BCU - Air
Make an Easy Bird Feeder
Contact B.Howe
Looks simple and it is. Here we go:1) Finish the juice,
2) give it a rinse,
3) cut some 'U' shaped doors into the sides and push them in a little, and poke a couple of small drainage holes in the bottom,
4) push a pencil all the way through just below the doors,
5) poke a hole in the cap and thread some wire or string through it (put a knot in the end so that the cap stays on the string),
6) fill the feeder with bird seed, peanuts, raisins, whatever you have on hand, and put the cap on the bottle
7) hang the feeder outside where the birds can get at it.
I like to throw something like this together when I empty the jug, rather than planning a 'craft time' to make them. If I just start working on it the kids will become more and more curious as to what it is supposed to be. When I'm sure that I have their attention I'll pass the work to them, I'll just give instructions where needed. They will try to guess what it is until they figure it out. I try not to say anything once they start guessing, when they have the finished feeder in their hands they will know if they figured right, and it gives them a chance to change their guess without being told that they are wrong.
The downside to this method is that they begin to scrutinize everything you do. Put a few of these spontaneous projects under their belts and see if you can lock yourself in the bathroom for a few minutes. :-) They will stare you down the next time you empty a juice jug to see if you are going to make another one - I usually let a few months go by before repeating a project.
Finally, you can combine this with other lessons. For example: I counted birds for Project Feederwatch during this winter, a poster of local birds was hung near my kitchen window to help me ID birds, but my 2 year old caught on and started learning the different birds. The names are a little different but we know what she means - Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, Good Morning Dove, etc.
Brett