Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
The book I selected for this month was “Bird Builds a Nest: A First Science Storybook” by Martin Jenkins. A lovely story that teaches children about how birds make nests and ends with a lesson on pulling and pushing. The book description: “It’s time for Bird to build her nest! Follow her as she pulls a worm out of the ground, lifts some twigs that are just the right size, and pushes the twigs into place. Uh-oh — one of the twigs falls to the ground! But after a day of hard work, Bird’s nest is ready and waiting. Can you guess what it’s waiting for? Using simple, clear language and beautiful illustrations, this engaging story is the perfect introduction to physical forces for very young readers. A final spread with some simple questions promotes discussion with parents, teachers, or caregivers and encourages readers to think about the concepts introduced.”
The skills worked on this month are many. Here’s but a few:
- Book knowledge (i.e., title, author, page turning, image walking)
- Use of low vision tools while reading the book
- Develop hand and eye coordination
- Turning pages
- Soliciting assistance appropriately
- Fine motor
- Communication
- Positional concepts
- Choice making
For this craft, I needed:
- DIY wooden birds decorative set from Temu (makes 10)
- Vibrant spectrum collection acrylic craft paint
- Sponge paint brushes
- Painter’s tape
- Googly eyes
- Hot glue
- Parchment paper
No real prep work was required as I only needed to gather the materials. This was a two-day craft for the students as the paint needed to dry before we could continue. The students either wrote their name or used a name stamp to put their name on the back of the bird. If I ever did this craft again, I would have them put it on the underside of the wing so both sides of the bird could be painted.
Day one was all about painting the bird and the wing. I put the items on parchment paper to keep it from sticking to whatever it sat on to dry. The students were allowed to paint the birds whatever color that they wanted as long as it’s a color of a bird we would naturally see in nature. They could paint how they wanted…paintbrush strokes or dabbing. They were the drivers in their own creative process.
Day two was about painting the beak and gluing on the eye as well as any touch up work that they wanted. As this didn’t take long to do and to dry, we read the story and listened to bird sounds before finishing the craft.
Tips:
- Have a student that doesn’t like touching paint? I use disposable vinyl gloves on the hand that is holding the item in place while the hand that is using the paint brush does not.
- Having trouble holding the sponge paint brush? Try using foam grip tubing. The occupational therapists may have extra you can borrow.
- Pour paint into mini storage containers with lids. I purchased ours at Dollar Tree. Similar ones can be found in dollar stores, Walmart, etc. These are great for storing paint with less mess and being able to reuse the paint poured.
Extension Activities:
- Listen and watch birds on YouTube: 25 Iconic Bird Sounds
- DIY bird feeders that kids can make on their own
- Homemade Gifts Made Easy has a blog post with free bird coloring pages
