Nature Gift Store Blogs

Children’s Favorite Insects #2 – Caterpillars and Butterflies

Posted on February 15, 2012 by admin

Caterpillars hold a special place in the heart of many small children. There is something about their furry little bodies that they can’t resist. Whilst many adults can be squeamish when it comes to looking at, and touching, the wriggly bugs, toddlers are often mesmerized by them.

No doubt the brilliant pre-schoolers book by Eric Carle; The Very Hungry Caterpillar has done much to increase the popularity of caterpillars amongst our little people. The book charts a caterpillar’s week of eating until he transform into a beautiful butterfly.

The life cycle of a butterfly is something that fascinates children and adults alike, that a hairy, wriggly bug can turn into a wondrous creature that is as light as a feather and pretty as a picture.

Live butterfly kits are an excellent way to teach children about caterpillars and butterflies, they can see up close the changes that the insect undergoes. Butterfly kits can be used for an insect lesson plan for the classroom or home-school.

You can study their life cycle, behavior, anatomy, and how different environmental factors affect them. These kits are fun and popular for hands-on insect lesson plans! Caterpillars take approximately 3 weeks to develop into butterflies and can even be reared inside during the colder months, making it a great all-year round activity.

Often times, the caterpillar gets a bad ride, vegetable gardeners are not so keen to have their prized cabbages and lettuces munched away at, but caterpillars and butterflies can be a fabulously colorful addition to a flower garden.

Butterflies are some of the most beautiful and interesting creatures on Earth. By planting a butterfly garden with all of the right kinds of plants and flowers that butterflies love to feed on and lay eggs on, you will certainly have a yard full of butterflies throughout the growing season. Butterfly gardens can be any size – a window box, part of your landscaped yard, or even a wild untended area on your property.

Creating a butterfly garden should start with some serious research to learn which kinds of butterflies are native to your area. You can learn that from our article “Butterfly Gardening by Area”. Make a list of all of the different kinds of butterflies you would like to attract, and then learn which flowers and plants they both feed on and lay eggs on. All of the plants will certainly be native to your area and therefore easy to grow with the right conditions and care. Adult butterflies will visit for a longer period if they find plants to lay their eggs on. These are called ‘Host Plants’ and you can read about them in our article on “Butterfly Host Plants.”

Another way to attract butterflies is to have feeders and butterfly houses. Slots in the Butterfly Houses keep birds out while giving butterflies protection from the wind and weather. Place the butterfly house in your garden, and when it gets cool at night the butterflies seek shelter and may use your house. By having a nectar source close by (flowers and/or our butterfly feeder) butterflies are more likely to visit your butterfly house. Each Butterfly House has a door for cleaning and for placing long twigs inside to give butterflies a nice resting spot. Have fun and take delight in watching your beautiful new neighbors enjoy their home.

Posted in Live Animal Kits, Live Butterfly Kit, Nature Projects | Tagged butterflies, caterpillars, children's nature project, Eric Carle, insect, live butterfly kits, Nature Gift Store, very hungry caterpillar | Leave a comment

Great Pets for Kids – Hermit Crabs

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

Watching a live pet Hermit Crab play on a sandy beach all day is great fun for children wanting to learn all about exotic and different wildlife, as well as teach them about the responsibility of caring for an animal.

Pet hermit crabs are great fun to have, they have superb personalities and are playful and love to dig and explore. But hermit crabs aren’t so easy to find anymore in the pet stores. This is because hermit crabs are considered exotic pets because they aren’t native to the United States. Most pet hermit crabs sold in the United States come from the Caribbean rainforests and the ocean sands of Ecuador.

Taking care of hermit crabs takes a lot of work and you should be ready to do the work in order to keep your hermit crabs happy and healthy. If you are ready to put the work into your hermit crab care, then you will really enjoy having these wonderful little exotic pets. If you aren’t willing to work hard at caring for hermit crabs, then you should maybe think about another type of pet because hermit crabs cannot live without the proper care. We don’t recommend hermit crabs as pets for children under 8. Take a look at this factsheet on caring for hermit crabs.

