Bird Feeding

It's a very cold day here and I've spent some time watching the birds outside of my kitchen window. It's easy to attract them by using a variety of feeders (e.g., platform, tube, cage) and seed (e.g. black oil sunflower, millet, peanuts). One of the most successful nature experiences I've had with kindergarten students has been by hanging a bird feeder directly outside my classroom window. I was working at an urban school where the majority of students lived in apartment buildings and shared dwellings. Most had not experienced feeding birds outdoors at home, so they were intrigued with the experience.

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Within a few weeks our feeder had attracted some colourful local birds including house finches, goldfinches, sparrows, blue jays and juncos. Every student seemed interested in watching the feeder, and no one missed the opportunity to see a new bird. The bird watching inspired students to engage in much self-directed learning in language, math, and science. Students wrote about the birds in their journals, tracked the variety and number of birds at the feeder using a tally chart, created an investigation to see if various kinds of seed would attract different birds, painted pictures of the birds at the art area, and engaged in lively conversations with one another at the viewing window.

I was thrilled with the authentic learning I observed that was inspired by the bird watching, but also hopeful that this experience would help nurture a sense of care and responsibility for nature (including birds) in the children.