Caterpillar Clubhouse Nature Preschool

Today at Art and Nature our little learners became cactus explorers! 🌵 We learned that cacti are special plants that are built to live in hot, dry places. We talked about how their thick stems help them store water and how their prickly spines help protect them. We even learned that cacti can grow beautiful flowers! 🌸

Then we put our learning into action and made our very own little cactus creations to take home. 🌵

Little hands, big discoveries, and lots of learning through nature and creativity! Another day of growing, learning, and blooming together at Caterpillar Clubhouse

About our Program…..

🌿 Help Us Build Our Nature Kids Zone at Anna’s Acres Farm! 🐐🐄

We’re so excited to be creating a hands-on Nature Kids Zone and petting zoo at Anna’s Acres Farm! Kids will be able to explore, imagine, and learn alongside our Highland cows, multiple breeds of goats, chickens, ducks, peacocks, and soon to be adding rabbits.

Our Nature Kids Zone will be used during field trips, farmers market days, family farm events, parties, and other special events, giving children a place to create, discover, and connect with nature.

One of the projects I’m most excited about is our outdoor mud kitchen (even if the husband Michael the visionary doesn’t know he’s coming out of retirement to build it yet! 😂).

We’re hoping to give new life to items that might otherwise be headed for the trash. Please don’t go out and buy anything. We’re simply looking for gently used items you’re replacing or no longer need.

🌿 We’re looking for:

🍳 Old pots and pans
🥄 Cooking utensils
🥣 Metal mixing bowls
🥄 Measuring cups and spoons
🫖 Metal tea kettles or teapots
🍪 Cookie sheets or muffin tins
☕ Cups and mugs (no glass, please)
🥫 Metal colanders, strainers, or pie tins
🪣 Buckets, watering cans, funnels, and scoops
🧁 Muffin tins, ice cube trays, or old baking pans
🪵 Wooden spoons, rolling pins, cutting boards, or wooden bowls
Non-working microwave
Non-working toaster oven
Small wooden shelves, crates, baskets, or stools
🌿 Anything else that would make a fun addition to an outdoor mud kitchen!

🚜 We’re also looking for:

🐄 Little plastic farm animals
🚜 Toy barns, tractors, and farm playsets
👨‍🌾 people or farm figurines
📚 Children’s books about real farms and farm animals
🪵 Wooden toys, wooden figurines, tree cookies, blocks, bowls, or loose parts
🌲 large seed pods, or other safe nature treasures
🧺 Baskets, buckets, and containers for collecting nature finds

Honestly, if it’s something a child can safely use to pretend, build, sort, stack, collect, create, or imagine with, we’d love it! It doesn’t have to be an actual toy. Children have incredible imaginations, and some of their favorite play materials are everyday items with a second life. The only thing we ask is no glass, for safety.

If you have any of these items sitting around and would like to donate them, I would be so grateful! I can gladly do a porch pickup, or you’re welcome to drop items off at Caterpillar Clubhouse Nature Preschool.

Thank you for helping us create a magical place where children can explore, imagine, and connect with nature. Every donated item will be loved by many little hands for years to come. ❤️