Habitat

Hermit crab care starts with giving them the appropriate habitat. Start with a clear tank because they are the best to be able to watch your hermit crab dig and play. In order to properly take care of hermit crabs you will want to provide them with some good, clean sand or gravel in the bottom of the tank, or better yet, a substrate called forest bedding, which is made out of coconut fibers. The forest bedding stays moist longer, although you don’t want it to be too wet, and it is a better consistency for the hermit crabs to dig their tunnels into.

Water and Food

Caring for hermit crabs means that you have to provide them with the proper food and water. Food can be purchased at the local pet store. There is special hermit crab food that you can buy. Or, you can look up your species of hermit crab care and see what kinds of foods they like to eat so that you can give your hermit crabs special treats once in a while. They will also eat the forest bedding and the wood from driftwood pieces that you might put in the tank.

Water should be kept clean and free of chlorine. There are drops or tablets that you can buy at the pet store that will remove the chlorine from tap water. You don’t necessarily have to regularly bathe your hermit crabs, but you will want to provide them with a bowl of water that they can climb in and out of that is about an inch deep. Hermit crabs will bathe themselves.

Handling

Part of caring for hermit crabs is loving your hermit crabs. To show them that you love them you might want to take them out of their cages and hold them sometimes. This is fine, but remember that hermit crabs have pinchers and they might pinch you, and it can hurt. Sometimes hermit crabs pinch because they are nervous and sometimes it is because they are hungry, so if your hermit crab is pinching you should put him back in the cage and make sure it has food. If he isn’t pinching, then he probably likes it when you hold him.

Live hermit crab kits are available, complete with large habitat, 2 LIVE Crabs, colored sand, food, 2 extra shells, sponge with clamshell for water, clamshell food dish, choia wood for climbing, plastic palm tree, plastic plant, water mister, water treatment solution and care instructions.

Posted in Hermit Crabs, Live Animal Kits, Pets for Children | Tagged exotic animals, hermit crab, live animal kits, Nature Gift Store, pets, pets for children | Leave a comment

Winter nature project – attracting birds to your backyard

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

Winter is a time where nature projects generally have to be conducted indoors due to the weather. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t watch what is happening outside.

Attracting winter birds to your backyard will give you and your children many hours of fun, spotting, and watching the behavior of your new visitors in the comfort and warmth of your own home.

You can attract birds whatever the size of your garden, so long as you have food, water and shelter then a variety of birds will come back winter after winter to delight you.

Here are some tips to start attracting birds to your backyard

Plant trees and hedges to provide natural shelter and places to build nests
Planting native plants will encourage the right insects for native birds
A lawn will provide space for birds to hunt for insects and worms
A bird house will provide a great nesting place in a small backyard and can easily be attached to a fence post or the side of the house
Create a bird bath, try to have varied depth to suit different sized birds
Keep the bird bath fresh and clean, and free from ice when it gets really cold
Ensure any bird tables and bird houses are out of the reach of cats
Use mesh wired feeders that will keep away squirrels and other larger animals (you can leave out food elsewhere for other wildlife if you want)
Find out which birds are native to your area and use the internet to find out what their favorite foods are, although you will attract many birds using bread (fresh not stale), nuts, seeds, fats such as bacon rind, or meat trimmings, and fresh and dried fruits. Even kitchen left-overs such as rice, pasta, potatoes etc. will go down well with your new feathered friends
Round Bird House $25.95
Try to have your feeding table or bird house under cover if possible, to keep it dry and warm
Be consistent, birds will become used to your food supply so make sure you replenish often

And finally… keep a camera or video recorder close to the window so you can snap any new visitors you have.

Nature Gifts Stores has a variety of bird and other animal feeders and houses to help attract wildlife to your backyard all year round.

photo credit

Posted in Birds, nature gifts, Nature Projects | Tagged birds, nature project, winter birds, winter garden, winter project | Leave a comment

5 Great Houseplants for Children

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin

Creating little green fingers can be a rewarding experience for both parent/teacher and child alike and a fun project to start at any time of the year.

