Finding and Using Color from Nature

God's creation is beautiful! We've been homeschooling for nine years now and I have always tried to teach my children to love nature, to love God's wonderful creation. Each day, we can find God's love poured out in the colors of nature. Help your children experience His love-take them on a hike or take them outdoors to experience the vibrant colors of the natural world. Every season has its own colors and its own beauty. You can experience the colors of nature through many fun and educational activities.

Instead of coloring Easter eggs with store bought dye, try crushing blueberries to make dye. The blueberry colored eggs are a wonderful speckled blue that will add a special touch to your Easter basket. Nature is full of wonderful colors that you can use to color all of your Easter eggs. Crushed red berries, yellow and orange flowers, herbs and even the green grass can create the most wonderful eggs you have ever seen. Children will love helping to pick the flowers, grass and berries used for crushing, too. My children also love preparing the natural dyes for our Easter eggs. Our kitchen becomes a natural chemistry lab as we prepare the color concoctions! Not only do the vibrant colors wow the eyes, but using nature, you'll be able to taste and smell God's natural world as you dabble.

My children love to make their own paints from nature. I'm not sure what part they love best-the picking and crushing, the cooking or the actual painting! We have several recipes that we use for making our paints and many times, our youngest son just makes it up as he goes along. We've used these art lessons as science lessons, too. You can teach them about the berries, leaves and flowers that are picked from the yard or garden as you go along. You can teach math as you measure ingredients for the recipes and you can also teach art. My boys love to mix red and blue to make purple or red and yellow to make orange. Learning happens as they are having fun.

I have used recipes from various magazines and books over the years. The easiest way to paint from nature is to use the crushed plant or berry matter as is. Crush raspberries or blueberries, dip the brush in the juice and start painting your canvas! You can heat the plant material in water (it is best to use water without chlorine), simmering for 30 minutes and then let it cool before using as paint or you can soak the material in water for up to a week without heating to use as your natural paint. No matter what method you choose, I hope that you will have fun as you explore God's wonderful creation and create your art masterpieces!