Last year, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, my preschool class created Cheerios Birdfeeders. The kids enjoyed stringing Cheerios on pipe cleaners, hanging them up outside of our classroom, and watching for birds, but guess what? The birds didn’t eat them! (Maybe we should have used Honeynut Cheerios?–lol)
Instead, this week with Kindness as our theme, we’re going to create a different DIY Kids Activity–Pine Cone Birdfeeders.
Texture, scent, math, and fine motor skills were explored with the pinecones I collected in the Fall. You know what’s fun? Making pinecone prints by covering them in paint and then rolling them on paper. You never know what patterns will emerge.
Steps to Make Pinecone Birdfeeders:
1) Tie yarn or twine around pinecones.
2) Spread Sunbutter over pinecones (no peanut butter allowed in school, although pb, almond butter, or similar will do).
3) Roll sticky pinecones in pumpkin seeds (birdseed, sunflower seeds, etc. can be used).
4) Hang in bushes and trees.
5) Wash hands!
Tips on creating Pinecone Birdfeeders from The Spruce:
- Work seeds in between the rows of scales.
- Hang in cool, shaded area so peanut butter (or whichever butter is used–sun, almond, etc) doesn’t melt.
- “If you want to make multiple pine cone bird feeders at once but don’t want to hang them out simultaneously, they can easily be frozen for several weeks. The feeders do not need to be thawed before hanging, and freezing them first can help them stay firm in warmer temperatures.”
I’ll let you know what the birds think of them!
This poem by Edgar Albert Guest is thought-provoking and meaningful.
Naomi M. Gruer 