Birdbath And Beyond

Spring fever has officially hit! As the weather outside becomes warmer and brighter, the littles want to spend less time indoors in the classroom. I confess I’m also eager to take lessons outside.

Recently we’ve been assessing our yard for bird-friendliness. We began by putting up a couple of simple bird feeders.

We planted numerous flower seeds for our hanging baskets. Our flower pots have always attracted many hummingbirds. We added sunflowers to our seed starts this year, that we will transfer to a bird-friendly corner of our yard. 

Our most creative activity was making birdbaths. I found an easy idea at the National Wildlife Federation. (link is no longer available, but directions are below) Aprons on, we dived into painting.

The littles each created their own unique design while chatting away about how they hope the birds like their colorful baths. 

How we made a birdbath:

• Paint a clay pot, turned upside down, with acrylic paint. Allow to dry completely.

• Paint the bottom of a clay saucer. Turn the saucer right side up and place it on the bottom of the pot. The paint will “glue” it to the pot when it’s dry. (update: we later had to use glue as the saucers became loose from weathering.) Paint the rest of the saucer and let dry completely.

• Place the birdbath in your yard and fill with water.

Some of our favorite school time has been spent reading in the sunshine. Soon the weather should be warm enough to take books and snacks outside on a blanket. We’ll be adding our bird field guide and some binoculars this spring.