This fun bird's nest was one of our projects today for learning about birds! It was incredibly easy to make and very educational (and pretty!!)

We started out the morning by making our "eggs" out of a flour, salt, and water clay (1c flour, 1/3c salt, 1/2c water). We rolled the dough between our fingers and squished it with our hands, and made it into eggs. Then we placed our eggs into a muffin tin to bake. Have your child place the tin into a COLD oven, and THEN set the temperature to 225*. Bake for at least 3-4 hours to dry.

(this "rolling" and "squishing" the dough is a great sensory experience too! AND - the dough is TOTALLY safe to eat for anyone who has a child that still puts everything in their mouth!)

NExt we had a mid-morning snack that consisted of "nests" of shredded wheat and peanut butter that had been pressed up against muffin cups, then filled with jelly beans!

After we put our eggs in the oven to "sit," (like a mommy bird sits on her birds to keep them warm), and ate our snack, we made a nest. We took a lunch sack and rolled/crunched it down to make a nest-like shape. it doesnt have to be perfect at all. I then took some leaves I had pruned from my ivy this morning that were dying, and we used basic white glue to glue them on to the bag. It gave the nest a really realistic feel! It also helped us gather things from around our environment to make the nest like the birds do!

While we were making the nest we sang a bird song to the tune of "i'm a little teapot" (this was taken from a suggestion at http://www.theperpetualpreschool.com

"I'm a little birdy
short and fat
I eat worms
I dont like cats
when I see a cat
come out to play
i spread my wings
and fly away"

She loved the song and we sang that over and over and OVER AND OVERRRRR lol

We also watched a special on Animal Planet about bird houses and birds for 30 minutes, and talked about how they fly, what they eat, and why they need houses.

We painted our left over "eggs" and sorted them by color, and kept on singing our song.

We also made a bird feeder out of a piece of toast, spread with peanut butter, and sprinkled with oats. We hung it with some yarn and put it outside for the birds to give them strength before they fly south for the winter.

For lunch we had "worms" (aka spaghetti) and boiled eggs

After lunch our eggs were done "sitting" so we put them in the nest and took a picture!

Happy Tuesday!