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Last week has been so much fun and entertaining as we learnt All About Fish. For this week's theme, I decided to go with birds!
With their dazzling colors, songs, and epic migrations, birds are like nature’s superheroes, capturing the minds of little people! Teaching my kids about birds has been fascinating and here I will guide you in how to do the same!
All About Birds
First off: I taught the children about the anatomy of birds. We discussed different parts of a bird, such as the beak, wings, and feathers, and their functions. We used the diagrams and had the children paste each word at the corresponding body part. (part of the printable guide below).
We talked about where different birds live, such as forests, wetlands, deserts, and urban areas. We used a globe to show where some exotic birds come from, helping them understand geographical diversity - such as penguins living in the colder climates.
Birds are warm-blooded vertebrates belonging to the class Aves. They are characterized by feathers, beaks without teeth, and a high metabolic rate. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs and most species are capable of flight, although some, like ostriches and penguins, have adapted to other forms of locomotion.
Feathers are unique to birds and serve multiple functions, including flight, insulation, and display. There are different types of feathers, such as contour feathers that shape the body and flight feathers that aid in flying.
We read the First BIG Book of Birds and the All About Birds books. Both are great starter books and the children have been reading through them since it arrived!
10 Fun Facts About Birds
Birds have feathers: Feathers are unique to birds and help them fly, keep warm, and attract mates.
There are around 10,000 bird species: Birds come in all shapes and sizes, living in various habitats around the world.
Hummingbirds can hover: These tiny birds can hover in mid-air by flapping their wings up to 80 times per second.
Ostriches are the largest birds: Ostriches can't fly, but they can run at speeds up to 45 miles per hour!
Penguins can't fly, but they're great swimmers: Penguins use their wings as flippers to swim quickly through the water.
Birds have hollow bones: This makes them lighter and helps them fly more easily.
Parrots can mimic human speech: Parrots are known for their ability to imitate sounds, including human words and phrases.
Owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees: This helps them see in almost every direction without moving their bodies.
The Arctic Tern migrates the farthest: This small bird travels from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back each year, covering about 25,000 miles.
Birds have excellent vision: Many birds can see ultraviolet light, and some birds of prey can spot small animals from a mile away.
Hands-On Activities
Painting
We painted our own wooden birds and hung them up throughout the house.
Relay Race
We played relay race with cooked eggs. One child from each team had to come to the front with a cooked egg on a spoon in their mouth! If they made it to the front without it falling, they tapped my hand and headed back to their team. The next child was able to come forward once the first child was back. The team that finished with all players tapping in with all their eggs intact won.
Rescue The Frozen Birds
I froze mini bird figurines in small containers of water. Each child got a block of ice with 6 birds frozen in it that they had to rescue. I gave them a bucket of water with small water guns to spray it with water so that it melted faster.
Labeling The Bird
We learned the parts of the birds and had fun cutting and pasting the words in it's correct place. This sheet is part of the printable booklet you can purchase below.
Life Cycle of Birds
We cut and pasted the images to show the life cycle of a bird. This sheet is part of the printable booklet you can purchase below.
Edible Nests
We had so much fun creating these yummy bird nests. We added the Chow Mein to the bottom part of muffin tins, poured some melted chocolate over it, and spread it around evenly. We then put 3 white chocolate balls in the center to represent the eggs. Placed the tins in the freezer for 5 minutes and it was all set!
10 Jokes About Birds
Why do birds fly south for the winter?
Because it's too far to walk!
Why did the bird go to the hospital?
It needed tweetment!
What do you call a bird that’s afraid to fly?
Chicken!
What’s a bird’s favorite type of math?
Owl-gebra!
Why did the birdie go to the library?
He was looking for bookworms!
How do crows stick together in a flock?
Velcrow!
What do you call a smart bird?
A wise quacker!
Why did the pelican get kicked out of the restaurant?
Because he had a very big bill!
Why do seagulls fly over the sea?
Because if they flew over the bay, they’d be bagels!
What kind of bird can write?
A pen-guin!
We made a race building a replica of a Lego Bird that I built first. Using Lego Duplo this was simple, fun, and easy enough for the younger ones to do.
Great Bingo Game
We finished off our week at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. It was quite a drive for us but so worth it! We saw so many beautiful birds from around the world, including parrots, eagles, and playful penguins. The highlight was watching the free-flying birds in the tropical rainforest exhibit. We also enjoyed learning about different bird species and their habitats. It was a fun and educational experience for all of us!
Last week we learned all about fish. Check back to see what's coming up next week!
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