Tolkien was Right: Magic IS All Around Us!
Just yesterday I finished J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit. I had watched the Lord of the Rings movies, but for 2026 I have decided to actually read the books (partially related to my recent exodus from social media). The Hobbit was a quick, fun, and amazing read! If you’re unfamiliar with Tolkien’s works, he is essentially the guy who inspired all fantasy and magic stories after him. Elves, dragons, goblins, wizards, enchanted forests, magical stones, talking animals… his books have it all, and were the first books to really flesh-out a lot of those ideas!
Having been immersed in that world for the first week or so of 2026, I found myself still in it when I stepped outside. I heard the familiar cheerful sound of a bluebird the other morning and my first thought was “Ah, yes… the song of the birdfolk!”. Ridiculous? Maybe. Magical? Absolutely.
It was then that I had the idea for this blog post: the natural world around us, right here in Central Ohio, IS magical! There really are kingdoms of creatures above our heads and below our feet: Crows really do have dramatic days of territory wars, saving their comrades, and teaching their children. Springtails really do spend their days beneath the leaves and soil, performing important tasks for the giants above. Foxes and Coyotes really do almost disappear in their stealth as they live their lives on the periphery of ours.
All that said, I thought I’d share some of my ideas for making the outdoors magical and exciting for you and your kiddos. Kids already have some sense of the magic and mystery of plants and animals… we grownups just need some help remembering.
Sing Songs & Tell Tales
Me and my partner naturalists strive to have all of our activities in nature class relate to one of the Universal Child Passions, a list of activity-types that all kiddos everywhere love in one way or another. Two of those passions: storytelling and songs. Our ancestors likely spent nearly every night around a fire singing songs and telling stories. Today we typically outsource those activities… which is not terrible (this whole post is based on me reading a book after all), but I myself have experienced great joy through silly nature songs and stories.
Don’t know where to start? For stories, try having atleast 5 minutes of outside-time, observing. Then, tell your family (at the dinner table, bedtime, etc) what happened! Did you see a bird? What were they doing? Was the weather notable? Was there a lovely moon? Did you see any bugs or other animals? Give them a name! Instead of “I saw a bird.” you could try: “I saw Harold the bird… he was looking for food in our yard this morning!” You don’t have to know what every plant and animal is called to do this… but what a good reason to learn! (For wild animals and plants you can take a picture of, try the Seek app!)
If you are more dramatically-inclined, you can spin whole stories, starring nature locations your family knows (maybe your yard!) and animals who live nearby (what animals live in your neighborhood? Go for a walk and find out!)
For nature songs, just go for it! It doesn’t have to be a chart-topping single. A great way to start is by changing the words to a familiar tune, aka the “parody method”. I did that here with several familiar Christmas songs!
Go on Epic Quests
Another one of those Universal Child Passions: Running Errands! And aren’t almost all quests in books and movies basically… errands?
I like to do this outside by showing my class (or my own kiddos) a specific nature thing (collected earlier) and having them go find it! Perhaps specific plants for some “potions”, a perfect walking stick, a good place for their toy fairy to live (more on that later) etc.
Another form of this is seeking out specific wildlife, such as going out a night and hooting/looking for owls; Carefully looking under damp logs in Spring for salamanders; staying still in the yard and seeing which birds come to the feeder etc. An important note to tell the kiddos before you start: sometimes you find them and sometimes you don’t… you can always try again later!
These Quests don’t have to be hours-long, or daily. But when you DO go on them, bring a positive & adventurous attitude and the kiddos will follow your lead… and you’ll make lifelong memories for all of you!
Create a Tiny Realm
My wife will tell you I’m a bit of a Crow… meaning I collect things. One of those things: glass jars! You just never know when a good glass jar will come in handy… well, actually, here’s a good use for them: a living terrarium!
My brother and I recently went into my woods, took a few scoops of forest soil, some sticks with fungi, and some moss, and arranged them in large glass jars. We sprinkled some potting soil in park of it, along with some pebbles, and planted some Borage seeds. We’ve been texting pictures of our “worlds” back and forth since.
Having a small, living ecosystem right in your house can be a lot of fun! You and your kiddos can set it up, name different areas of the terrarium and makeup stories of what’s going on in there. There are lots of good guides online for making an ecosystem in a jar. Just remember some Do’s & Don’ts:
Do:
Collect natural material responsibly, with permission, and in small amounts.
Arrange your jar to make it interesting, perhaps with different elevations.
Put the lid back on.
Place in a bright, sunny room
Don’t:
Overwater it… if the soil you put in is already damp, don’t water at all. It should be about as wet as a wrung-out sponge.
Put in reach of very small kiddos
Capture larger animals such as frogs etc to put in there… they won’t survive. Small invertebrates like Roly Polies and Springtails will though!
Summon “Fairies”
One of the most fun things we’ve done as a family is get really into fairies! We made a fairy garden outside to play in, and then for winter we’ve made some awesome indoor succulent gardens for the girls to enjoy with their fairy and gnome toys. If you’re curious about tough succulents that can handle play like this, let me know… I’ve got a few left in stock! Making indoor and outdoor homes for the fairies with sticks, stones, bark etc is super fun, looks super cool, AND is healthy for you… just a few minutes of touching nature bits like that actually improves your immune system!
What do I mean by “Summon”? Well, something really cool happens if you plant some Ohio-native plants in your yard (in-ground or in a planter)… wildlife shows up! Want to summon hummingbirds to your backyard? Plant Ohio-native Scarlet Beebalm! Want to summon Bumblebees? Plant Ohio-native Jewelweed (makes great medicine for Poison Ivy too… plus the seedpods explode in a super fun way!) Want to summon Monarch Butterflies? Plant Ohio-native Rose Milkweed! Plant them and they will come… seriously! (Also, all those plants and more will be available this Spring from my nursery! Send me a message and we can get planning for YOUR yard!)
In Conclusion
So there you have it… the world is already magical… Yes, even right here in Central Ohio! To find this magic, all you have to do is look (and play, and sing, and plant… and have fun!). Have any questions about any of this? Want to share some magic your family experienced in nature? Want to “nerd-out” about The Hobbit? Send me a message! You can email me at Jaredthenatureguy@gmail.com. Also, be sure to checkout my new website: Jaredthenatureguy.com