We have a new, temporary outdoor installation at our house right now.

It’s called a stick forest, and it’s one of our favorite ways to play in the snow when the snow just isn’t cooperating for snowballs and snowmen.

The concept is simple – collecting debris from the yard and placing it in an intentional way within a designated space. Younger siblings are just as capable of creating, or they can be the designated stick gatherers.

This particular project took close to an hour, and J worked happily and diligently at this task. He employed his sisters as gatherers, and broke and angled branches to create his desired effect.

A was particularly excited with a branch she found – it had some insect egg remnants wrapped around it.

I unfortunately couldn’t give her any more specifics, but she looked carefully and was rewarded.

We also discovered turkey, rabbit, and deer tracks as we were gathering.

I love this kind of activity – the opportunity for open-ended creative process, no examples or predefined expectations. It will all have melted by the weekend, but for today, it was good.