Ideal houseplants for young children to look after should be interesting, colorful if possible, and crucially, hard to kill. We’ve put together a list of houseplants that we think fit the bill perfectly to start your journey of indoor gardening together.

Before you begin growing houseplants with your children, make sure they realise that houseplants shouldn’t be eaten and make sure that any plants you have are non-toxic and non-irritant. The following plants should be avoided: Azalea, Daffodils, Holly and Mistletoe (berries are poisonous), Hyacinth, Mistletoes, Mountain Laurel, Oleander, Philodendron and Ranunculus.

Venus Fly Traps

Venus fly traps and other carnivorous plants make for great houseplants, they are easy to grow from seed, easy to care for, and last for years. Children will love watching them devour flys and other small bugs.

Lily Pads

It’s remarkable quick and easy to grow your own lily pads. Just drop your seeds in the bowl of water and watch in awe as they sprout in less than two weeks. Roots will start forming a couple of weeks later, and before you know it, you will see your own LilyPads popping out.

Cacti and Succulents

Cactus are great for older children who will be able to handle them without hurting themselves. They are almost impossible to kill and come in a wonderful variety of colors, textures, shapes and sizes. They are also very easy to grow from seed and only need watering once a month. You can create a wonderful cactus garden that takes up very little space.

Dinosaur Plant

A Prehistoric evergreen that keeps coming back to life! This one-of-a-kind marvel has lived on the Earth for over 290 million years and has the ability to “come back to life” over and over again for hundreds of years! Place this seemingly dead ball of foliage in water and within hours it transforms into a vibrant green evergreen! Let it dry out and it will return to the dried state it ships in. This fantastic specimen can hibernate for up to fifty years and will spring to life every time it is given water.

‘Tickle Me’ Plant

Can you remember your first houseplant? What was it?

Posted in Carnivorous Plants, Exotic Plants, Houseplants for Children, Nature Projects | Tagged cacti, cactus, carnivorous plants, children, dinosaur plant, houseplants, lily pad, succulents, tickle me plant, venus fly trap | Leave a comment

‘Tickle Me’ Plant Winner

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Congratulations to Lara Molettiere who is the winner of a Tickle Me plant! We hope you enjoy it.

We have a range of exotic plant at our online store. Grow bug-eating plants like Venus Fly Traps from seeds! Watch as these fascinating plants grow from harmless seeds into bug-eating monsters right before your very eyes. Our Venus Fly Trap and Pitcher Plant kits produce carnivorous plants that will flourish for years in the specially designed terrariums. Or try our cool Cactus Garden kit, Dinosaur Plant kit, Butterfly Flowers, and giant Jungle Greenhouse – fun and interesting gifts for kids or adults.

For other fab insect and nature inspired gifts visit our website.

Posted in Exotic Plants, nature gifts | Tagged cactus, dinosaur plant, exotic plants, pitcher plant, tickle me plant, venus fly trap | Leave a comment

‘Tickle Me’ Plant Christmas Competition

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

We’re running another competition just in time for the holidays. If you have a loved one that loves nature and exotic plants, this competition could be right up your street. We are offering one lucky reader a chance to win a large ‘tickle me’ plant.

Moving ‘Tickle Me’ Plant

These plants actually move when touched! Spark the interest of young, curious scientists and plant lovers of all ages. Grow your ‘Tickle Me Plant‘ from seeds and watch it move when tickled! Exciting for every child and an educational experience they will never forget. Everything you need to grow your own ‘Tickle Me Plant’ family is included, even a little plastic greenhouse. Grow indoors year-round! Guaranteed to Grow.

This prize is perfect for a winter home-school project or makes a great talking point in the office or classroom!

To enter this give away simply leave a message in the comments section describing who you’d love to give this Tickle Me plant to and why they would love it so much. The winner will be chosen at random on December 12th and announced on this blog and our twitter account. We will also contact the winner by email (email addresses will NOT appear in the comments section).

