Category: Activities

Materials
4 cups birdseed
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope Knox Unflavored Gelatin
3 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
1 Pound Lard
Cookie cutters
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
2 Straws cut into thirds
Yarn or twine

Directions
Mix flour, water, light corn syrup, and unflavored gelatin to form a paste.  Slowly stir in birdseed, making sure it is all coated. Melt lard and add to mixture. Place cookie cutters on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Coat the insides of the cookie cutters with cooking spray. Invite your child to spoon birdseed mixture into the cookie cutters and press down with the spoon.  Poke a hole in each one using a straw, making sure the straw goes all the way through the birdseed mixture. Allow ornaments to dry for 3-4 hours.  Remove the ornaments from the cookie cutters and place in freezer overnight. Thread a piece of yarn or twine through the hole, tie, and hang ornament from a tree branch. Using a pair of binoculars, observe the various birds that come and enjoy the special treat.

Materials
File folder 
Paint chips in pastel colors (two of each color; cardstock works too) 
Packing tape 
Scissors

Directions
1. Trim paint chips. 
2. Attach one set to file folder using packing tape. 
3. Use second set to match. 
4. Make a pocket for the second set out of packing tape (fold one piece in half for the pocket and use three more pieces to attach to the folder). 
5. Invite your child to play. 

Children enjoy this simple game, which helps them develop color awareness. Color matching also reinforces one to one correspondence, which will help them with math as they grow older.

Materials
Long white paper (group painting) or large easel paper for one artist to paint
Tempera paint in various colors (including white paint)
Small sponges or sponge brushes

Directions
Pour a small amount of the various colors of paint onto the paper.  Add about the same amount of white tempera to the paints. Using a small sponge or sponge paint brush, invite your child to mix the white paint into the color paint and observe what happens. The paints are now pastels! Allow paint to dry and display.

Ingredients

1 cup white Elmer’s School Glue
1/2 can shaving cream (non-sensitive skin type works best)
Saline solution (contact lens solution)
Food coloring (optional)
Mixing bowl
Rubber spatula

Directions

Pour 1 cup of Elmer’s School Glue into a mixing bowl.  Add a 3–4 drops of food coloring and stir into glue.  Stir in 1/2 can of shaving cream. Add about 6 tablespoons of contact lens saline solution and stir again. The solution will start to “gel” together and will become very sticky. Add more saline solution 1–2 tablespoons at a time. Continue to mix well. Once it forms a ball, you can begin to manipulate it with your hands. Continue adding saline solution and manipulating with hands until you can play with it without it sticking to your fingers. While playing with it, if it becomes sticky, you can add a little more saline solution.

Store in airtight container for up to four weeks. Add a little saline solution before taking it out of the container each time before playing with it.

This has great texture and you can even use metal cookie cutters with it.  Have fun!

Excellent practice in fine motor control and one to one correspondence

Materials
Golf tees in a small bowl
Jellybeans in a small bowl
Piece of styrofoam

Directions
Invite your child to poke golf tees into the styrofoam and then carefully place one jellybean on the top of each golf tee. Count the golf tees and the jellybeans.

Lesson Extension for Preschoolers: 
Sort the jellybeans by colors
Make patterns using the jellybeans
Practice addition and subtraction (3 red and 2 blue make 5 jellybeans)

This activity provides excellent fine motor practice and one to one correspondence practice, placing one jellybean on one golf tee.

Variation: Use marbles instead of jellybeans

Materials:
Egg shell halves
Egg carton
Potting soil
Seeds of choice
Spray water bottle

Directions
Place egg shell halves in egg carton. Invite your child to spoon potting soil into each egg shell. Have you child poke his finger into the dirt and drop a few seeds into the hole. Gently cover with dirt and spray with water. Place the egg carton in a windowsill and observe daily. Count the number of days until you see the seeds sprout. Eggs shells can be transplanted into the ground or a bigger pot once the seedlings are growing strong.

Materials
Construction paper cut into large feather shapes
Scissors

Directions
Cut out several construction paper feather shapes for your toddler.  Provide your child with a pair of  child-size scissors.  (Fiskars make a good pair of scissors; the Dollar Tree has scissors that work sufficiently)  Invite your child to snip around the edges of the feather.

This activity provides excellent fine motor practice and requires focus and concentration

Preschool age children: 
Provide feather shapes on card stock. Invite your child to trace around the feather shape, then cut out  and fringe the feather.

Materials
Birdseed
Small clay pot and clay saucer (birdbath)
Small decorative birds
Large decorative birds
Wooden robin eggs (you can paint them various colors – purple, green, blue, white with specks)
Small bird eggs
Small bird nest
Bird and birdhouse buttons 
Berries (cut off floral stems)
Small piece of blue felt
Branch from the yard (stick it in some play-doh to help it stand it up)

Directions
Remove the wires from all of the small birds.  Larger birds can hang on the tree branch. Hot glue the bottom of the saucer to the bottom of the pot. The pot is the base for the bird bath. Glue blue felt inside the saucer for water. Pour birdseed into a large plastic container. Add all the materials. Encourage your child to:

• Dig for berries and feed the birds
• Hide eggs and search for them
• Match the birds and eggs by color
• Count the birds
• Count the eggs
• Make up fun stories about birds. 

Encourage your child to use her imagination!

Ingredients
1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 (7 oz.) Jar Marshmallow Fluff
2 T butter
Chow Mein Noodles
Egg Shaped Candy

Directions
Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff in a small saucepan and melt, while stirring, until smooth. Stir in Chow Mein Noodles (no set amount, just however many you want).  Next, form little nest shapes on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Add egg-shaped candies to the nests and refrigerate.

Ingredients
8 Hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 cup chopped green onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Bread or crackers

Directions
Peel, rinse, and dry hard-boiled eggs. Chop eggs and place in a bowl.  Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, green onion, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on bread or crackers.