Taking Care Of Our Birds

~ A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. ~

Lou Holtz

The children are often drawn to our large windows and quietly absorb the natural world just beyond.  Our recent discussion of birds inspired an addition of books and binoculars to the window.  Where are the birds?  What do they eat in the winter?

We  were gifted with unique, homemade bird feeders at holiday time. Willow and her mother shared the recipe for the bird feeders.  Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Joseph brought this fun activity to the wonderful world of kindergarten.

The children took turns adding the natural ingredients. Feeling the difference of stirring the ingredients when they were dry, and after the corn syrup and gelatin was added gave them an idea of 'thick'.  

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The bird food mixture needed to be thick to be put in the molds.  The gelatin was added to thicken the mixture.  

The children added straws so that a ribbon could be inserted and the bird feeders could be hung outside. Then the feeders were left to dry and harden.

It was pretty tricky to get the ribbon through the holes! The seeds had dried and hardened in different ways.

Slowly but surely, a feast for the birds was filling the basket.

All that was left to do was to bring the bird feeders outside and hang them up. The children wanted them on the bushes near the windows.

We will be leaving the children's camera near the window so that they can capture the images of the birds as they come to their feast!  The children will be able to compare the photos of the birds to the ones they see in the books.  

Thank you Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Joseph, for visiting the wonderful world of kindergarten and helping the children take care of our birds!

Some bird books you might enjoy with your children