Nature Gift Store is also on Facebook and Twitter – please follow us for an extra chance to win and to keep up with all our latest news. Say hi to us on our Facebook page so we know you’re following, and RT our competition on twitter.

* This competition is only open to those living in continental USA. No cash alternative will be offered. While we will try to make sure that the prize reaches you in time for Christmas we can offer no guarantees.

Check out our website to find more great nature inspired gifts including exotic plants, live insect and small animal kits and other home and garden gifts.

Posted in Exotic Plants, nature gifts, Nature Projects | Tagged children and nature, exotic plants, holiday gift ideas, Nature Gift Store, tickle me plant | 7 Comments

Who’s the Craw-Daddy

Posted on November 9, 2011 by admin

Crawdads or Crayfish make excellent pets for nature loving children. They are great to observe and make a great home-school project or classroom addition as they are very low maintenance and can live for several years.

Crawdads come from freshwater bodies of water around the world and there are over 500 species in this world, with 350 of those species living in North America! They are often known by other names such as Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdaddy, Yabbie, and Mudbug, and are very closely related to the Lobster.

During the day they like to hide under rocks and vegetation, but at night watch them come alive and do all sorts of fascinating things!

Crawdads are solitary creatures who prefer their own company so it’s important to only have one crawdad in a habitat.

Crawdads like both plants and protein to eat. Shrimp pellets are a Crawdad favorite. In addition to the shrimp pellets, they also like live plants and enjoy munching on the leaves. The live plant is very important because it helps add oxygen to the water. Important: if your plant dies or your Crawdad completely eats it you should get another one for the Habitat. Some Crawdads only eat at night so you may never see yours eating.

Crawdads will eat a wide variety of foods and it can be fun to experiment to see which your pet likes the best. Place some clover stems in with the Crawdad and observe; sometimes a Crawdad will grab a clover stem and feed the stem into its mouth like spaghetti! Also try dry cat food, a bit of hot dog, bacon, a live minnow, or bits of eggshell.

Start by feeding your Crawdad one pellet of food each day. You can drop the pellets right into the water. You don’t need to place the food near your pets hiding spot as it will smell the food and go out looking for it. Don’t worry if the Crawdad doesn’t eat for a week or more; he will eat when hungry. As your Crawdad grows you will need to increase the number of food pellets. Because left over food will decay – and having dirty water will harm the Crawdad – it is important not to overfeed him.

Clean water is very important to the Crawdad –most problems Crawdads have are caused by water that is not clean. Once a week, more often if the water looks cloudy, clean the Habitat and change its water. Important: Before you clean the habitat (or pick up your Crawdad) you must have clean hands with no soap or lotion on them that could get into the Habitat or on your Crawdad. To do this, first wash your hands and rinse them VERY well.

Crawdads are not the kind of pet that you pet, but you can pick him up if you’d like. Adult supervision is required when handling the Crawdad because he can inflict a painful pinch if he feels threatened. Wash your hands very well before and after handling your Crawdad. Only handle him over soft surfaces or above the Habitat in case he startles you and you drop him. Crawdads are safe to hold as long as they are picked up from behind the head by its shell so that you don’t get pinched. Approach the Crawdad from behind. Grasp it firmly on his shell behind the pincers and pick it up. It may try to reach back, but don’t worry- it will not be able to reach you.

Crawfish can be bought all year round so make a great winter nature project.

Posted in Live Animal Kits, Live Crawdad Kit, nature gifts, Nature Projects | 1 Comment

Fun School Projects – Carnivorous Plants

Posted on October 25, 2011 by admin

Carnivorous plants make excellent fun science projects for both school and home schooling, your children will be amazed that such a small, humble looking plant can devour insects.

Carnivorous plants are meat eating plants that need the nutrients from their natural growing conditions, like air, water and soil, to live as well as the nutrients from the insects and other bugs and arachnids that they consume. Carnivorous plants grow naturally in swampy areas around the world where the water that is constantly running over and below the ground washes the nutrients away in the soil. In order to get those missing nutrients, the plants have adapted and learned to eat the meat from the small animals that land on them. Some popular carnivorous plants that you can purchase and grow at home are venus fly traps, sundew plants, and pitcher plants.

