My kids are constantly collecting sticks, rocks, leaves and feathers, and for the most part I have allowed them to do so. We always have to have a conversation about leaving natural places intact when we visit National or State Parks, but on walks to school or visits to city parks it's not uncommon for us to haul a new stick or fancy leaf home. I figured we would do something artistic with all of these things they have collected, but the piles were getting so big I decided something had to be done. Plus, I thought it would be nice to have some way of knowing where different items were collected from, and when. For smaller items (leaves, dried flowers, etc), we created "Nature Books," full of plastic sheet protectors that they can tape their findings inside and document where they came from. Just last weekend after Mass the girls were thrilled by the red leaves on the ground in front of the church, so they each gathered up a handful and stuck them in their books. We even discovered a dead praying mantis on our back porch that the girls are anxious to make a page for.
With the larger items (pine cones, sticks, etc) I would like to build some sort of display that sits in our covered entry where they can show off their newest finds for a short while before they make their way to the green waste and are replaced by even newer treasures. More on that later. As for their collections up this point, well, they are sitting in paper grocery bags at the side of the house. Perhaps one of these days we will drag them out and rediscover all those things we have forgotten about.
