To my delight Cragbaby has discovered a love for housekeeping.  I’m not sure where he got that gene from, because both his Mommy and his Daddy are scarcely cleaner than dirty hippies, but I won’t question it.  His favorite cleaning apparatus is the broom, or in his words, the “bwuh, bwuh” and he is ranked as a top cleaner  in the family now.” So the other morning, while hanging out on a blanket underneath our oak trees, searching for cicada shells (another favorite pasttime, more on that here), a light bulb went off in my head – why not celebrate his love for sticks, curiousity with plants, and new-found love for sweeping with an outdoor craft project?

“How’s this one, Mommy?”

Organizing the “bristles”

After prying crunchy cicada shells out of C’s hands (one JUST missed going down the hatch), I finally convinced him to help me gather the materials.  A few minutes later and ta da – the Green Hour Broomstick was born!

MATERIALS:
Stick – In your search for the perfect broom handle, the best sticks are thick enough to be sturdy, but not so thick that your child can’t wrap his hands around it easily.  A good length is not quite as tall as your child’s shoulders.
Bristles – There are any number of natural materials you could use for the broom bristles.  We used the wheat-ish looking tufts from the zebra grass growing on the side of our driveway.  Basically any sort of grass that clumps together well will work.  (Or you could always use small twigs and make a rake!)
Binding – Again, a variety of options would work.  Rubberbands, twine, or in our case – zip ties we raided from Daddy’s toolbox!  It doesn’t really matter what you use, but if your little sweeper is as enthusiastic as mine, just make sure your binding will be sturdy enough to withstand even the most vigorous of use!

Minutes to make = hours of sweeping fun!
What inspired-by-nature craft ideas have been instant favorites in your family?