Birdie, Birdie...

Okay, I can not take credit from this. The awesome first grade team at my Partnership school (explained in the post below) thought of it. But it's such a fun idea that I had to share it with you.

We had been working hard on a bird unit for a few weeks. At the end, the children got to take on the role of birds as they made their very own nests.

The base of the nests were made by rolling down the top of a brown paper bag until it was about 2 inches high. The children used their hands to shape the bottom of the bag into a circle. Then, the children had to find a place in the classroom to hide their nests. They were encouraged to use their new knowledge of birds to find the "best" place. It needed to be away from predators and out of the rain.

While the children were at PE, we spread bits of tissue paper, Easter basket grass, ribbon and yarn all over the floor. After picking up the children, the activity was explained to them. They had learned that birds use their beaks to collect materials for their nest, so the children would be using their mouths- no hands allowed! They picked up the materials with their mouth and carried it back to their nest. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of giggles. They had a blast, though. It was a great way for them to really connect with something birds do.

With all of the excitement from our bird unit, some of our little friends even brought in treasures from home to share with the class. We got to see a big feather and a real nest during share time. 

I hope you are able to use this fun activities with the little birdies in your class! :)