotation but we still want to have organized for viewing. Right now, all our "extras" are in small boxes and not at all accessible to the kids. And I love that it's in your dining area, in the middle of the hubbub. It looks great in that spot!

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    1. Thanks! It is interesting to watch people's reactions to it, because it is very prominent but definitely non-traditional. I think it gets better cared for when it is so prominent, and more appreciated too by the kids.

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  4. So quaint and beautiful! Thanks for sharing. It would be wonderful to have something like this in our home as well. I have an basket for more recent finds, but the majority are up high in cases or vases out of reach, although still (mostly) visible.

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  5. This is wonderful! We have an antique Coke-bottle wooden case that is similar but quite small. I've kept tea lights in a few of the slots but this is such a better idea! I'm going to repurpose it as a nature display this very afternoon!

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