It is another snow day! Seven inches. 13 degrees. I know that isn’t much snow nor is it very cold for some parts of the country. But in our neck of the woods, school has been canceled.
I am home with time to blog, but have few supplies since I took a load of stuff to work. After a quick peruse around the house here is what I’ve found:
Shriveling oranges, yes, that is very wasteful I know. I’m sure you’ve had something shrivel in your fridge too. 
Reduced fat peanut butter ‘spread’. I’m not sure what is in it but it doesn’t taste very good; and it’s been in the cabinet a while. We have birdseed and yarn.
That’s all we need to make an old fashioned peanut butter bird feeder.
First cut the oranges or other shriveled fruit in half and ‘drill’ a whole through the center.
Next, cut a long piece of yarn or string. I started with about 12 inches and by the time I tied the fourth orange half I was using about 2.5 feet. Tie the yarn securely to the orange.
Spread the peanut butter on the orange.
Firmly press bird seeds into the orange.
Finally, tie the strings together and hang them outside.
Not only has your child followed directions, attended to task, and had fine motor experience; you can add literacy, science, and math components.
1) Throughout the day observe the birds that are feeding off of the oranges.
2) For preschoolers, make a chart with colors and keep a tally of the different colors of birds that they see. Here is the printable: Counting Color Chart
3) Older children can make a list of the different kinds of birds that they have observed. Younger children can draw pictures of what they see.
4) Use books and the internet to research and identify the names of uncommon species that are observed.
Have a fun and cozy day together!
1/16/11 Update: My husband reported that the squirrels found the bird feeder and devoured it. There is nothing left. I had hoped to take some ‘after’ pictures. Glad they enjoyed it!
This post has been linked to:
The Play Academy at NutureStore
Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom
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Hi Kristi, just stopping by from nurturestore to thank you for your comment and say happy new year. I love these bird feeders. We’ve made them with milk cartons and fir cones but never with orange slices – what a great idea. Maybe you’ll come and share with our Play Academy idea swap on Friday? Cathy
It’s so good to hear from you! I will plan to be there! Thanks for the invitation.
The birds in your neighborhood will love you.
The squirrels truly love us more than the birds!
We made some bird food recently… but they don’t seem to like it – I think we should use peanut butter like you next time!
I would LOVE for you to join us at Kids Get Crafty (every Wednesday on Red Ted Art) – current link up http://www.redtedart.com/2011/01/19/kids-get-crafty-penguins-boys-umbrellas-card-board-boxes/
Hope to see you there!
Maggy
The squirrels devoured ours in no time! Thanks so much for inviting me; I’ll plan to join you.
Terrific – a timely project, and not waste!
Same here! Our 3 gray and 2 red squirrels LOVES our feeders! We’re going to try to get corn for them, but I’ve been throwing out fruit and bread scraps and that keeps them busy for a little while. We have some REALLY chubby squirrels though! LOL
Jessy
http://oursideofthemtn.blogspot.com
I checked out your blog! If your header is your location…so pretty! You are very generous to your squirrels. LOL The squirrels here are fierce. They tear apart our feeders, even the hummingbird feeder this past summer. But they are cute to watch! I call them the Missouri Monkey.
These are so sweet and easy! I’ve got some apples at home that have seen better days, I’ll have to try with them. We love feeding the birds at our house too, and much like your home the squirrels have their fair share! I came over from Science Sunday and I’m happy to have stumbled upon your blog
I dropped by your blog and it is adorable! Love the style and the ideas are great too…the nature table and the valentine wreath..Love ‘em. I think I’m gong to try to share a version of the valentine wreath with my families along with the book “Hug”.
I love this idea, and we have some oranges in a similar state. I need to remember this, and hopefully we’ll get it done before they go bad.
Oh, and FYI, Science Sunday is hosted over at my blog Adventures in Mommydom, not Play Academy (but I will go check out Play Academy).
Hi Ticia~ You said that so nicely. I have made the correction. Very sorry about that. I have not yet learned how to place the button with the code, I’m sure it is simple, but haven’t figured out the clicks.
We made similar bird feeders at our house, and I too had hopes of documenting which birds we saw. Mostly, we saw squirrels, just as you did. Maybe we will try again once the weather gets a little warmer.
p.s. thanks for stopping by and visiting!
Hi there, just became aware of your blog through yahoo, and found it’s really fun.
Glad you found us and had fun!
[...] only thing available to write about was a shriveled orange. I couldn’t even do any prep work for my [...]