Birds

This week was all about birds! 

We read lots of books about birds. One of them told us about the life cycle of a bird and how the mother bird builds a nest for her eggs. We learned that she carries the twigs, feathers and other materials to the tree by holding them in her beak. She then uses her beak to maneuver and weave the materials together to make the bowl shape for the nest. The children had the opportunity to observe an actual birds nest that Miss Blum found on a walk in the woods with her dog. She brought it in and the children observed how the twigs and line needles were woven together to make a bowl shape. The children made different observations about the nest. A few friends asked where the eggs were. Miss Blum explained that the birds hatched and grew up then left the nest just life the birds we read about in the book. 

For one of our art projects, the children made birds nests complete with mother birds and eggs. The children spread glue all over half of a paper plate. Next, they laid sticks where the glue was spread. They added some brown crinkle paper. Next, they glued feathers, an eye and orange beak to the cut out birds. The bird was glued onto the paper plate. Cotton balls were added for the eggs. A few of the children exclaimed they wanted to put the eggs underneath the mother bird which was a great connection to the books we had read or prior knowledge of the child. 

For another project, the children made binoculars for some bird watching. The children decorated toilet paper rolls with paint sticks and stickers. Miss Blum used hot glue to stick the rolls together and add yarn as a carrying strap. The children used the binoculars when we went outside. They used the binoculars to both look for birds and spot bugs crawling on the ground. We heard lots of birds, but only saw a few. 

The final project for bird week was a bird feeder. The children used their fine motor skills to thread cheerios onto a pipe cleaner. The pipe cleaner was then twisted to make a circle. Since it was rainy on the day we made the feeders. Miss Blum decided to wait until it was a nice day to bring the feeders outside and hang them on a tree. 

On the rug, the children played with stuffed birds and a plush pretend tree stump. The stump had holes for the birds to go inside. There was also a bird chart on the rug with pictures and names of various birds. The children enjoyed matching the birds with the pictures and asking the name of each plush bird. They also matched the birds that were on a puzzle that was out on a table. The children were very excited and engaged in learning the names of the different birds. 

The sensory table had twigs, brown crinkle paper, brown beans, coffee filters, little plastic eggs, and plush birds. The children used tongs as their “beaks” and picked up the materials to make a nest for the eggs and birds. 

At the tables, the children played with home made yellow play dough. They made umbrellas, flowers and ducks using different shape cutters. There was also a wooden bird building game and an owl threading activity. The children used their fine motor skills to thread the lace through the owls and counted the owls that they added to the lace.

At the easel, the children used animal stamps to make paint animal collages. On the other side, the children explored with different colored felt birds. 

During circle time, we also sang songs about little birdies and acted out the songs with the plush birds. 

Here are some action shots from the Big Room. These children love climbing! There was a wooden playhouse out and they climbed all over it and tried to find different ways to climb it. They also loved climbing then jumping off at a safe height.