Isn’t it amazing how small children can often yearn for junk?  Whether it be unhealthy food, entertainment, or plastic gizmos, they are like moths drawn to the flame of marketing.

How do we counteract this onslaught?  With treasure!  We have taken a shelf in our mud room and used it display our most precious discoveries.  They include several jars of oddly shaped rocks, a vase stuffed full of sticks, scattered acorns, a few shells, six black feathers, a pressed flower, and a handful of agates.

Honestly, the idea started just because I hated that bare shelf in the mudroom.  I couldn’t figure out what to put on it until my son showed me his first treasure, a pinecone complete with intricate spirals, perfectly spaced.  Once we proudly set it on the shelf, every walk turned into a treasure hunt.

Two years since the treasure room’s inception, we are constantly finding new additions on a weekly basis.  We sometimes have to clear it out, or pull another glass jar out of our recycling to contain a pile of loot, but it’s worth the effort.  Noticing the supreme perfection of nature is a great way for my son to connect with his environment, and to redirect his appreciation away from those piles of plastic.

Does your child have treasure trove of goodies somewhere in your home?  Do you find that they’re especially obsessed with acorns, seashells or some other spectacle of nature?