When making homemade bird feeders with preschoolers, what is the science part? what should i talk about w/them

Question

maybe what other things birds eat?

how can i make this activity longer by making bird feeders and talking? what can i talk about that is science?

Answer 1

you should talk to them about how they need food to live.  you can tell them hat else birds eat.

you can make this activity longer by asking the kids what they kno about birds and ask them what they want to kno and find the info and share it with the kids.  everything is science. talk about the life cycle in preschoolk terms and how we need the birds.

Answer 2

the birds are the science part!  You are also measuring and pouring and filling. Talk about which birds stay here in the winter and which ones migrate (new word).

Answer 3

Lots of great ideas above.

You could also go on a walk or to your playground or wherever and see if you see any birds. You can talk about how you could know there are birds around (look and listen)

Help the kids learn about birds by comparisons- birds have a nest, the kid has a house, the bird eats birdseed, the kid eats a sandwich, the birds have feathers, the kids clothes, etc.. that sounds like fun!

Just a note- be careful about the peanut butter bird feeders. Peanut allergies are pretty common.

Answer 4

oh boy! you can do tons of fun stuff with bird seed. before you make the bird feeders. have the kids sort the bird seed by type or size or color. in my class, we had bird seed in our sand table for awhile with measuring cups and buckets. the kids loved that!

you can talk about where else you find seeds, cut open an apple or pepper and show the kids different types of seeds. introduce binoculars and talk about birds. you can introduce real binoculars and have the kids make their own out of toilet paper rolls.

good idea to talk about what other things birds eat. you can extend the whole lesson by spending more time learning and doing activities about birds.

if you hang the bird feeders out your classroom window, you can keep track of the birds that visit your feeder.

you can make patterns with bird seed, make collages. you could make a big letter B or b on a piece of paper and have the kids cover the letter with bird seed. you can paint with feathers.

have fun!