According to the International Carnivorous Plant Society (www.sarracenia.com), to be classified as a carnivorous plant:

Prey must find its way to the trap, and is usually encouraged to do so by attractants fabricated by the plant.
Prey must be captured by the plant.
The prey must die while in the clutches of the plant.
The prey must be digested.
The nutrients from the prey must be assimilated by the plant.

There are many carnivorous plants that can be found in the wilderness around the world. Here’s a bit about each of the 3 most popular carnivorous plants:

Venus Fly Trap

The Dionaea muscipula, more commonly known as the venus fly trap, is a carnivorous plant that looks like a big mouth with teeth that opens all the way up and just waits for an animal, like a spider or an insect, to land on it. The mouth (trap) will then close around the prey and the plant will eat it.

The way a venus fly trap captures its food is by waiting for a life form to land or crawl on the trap – twice. The trap won’t close on the first landing because it isn’t sure that it is an animal. It could have just been a leaf falling. But when it feels the animal again in a very short period of time, it will close in on the bug very quickly and begin the process of eating it. Venus fly traps can be found growing in the swamps of the Carolinas mostly, but have also been found in the Pine Barrons of New Jersey and in Northern Florida.

Sundew

The sundew, scientific name Drosera, looks like a beautiful flower or a very cool looking stem with dewdrops all over it, but the dewdrops are actually mucilage (like mucous) at the ends of the tentacles that it uses to trap its prey. The sundew preys on insects primarily, and wait for the insects to land on the inviting flowers. The insect gets stuck in the mucilage and then gets digested. There are about 170 different species of sundew plants in places like Africa, Venezuela and Australia.

Pitcher Plant

The pitcher plant comes in all shapes and sizes, and grow around the world in different variations and species. The North American pitcher plant looks like a rolled up leaf forming a tube. Inside that tube is a gel substance that traps insects that make their way into the tube. Some species of pitcher plants have a fly paper type of trap rather than a tube trap, which is called a pitfall trap. Some pitcher plants look like flowers, some like stems, and some look like leaves.

You can purchase these carnivorous plants online and have them delivered right to your home or office. They make a wonderful conversation piece, and some people even consider them a sort of a pet. No matter what you think of your carnivorous plant, you will think it is fun.

Watch as these fascinating plants grow from harmless seeds into bug-eating monsters right before your very eyes. Our Venus Fly Trap and Pitcher Plant kits produce carnivorous plants that will flourish for years in the specially designed terrariums.

Posted in Carnivorous Plants, Nature Projects | Leave a comment

Frogs as Pets for Children

Posted on October 6, 2011 by admin

Frogs make great pets, and either for the home or for the school classroom they are perfect for children to observe nature up close and personal.

There are many different types of frogs that make excellent pet choices for smaller children, that are easy to look after and don’t require a large habitat. You could start by buying a live tadpole kit, that way your children will get to see the life cycle of the frog, or if you prefer you could choose from a selection of dwarf or smaller frogs that are already adults.

Grow a Frog Kit $29.95

Remember though, frogs don’t actually like being petted. Contact with them should be minimal but much enjoyment can be had by observing them.

African Dwarf Frogs

African Dwarf frogs are great for teaching young children about the responsibilities of keeping a pet. They are social animals so we sell them in pairs and are quite hardy which is why they are a great choice for children. Also they are only 1 to 1½ inches long so have the cute factor.

Dwarf Frog Kits $29.95

African Dwarf frogs can live for several years and exist on a diet that includes bloodworms, brine shrimp, live guppy free, glassworms, amphibian food pellets and earthworms.

Red Eyed Tree Frog

Red Eyed Tree frogs are beautiful, colorful creatures with bright red eyes, vivid green back and orange toes. These creatures grow to about 2-3 inches and love to climb and jump. They have a life expectancy of around 4 to 10 years.

