Fill the Bird Feeder
What you need
- a bird feeder, or a clean plastic bottle with holes made by you
- a scoop of bird seed
- a funnel
- a tray to catch spills
How to do it
- Stand the feeder on the tray and help your child scoop the seed into the funnel, a little at a time.
- When it's full, hang it together from a low branch or hook where you can see it from a window.
- Scatter the spilled seed from the tray on the ground for the birds that feed low.
- Go inside and watch from the window. Which birds come? How many at once?
Why it matters
Seed through a funnel takes slow, careful scooping, and the window afterwards turns the garden into something to wonder about.
What they're learning
- Scooping and pouring
- Seed into the funnel without it spilling over.
- Watching wildlife
- Waiting quietly to see who comes.
- Looking after something
- The birds have food because they filled it.
What to look for
Notice them checking the feeder from the window on their own.
A tip
If anyone in the family has a nut allergy, check the seed has no peanuts in it. You do the hanging, with no ladders or steps for little helpers, and everyone washes hands afterwards.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: skip the funnel and let them scatter seed on the ground
Harder: draw the birds you see on a piece of paper and count each kind
