THEME: BIRDS

DAY ONE

CIRCLE TIME DISCUSSIONS

Bb is for birds

Nn is for Nest

What are the characteristics of birds?

Look at pictures of birds. Name the parts of birds the children notice. How is each helpful?

Some birds have very small legs and feet. They wrap the claws on their feet around branches to help them balance when they sit in trees.

Birds have beaks which they use to dig in the ground for insects or worms or to gather material to build their nests.

Feathers

All birds have feathers. Compare feathers. Ask how they are different/same. Feathers come in different sizes and colors. Point out the shaft that runs through the center of the feather and the tiny strands that extend from each side of the shaft. Allow the children to tickle their cheeks with the feather.

Feathers keep the birds, cool and warm. Feathers also repel water to keep birds dry. Feathers are used to help birds when they fly.

There are different types of feathers that have different uses.

Flight feathers grow in the wings and the tail. Down feathers are soft, small, and fluffy. They are near a bird’s skin to keep it warm when it’s cold and to keep it cool when it is hot.

Most birds shed their old feathers about once a year and grow new ones. This is called *molting*.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Two Little Blue Birds

Two little blue birds sitting on a hill
One named Jack. One named Jill.
Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill
Come back Jack. Come back Jill.

(Substitute different colors for the birds)

Little Birds Action Rhyme

Little birds, little birds, fly to the door.

Little birds, little birds, sit on the floor!

Little birds, little birds, jump up and down.

Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound!

Little birds, little birds, tip toe to me.

Little birds, little birds, bend your knees!

Little birds, little birds, peep, peep, peep.

Little birds, little birds, sleep, sleep, sleep.

CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS

Feather Dusting Prints (large motor, language development, creative expression)

Tape a large sheet of paper on the floor or wall and allow children to dip feather dusters in shallow pans of paint.

SCIENCE

Blowing Feathers

Set a block and a feather on the edge of a table and invite the children to take turns trying to blow each item. Try blowing them across the floor. How many breaths did it take? Which worked better-short blows or long blows?

Light as a Feather

Have each child select a feather and a small item that will not break if dropped. Which one feels heavier? Have the children drop the two at the same time. Which one hit the floor first? Which one fell straight down? Which one floated? Drop two feathers at the same time. Do they hit the floor at the same time?

MATH

Feather Math

Give each child a lump of playdough to shape into a bird’s body. Using a die or number cards take turns counting the number chosen and sticking the appropriate number of feathers into the playdough bird.

LITERACY

Spanish word for bird – pajaro (pah-hah-roh)

Feather – pluma (ploo-mah)

Nursery Rhymes: Identify the rhyming words.

Hickety, pickety, my black hen,

She lays eggs for gentlemen.

Gentlemen come every day,

To see what my black hen does lay.

Sometimes nine, sometimes ten,

Hickety, pickety, my black hen!

Bb is for bird, bat, and ball

DAY TWO

CIRCLE TIME DISCUSSIONS

Nests:

Birds build nests for breeding in trees, on cliffs, or on the ground.

What kinds of things do birds use to make nests?

Small sticks and soft things to keep the eggs warm and safe.

Collect several types of bird nests or pictures of bird nests. Discuss the ways they are built.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

Little Birdie

Little birdie in your nest.

Little birdie it's time to rest.

When the sun comes out to play.

Little birdie - fly away!

Baby Birdies (act out)

We are baby birdies living in a nest.

We dream of flying when we take a rest!

One spring day we hop, hop, hop, and flutter our wings – flop, flop, flop!

They lift us up and then we fly, in the air and around the sky!

Flutter high and flutter low, in a circle, around we go!

We soar back home, and in our nest, we close our eyes and take a rest!

CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS

Build a Nest

Give each child a few packing noodles for eggs. Ask them to build a nest for their eggs. Provide a paper plate for the base and a brown paper bag for them to tear/cut for the nest. Take a nature walk and collect other things you can use to make the nest. When the nest is complete, glue in the eggs..

SCIENCE

bird nesting balls

Collect mesh vegetable bags, such as what grapes, oranges, potatoes come in. You may cut them to the size you need. Also collect such items as the following: leftover thread, yarn pieces, tiny fabric scraps or strips. Also you can add Kleenex, cotton balls. Have the children take a bit of each of the materials and place them in the mesh. Pull the mesh together around the items they have placed in the mesh. Take a rubber band and secure the ends together. Using a yarn needle, thread in a piece of yarn and tie ends together to make a hanger. Place these nesting balls outside in trees or areas high enough that the birds feel safe. They will come and pull these materials out thru the mess and take them to make their nests. Have the children observe every so often to see if any of the materials have been removed from the nesting balls or if they see any nests with familiar materials in them.

MATH

Bird Sorting

Children will match the right size bird to the right size nest. Then they will turn the nests over to see it programmed with a number. They will identify the number and place the appropriate number of eggs or baby birds in each nest.

LITERACY

Spanish word for Nest – nido (nee-doh)

Children will use the letter “N” to make a nest for their birds.

Home sweet home (positional words)

Use hula hoops, jump ropes, yarn, pillows etc to define the children’s nests. Instruct the children to fly around the nest, hop inside the nest, crawl through it, and march to the one beside theirs, etc

Bb = bear, bee, bed, bell