Birds
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As spring is coming ever so slowly, we’re seeing more and more birds around, much to the delight of my toddler. For Christmas, she got a bird feeder and diligently feeds the birds. I keep an eye on it to make sure it’s filled, but most of the time she’s ready to refill it as soon as it gets low!
Supporting this interest in our homeschool room, we have a few shelves of bird activities. Some are old, some are new, and all are loved. From top to bottom, left to right, we have:
- Safari LTD Backyard Birds TOOB with photo card matching (Available here, at my Teachers pay Teachers store)
- Silbley Backyard Birds Matching/Memory Game
- Sibley Backyard Bird fact cards
- Common birds 3 part cards from Trillium Montessori (not an affiliate link)
My toddler’s favorite activities is matching the bird figures to the cards. Normally, when I do matching activities for toddler and primary aged children, I prefer to make the images match the objects. So when I do a Safari LTD TOOB, I take photos (or find them pre-made) of the TOOB objects. In this case, I used photos of the birds. I went this route because many of the birds we have seen and will continue to see, so there is more real life experience. She can hold a figurine of a Blue Jay, look at a photo, and see them in the yard.
Sibley Flashcards and Matching
We have enjoyed going through the many cards in the flash card box set. The birds are divided into three sets: Western US, Eastern US, and Common to all. Since my children are younger and there are SO many cards, I pulled out the cards for birds we don’t have. Sometimes my children will sit quietly and look at the pictures, which are beautiful and drawings. Sometimes we use them as a resource, either wondering more information about a bird or for identifying new birds we see.
Personally, my favorite is the memory game. My toddler uses this material as a matching activity, which is great. My older daughter likes playing Memory. The cards are thick cardboard with the name and image of the bird. The images match the fact file cards, which is great for when we come across a bird we haven’t actually seen before.
Last, but not least!
Of course, I included the Montessori Parts of a Bird puzzle in the mini bird unit. We have a complete set of parts of animal puzzles, which my kids love. A favorite is the horse puzzle, so this was a good opportunity to remind them about the bird puzzle! Now that it is sitting displayed on the shelf, it is definitely getting more use.
The final activity I added to the shelf was bird egg sorting. The eggs are wooden eggs I had. I don’t remember where I got them, but I’m sure you could find them in a craft store. I painted them with acrylic paints, and my daughter loved splattering the black paint to make them look speckled! The little nests, from Amazon, each hold four eggs nicely. The tongs are a bit tricky for my toddler, but it’s great practice for my older daughter.
Side Note: Illustrations versus Photos
Sometimes I see parents questioning whether or not a material is “Montessori” because it uses illustrations rather than photos. This comes from the idea that we want to always show children what is real rather than pretend images. It is an excellent point, but sometimes misguided. In my classroom and in my home, I strive for realistic representation when learning about something. When choosing a book or material, rather than limiting myself to photos, I want to see that images are accurate and beautiful. Sometimes this means photos and sometimes it means illustrations. So, you’ll see we have a mixture of both on our shelves currently.
