Birds Nests

With the arrival of Spring, I thought now would be a good time to teach the girls about birds and eggs. We read the book Nest Full of Eggs, discussed how birds build their nests, and how baby birds develop inside the egg.

Next, of course, came the craft(you know I can’t just simply read a book). I made up some salt dough clay and dyed it brown with food coloring. This was our mud. I also cut up some pieces of yarn, since birds sometimes use this as well.

Then we went outside and gathered twigs and dried plant leaves and grass.

I tried to show the girls how to form the grass into a bowl shape and then use the “mud” as glue, but the salt dough wasn’t the right consistency so it wouldn’t stick.

So plan B was to shape the salt dough into a bowl form and add the grass. Still didn’t quite work. The dough wouldn’t’ hold shape. It kept wanting to collapse.

So here are the finished “bird nests".”

As you can see these don’t really look like your typical nest. Perhaps they would suite a bird living in a swamp or something.

I think when the weather warms we will try it again with real mud this time.

Live and learn!