Whilst these frogs can be delicate they are a good choice for the beginner. They like to eat live insects so its always good fun watching them catch their dinner! Red Eyed Tree Frogs are nocturnal so they may not be the best choice for a school classroom pet.

White’s Tree Frog

White’s Tree frogs are bigger and much hardier frogs, making them a great choice for a beginner frog keeper. They love their food and have earned themselves the nickname of “Dumpy” tree frog as they have a tendency to eat a little too much and become overweight.

These frogs are native to Australia and can live up to a whopping 21 years old. They grow up to 4 inchs long.

Tomato Frog

Well known for its bright red color, the Tomato Frog is one of the most colorful species of frogs there are. The back of the frog is usually orangish-red to bright red with yellowish undersides and sometimes black spots on their throats. While males are usually a little orange to brown in color, younger ones are usually a little pale; acquiring their bright colors only once they mature. It is common to buy babies that are more of a brown color and grow them into colorful adults.

The Tomato Frog is a primarily terrestrial amphibian, which means they prefer the ground to climbing in trees. In their natural habitat, they burrow into the ground and await unwary insects that might wander close to it. Once within their reach, they grab their victim with their mouths and eat them. They can live between 6-8 years and are about 2-4 inches long when adult.

Golden Tree Frog

The Golden Tree Frog changes color with changing temperatures. They are usually in color ranges between browns and bright yellow and sometimes develop black spots on their backs. They have an angular shaped head that narrows down to a pointed nose. These frogs have extremely strong hind legs that help them propel themselves to a staggering 7 feet or more. Given these legs, the Golden Tree Frogs tend to appear as though they’re gliding from one treetop to another, when they are viewed in their natural habitat.

This frog can grow to between 1½ and 4 inches long and live for up to 6 years. Golden Tree frogs are native to India.

Pac Man Frogs

They are commonly known as “Pac Man” frogs because of their fairly round shape and really large mouth, which makes them resemble the popular video game character. They are also called “Horned Frogs” due to the presence of horn-like fleshy knobs on the top of their eyes.

These ground dwelling frogs can live for up to a decade and grow to 4-6 inches.

Fire Bellied Toad

The Oriental Fire Bellied Toads get their name from their bellies that have fluorescent orange spots. They have grass-green colored backs with black spots, large eyes and heart shaped pupils. The males tend to have a rougher texture to their skin and have fat front legs compared to females.

These little fellas only grow to a couple of inches but sure make up for size with their bright colors. These toads make a great choice for beginners but they can live for up to 15 years.

Posted in Live Tadpole Kit, Pet Frogs | Tagged African dwarf frogs, children & nature, frogs, home school projects, nature projects, school projects, tadpole kits | Leave a comment

Nature Projects for Fall: Fallen Leaves

Posted on September 12, 2011 by admin

Fall is a great time for nature watching, the change of season brings such a festival of color and texture to our landscapes.

Lots of creatures are busying themselves preparing for the winter ahead, gathering nuts, making nests and finding their hibernation spot.

The reds, goldens and oranges of the leaves dapples the light splendidly and whilst all those fallen leaves become a pain in the butt for gardeners, they make great accessories for nature projects.

Here are just a few fun ways to enjoy the fallen leaves:

Can your child match the leaf to the tree, collect various different leaves and look them up on the internet?

See if your child can draw the leaf shapes.

Look for seed pods and nuts such as acorns, chestnuts etc.

Explain which animals like to eat the nuts.

Collect some leaves to make leaf rubbing with – simple have the leaf underneath some paper, vein side up and then rub over the leaf with a crayon

Make a collage picture of different types of leaves, using the different colored leaves.

String lots of dried leaves together with string or ribbon to make a wreath or paste on a paper plate and cut out the middle.

Spray cones, kernels and leaves with gold and silver paint or cover with glue and sprinkle with glitter and save for decorations for the holidays.

Collect all the fallen leaves in your backyard into a big pile and then roll in them

What fall nature projects will you be doing with your children?

For more ideas of nature projects for school or home check out our website. We have live animal kits, coloring books, activity books, puzzles, stickers and much, much more to help your child learn about nature.