Nests...

On Friday our Mother Goose lesson was all about nests!

 

The kids started out their morning working on the letters W and X in their literacy workbook...

 They also completed a basic addition and subtraction worksheet in their math workbook with birds in a nest...

 The kids completed their monthly journals by drawing a self-portrait on the back page...

During circle time we added the letters W and X to our alphabet house.

We sang "The Birds in the Nest" to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus."

"The birds in the nest go tweet, tweet, tweet.

Tweet, tweet, tweet.

Tweet, tweet, tweet.

The birds in the nest go tweet, tweet, tweet,

all day long!"

Before our next activity we discussed whether or not we would want to live in a nest and why.  Then I set out a new set of "What Goes Together?" cards that Mother Goose provided for us.  We took turns flipping over one green card, and one blue card.  If the animal we chose lives in the home we chose, then it was a match!

A bee lives in a hive!

A king lives in a castle!

Before our next activity, I asked the kids if they think baby birds learn to do anything in their nest.  We discussed that a baby bird does not have feathers when it is first born, so it cannot fly.  After a bird grows for a bit, it will learn to fly and eventually leaves the nest.  For our next activity, the kids pretended to be birds in the nest (kids in the classroom) learning.  I asked the kids to look at the following concept review sheet and asked them, "Can you find the _____?"  The kids used their listening skills as they listened and looked for the thing I stated.  We focused on our color words, and shapes.  I left the numbers and letters for the kids to do at home with their mom and dad (I felt those deserved a little more one-on-one attention.)

Next we headed outside to make a paper bag bird's nest.  I set out large plastic clothespins for the kids to go around the yard and collect things that they believed would be good for a nest (our clothespins resembled a birds beak, so the kids pretended they were birds as they did this).  I also set out our yarn bucket and scissors.  They cut pieces of yarn to put in their nests as well. 

The kids and I are hoping that a bird might make its nest in the bag, or take things from the bag to use to make their own nest!

For our next activity, I asked the kids who makes food for them in their home.  I explained that baby birds don't leave the nest when they are very young.  The adult birds search for and bring back food like bugs, worms, or seeds.  I set out two laundry baskets that we pretended were nests.  A couple of kids at a time sat in each laundry basket.  Then we spread our letter, number, and shape mats all around the yard.  I asked the kids that were sitting in the nest to pretend to be baby birds, and the other kids to be their parents.  The babies asked for "food" (a letter, number, or shape).  The parent birds flew to find the matching letter, number, or shape and brought it back.  The kids loved doing this, and it was such a fun way to get the kids to review the concepts we have been learning about so far this year.

I filled our sensory table with bird seed, plastic eggs, birds, etc.

We ordered pizza to celebrate G's birthday (ordering pizza is our tradition on birthdays)!

This was our book for the day.  It was a lift-the-flap book about all sorts of different animals that make nests for their homes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY G!  He brought us a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cookie cake!  The kids were so thankful and excited!

 This made me laugh....S took over and blew out his candles for him!  Ha!

 I lit them a second time for him!

 G wanted to eat the eye!

 In the afternoon I took out our Lakeshore color bird puzzle.  This is one of the kid's favorites!  Each body shape is different, so it is self-correcting.  The kids have to try to match the color of the bird up to the color word on the branch.