Feeding the birds allows you to talk with children about caring for animals. Create simple bird feeders using bread, peanut butter and bird seed. Have children use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of bread, spread peanut butter onto the shapes and press them into a bowl of bird seed. Run a piece of string through the bread, then head outside with the class. Help them choose a tree or bush that's in sight of your classroom window. Hang the string over a branch, then head inside to watch as birds come to eat.
When the weather's warm, take students outside to observe the birds near your school. Bring blankets outside and set up in the grass near some trees. Give children paper and crayons. Explain that they'll scare away the birds by being too loud, so challenge them to be as still and quiet as possible. Ask children to watch to see how many birds they can spot. They can use the paper to draw pictures of birds or other creatures they see.
Drawing birds teaches children to draw carefully rather than covering a page with scribbles. Show children pictures of birds, then choose one bird for everyone to draw. Hold up a large image of the bird they'll be drawing, then ask children to follow your instructions to draw a copy of the bird. For instance, ask children to first draw the shape of the head, then have the draw the beak and the eye. Continue on, giving children step-by-step directions, until they've finished the bird. Let them use their creativity to decorate their birds however they choose.
Experiment what it's like for birds to pick up food with their beaks. Show children pictures of birds with different types of beaks. Put out bowls filled with marbles, beads, rubber bands and crumpled-up paper. Give each child two toothpicks, two wooden craft sticks and two plastic spoons. Help them make each of the materials into tongs. Crumple a strip of paper, put it between two toothpicks, craft sticks or spoons, and secure them with a rubber band. Adjust so the tongs open when not in use. Have children use their tongs to try to pick up the objects in the bowl. Ask them to summarize which tongs, or "beaks," picked up which type of "food" most easily.