Watching videos or reading books with the children before making the craft helps the children remember where each animal builds its nest and what materials it uses to make the nest comfortable. For example, the SD Cinematografica video "Animals, A to Z: Nests" and the Weekly Reader book "Why Animals Live in Nests" teach children that in addition to birds, many other animals also build nests. The children need sticks, grass or reeds, feathers, dryer lint, worn-out socks or towels cut into strips, clay and dried Spanish moss. The children form a nest shape from clay, then add feathers, grass or fabric to make a soft place inside. They use the sticks and Spanish moss to cover the outside of each nest. Margarine bowls help the nests hold their shape while the clay dries.
If you click on the five photo strips of birds and their nests in the article, "Common Backyard Bird Nest Identification," at the Wild Birds Unlimited website, they get larger, making them easier to see. When you right click on the enlarged image and select "Save Image As," it opens a "Save Image" window. Once you click "Save" you can go to the next image to save the rest. Keep it simple by giving each child just one photo strip. Each child needs scissors, a large sheet of construction paper, 3 pieces of yarn, 6 pieces of tape and a glue stick. The children cut the birds and nests apart and tape a piece of yarn to the back to connect the two pictures. They can attach the nest picture to the construction paper using a glue stick, leaving the bird hanging.
Children make edible nests as a group after they wash and dry their hands. Each child needs six peanut butter or cheese sandwiches, a leaf-shaped cookie cutter, a squirrel-shaped cookie cutter and a small bowl with a round bottom. The children use the cookie cutters to cut five sandwiches into leaf shapes, and cut the sixth sandwich into a bird shape.
The children create a nest in the bowl with the leaf shapes, and lean the squirrel-shape against the side of the bowl. Each squirrel nest makes a snack for three children.
Each child needs a 6-inch grapevine wreath, three cotton balls and a small toy bird. The children glue the cotton balls to the wreath and then glue the bird to the cotton balls. They will probably need help to tie a loop of ribbon through each wreath to make a hanger.