Inspired by 7 Times Smarter by Laurel Schmidt
Birds are generally abundant whether you’re a city-dweller or rural resident…but by the age of nine, while most kids can name 16 TV shows and 7 fast-food chains, they can only name 2 birds. Help encourage your child to learn more about your neighborhood’s feathered friends by putting out different kinds of food (e.g. bird seed, bread crumbs, cracker pieces, cereal, jelly) or use food coloring and try different colored sugar water in a bowl. Track which colors and foods attract the most birds. If it’s an activity that your child enjoys, keep it going for several months. Do your visitors differ during the different times of year?
Extra Credit: Take pictures of your bird buffet patrons with a cell phone camera and see which types of food/colors each individual bird type prefers. Learn the characteristics, names, and categorizations of the birds.
Nurtures Nature Smarts by Leveraging Logical/Mathematical Talents.
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Did your child enjoy this activity?
Encourage their new interest in birds even further with a subscription to Birder’s World. Each issue is brimming with spectacular photography and exciting stories about the lives of birds. There are also regular features which include species profiles, information on endangered birds, how to attract and photograph birds, hotspots, landscape and garden ideas. |