Birds Unit

Our theme for last week was Birds. We had so much fun with this unit. I feel like we could have spent a few weeks discussing this topic because there is so much to learn about our feathered friends.

We started the week off by talking about the parts of a bird and we used the Helpful Garden's 3 part Zoology Nomenclature cards. I printed out the black and white copies for Ava to make her own booklet.

I went to AC Moore and purchased the Safari Ltd Backyard Birds Toob and used Natural Beach Living's free printable to match the birds. We used the Bird Watching Chart from Natural Beach Living and the Bird Watching Tally Sheet from Fantastic Fun and Learning to check off when we saw one of the birds we learned about in or around our yard. Ava got a kick outta of using her binoculars to look for the birds. 

I was browsing Every Star Is Different's blog when I came across her awesome worm catching practical life work. Super easy to make! I cut up some pipe cleaners of varying colors and I purchased this nest at AC Moore for a dollar...she used a clothespin but I had some small tongs so I used those...place it on a tray and there you have it. You could add a bird in the nest if you'd like to give some added pretend play. 

We picked up a few books from the local library and read a few that we already had. We read When Blue Met Egg, Feathers for Lunch, Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know, Are You My Mother?, and The Ugly Duckling. 

I was in Dollar Tree when I happened to pass by these motion sensing chirping birds. I was so excited about them and was hoping that when we opened them they would sound like the real deal. I placed them in a basket without pulling the tabs because I knew it would be a lot of noise. Ava took them out one by one and pulled the tab. To my surprise the birds sound like the actual live birds. They come with little clips so Ava decided to wear the Cardinal HAHA. (Be warned you will have to find a dark place for them when they are not in use or you'll go crazy with all the chirping!) 

I am a subscriber to Trillium Montessori's Blog and she offers lots of great ideas and freebies. I downloaded these 3 Part Common Birds Cards and printed them out. There is also the black and white cards and Ava made a booklet of her own. Check out her page!

We closed the week off by making bird feeders. I was excited to see a recipe for a bird feeder that didn't involve peanut butter. I always dread the clean up of peanut butter eek! This recipe uses unflavored gelatin to hold the seeds together.  Ava was able to use a lot of her practical life skills such as scooping, pouring and mixing during this project. She was super excited to know she was helping feed the birds.