As a child I used to make rowanberry necklaces at the end of summer holidays and in the beginning of the school year. My school was 10min walking distance from my house and I always walked through a park where there were a lot of rowan trees giving beautiful red berries.

Together with my friends, we used to pick-up the most beautiful berries to make little jewellery for us or our dolls :) I also remember that we did some crafts with the berries at school to improve our fine motor skills.

This autumn we went for a 4 day family trip to Montreal, Mont Tremblant and Montebello. The weather was gorgeous and we did a lot of walking in different parks and in the mountains. And we saw a lot of rowan trees!

So when I told my daughter that she could actually make 'things' from these beautiful red rowan berries, she couldn't wait to be back home. Finally we decided to make a necklace and she did it all on her own! She loves all kinds of fine motor activities and she was really delighted when I told her she would use a real needle. I helped her with the thread and after a few minutes the necklace was ready. I can't tell you how proud she was!

While making the necklace, you can also do a lot of different activities with your kids: count the berries before you start, count the ones already used, etc. If you have different sizes of berries, then you can divide them in groups and count them too. When the necklace is ready, you can also use it to make different shapes, etc. Be creative and have fun! :)

Step1 Pick up some rowan berries. You may use them fresh or dry them for a couple of days. They should not be too dry as they may be too hard to work with. Ours were dried during a 5 days before we actually used them.

Step2 Put the thread in the needle and let your child do the work :) The needle should be inserted in the black dot that is visible on the berry. This way, your child will know where to start. The needle should come on the opposite side of the berry, otherwise, the berry may not hold to the thread properly.

Step3 When all the berries are done, make a knot at the end of the thread. Depending of what kind of berries you have used (fresh or dry) you may need to dry the necklace for a couple of days. Enjoy!

DIY rowanberry necklace - fine motor skills activity for kids