MAKE A NEST

The children have a new appreciation of the patience and artistry that goes into making a bird's nest and how real nests are truly works of art. 


We viewed a small sampling of nests we have in and on top of our nature cabinet and then the children went to work making their own nests using uncooked spaghetti as *twigs*.

We do not collect nests anymore unless they have blown to the ground, instead we locate them and observe them right where they are. Oftentimes other birds, or the same birds, will use a nest over and over again.

To make our own nests, we used uncooked spaghetti, white glue, brown or gray paint, plastic wrap and a small bowl to use as a form.  We used air dry clay for the eggs.

~Turn the bowl upside down and cover with plastic wrap. 

~Break the spaghetti into smaller *twigs*.

~Mix together spaghetti, glue and a few drops of paint (if you want the spaghetti to be the color of real twigs or any color you want). 

Children love to use their hands to mix but it always helps to have wet facecloths or baby wipes nearby when they have had enough of the *stickiness*.

~Start to form the nest on the bowl form. It's good to wait a few minutes to let the glue get real sticky. 

~Keep building upon it and let dry completely. 

It's important to use alot of glue so all the twigs will stick together. 

~While the nest is drying, use the air dry clay to form the birds eggs.

~Once completely dry, pull the nest off gently from the bowl, turn it over and gently peel off the plastic wrap.

Any gaps in the nest, or twigs that have fallen off, can be added with more glue.

Add the eggs to the nest while they dry.

Once the eggs are dry, the children can paint them. They can choose to research the actual color of a specific bird's eggs or just have fun painting them any color they choose.

Above all, have fun and enJOY!