Last
week, we enjoyed doing an "N is for Nest" theme. We focused on both
nests and the different birds that build them. It was a perfect springtime
unit.
Learning the Letter
This
was another unit that matched up with Confessions of a Homeschooler's printable
themes, so we used her free
printouts to trace the letter N and go on a letter N hunt. She also has
some great letter review activities for the whole alphabet on her site.
Books
The Best Nest (Beginner Books(R)) and
Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman.
We
enjoyed both of these classic early readers. In The Best Nest, the birds keep searching for a better place to build
their nest and in the end realize that the home they had in the first place was
the best. And a sweet little baby bird searches for his mother in Are You My Mother?
In the Nest
by Anna Milbourne
This
book was factual, and yet simple enough for even my two-year-old to enjoy
sitting through. The illustrations are beautiful and the text is short and
sweet.
The Magpies' Nest by JoAnna Foster, Jane Feder, and Julie Downing
This
book tells the legend of the Magpie's Nest and why different birds build
different types of nest. We also read another version of this same story,
The Best Nest by Doris L. Mueller. I preferred this version a bit, though
they were both good.
Puffling
by Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas
We
loved the beautiful illustrations and sweet story in this little book about a
baby Puffin. Afterwards we watched a video about real puffins (see below) and
found that this book was quite accurate.
History
I read
the book
The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12) by
Jacqueline Davies to my older son (it was too long for my two-year-old, but it
is great for an older child). This book tells the story of John James Audubon.
Science
Through
our reading, we learned about different birds and nests. We used the printable
nest matching activity from this website
that goes with the book The Best Nest by
Doris L. Mueller, another version of
the story about the Magpie's Nest (look on the righthand sidebar at the
"For Creative Minds" download. In conjunction with our book Puffling, we also watched this video
about real Pufflings:
Math Activities
Math Activities
We
used the one more/one less activity boards from the free Birds Preschool Pack here. I
had my younger son just match the numbers directly while I challenged my older
son to find the number one more or one less than what he rolled with a dice.
Crafts
- We made trees with nests using the kids arms/hands. I traced each of their forearms and hands to represent the tree trunk and branches. Then, they drew leaves on the "trees." We added nests made from raffia and foam egg-shaped stickers.
- We also made mosaic eggs. I drew an egg shape on a piece of paper. My sons glued random bits of colorful paper on the egg, and then we cut the eggs out.
- Last year, we also made these brown paper bag and stick nests. My kids loved collecting the sticks for this project (you could probably add other items, too if you wanted). Glueing the sticks on the crumpled brown paper bag was tricky, so I had to help a lot with that. But they were very pleased with the finished project. They loved putting pretend eggs in their paper bag nests.
We
went to the Madrona Marsh--a
nature preserve near our house. There we searched for birds. We saw a mother
and father duck out with some adorable baby ducks. And we spotted a beautiful
flock of egrets. Throughout our week at home we also searched for birds, and
the boys were always excited when they saw birds in our yard or while we were
on a walk.
Snacks
This
website has some great chocolate cookie nests and this is another
fun nest treat made with chow mein and marshmallows (like rice krispie treats).
We also ate scrambled eggs during our N is for Nest week.
Pretend Play
We built
our own blanket nest, and the kids pretended to be baby birds in a nest. They
crouched down and pretended to be eggs. Then, they pretended to break out of
their eggs and I pretended to teach them to fly and help them find food. My
kids love playing pretend games. I let them take the lead in our make-believe games,
but they love it when I am pretending right along with them.
Music Time
There
are a lot of great songs to choose from about birds. Some of our favorite
bird/nest songs were "Birds
in the Tree", "In
the Leafy Treetops", and "I
Know a Chicken".
We
also did the finger play "Two Little Blackbirds":
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
(Put forefinger and thumb
together on each hand to represent birds.)
One named Jack.
One named Jack.
(Open and close forefinger/thumb on one hand like a beak
opens and closes.)
One named Jill.
One named Jill.
(Open and close forefinger/thumb on the other hand like
a beak opens and closes.)
Fly away, Jack.
Fly away, Jack.
(Place one hand behind back.)
Fly away, Jill.
Fly away, Jill.
(Place other hand behind back.)
Come back, Jack.
Come back, Jack.
(Return one hand to the front.)
Come back, Jill.
Come back, Jill.
(Return the other hand to the front.)
If you want to see more of my related ideas, go check out my "N is for Nest" board on Pinterest!
If you want to see more of my related ideas, go check out my "N is for Nest" board on Pinterest!
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