Give the children clay, twigs, straw, yarn and ribbon and demonstrate how to make a nest with clay. Make a ball and push your fingers into the middle to make a hole. Slowly enlarge the hole until you've created a nest. Add twigs, sticks, yarn or ribbon to the clay nests to make them more realistic. Provide the children with feathers or cotton balls to line the inside of the nest.
Melt white chocolate in a microwaveable bowl or on the stove top. While the white chocolate is still warm, add chow mein noodles and stir gently to mix. Pour the white chocolate mixture into small bowls and allow it to harden. Run hot water over the bottom of the bowl to melt the white chocolate slightly. Remove the nests and fill them with jelly beans or chocolate eggs. Wash the children's hands before you begin cooking and allow them to take turns stirring the white chocolate or adding the noodles.
Make the outline of a nest on a large piece of butcher paper or poster board. Glue collage materials, such as grass, straw, twigs, yarn and twine, to the paper to represent a nest. To make chicks for the nest, paint the children's feet with yellow paint. Place their feet on white construction paper to make footprints. Allow the paint to dry and then cut the footprints out. Place a black dot on the heel of the foot for the eye, and draw small legs from the arch of the foot, extending downward. Draw a beak on the side of the heel.
Bring in photos of birds' nests, explaining that different types of birds build different nests, and some birds don't build nests at all. Make a chart detailing several birds, the types of nests they build and the color of their eggs. Explain that sometimes birds live in homes made for them by people. Build and paint bird houses. Make a nest in your pretend center with pillows so the children can pretend to be birds.