We have the wonderful Sue Baxter joining us today sharing another fabulous Learning Through Play set up. Sue is a childminder, rated outstanding by Ofsted and its easy to see why. We have already been lucky enough to see activities she has shared with the children for Duck Week, Easter, Pancake Day, St Davids Day, Spring and we have more coming!
Today Sue is sharing with us a Bird Themed Tuff Tray her children have enjoyed playing with. A bird topic is an evergreen topic to cover with the children. Throughout the year birds need our help and through these trays and activities we can teach children all about the birds we see out and about and discuss ways we can help them - for example making homemade bird feeders, recycling and making your own feeding stations, providing bird houses for birds to nest with their eggs.
Whether you are planning bird themed small worlds, bird crafts or tuff trays children are sure to absorb key information that help our environment and garden wildlife.
I did set this activity up indoors initially, however upon reflection I decided an outdoor spot would be more beneficial. With bird seed being scooped and some ending up on the floor, nature was able to take its course. We left the seed that was dropped on the floor and we are keeping our eyes peeled for birds who come to eat it.
This activity gave the perfect opportunity for children to scoop, fill and empty containers. It gave us chance to briefly discuss mathematical language as children shared with me how full their containers were. It was a great way to explore hands on the meanings of full, half full and empty.
The children spent such a long time filling and pouring and seemed to be mesmerised as the seeds poured back down into the tray. I was told that the seeds bouncing around on the tray sounded like heavy rain.
The scales proved to be a great addition to this activity and helped encourage mathematical language further. The birds I had purchased from a garden centre and I painted them with acrylic paints.
The bird seed I picked up from a local pound store. Scoops were from the kitchen and can be purchased online or in supermarkets for a few pounds. We find them really useful for our play set ups and use them often.
I added various books and sheets of music.
The nests and eggs were bits left over from Easter. Numbers were printed from Twinkl and the bird footprints I created myself and laminated to help keep them protected.
I managed to pick up the bird houses from a local charity story but originally they were from IKEA.
A big thank you to Sue for sharing another lovely invitation to play. Have you been enjoying any bird related crafts and activities with your children? Get in touch with us if you have! We love to see what you have been busy doing.
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