Life Cycle of a Bird: Nests

Birds are our final stop in our Spring Life Cycles Unit.

Every year my scholars look forward to our last science unit segment. I save the best for last, leaving a lasting memory on each of my scholars for years. Scholars that come back to visit, ask if we still hatch eggs in the classroom. They remember vivid details and recall the life cycle and vocabulary.

Nests are beautiful pieces of art.

Before a bird will lay eggs, they prepare a space or nest for their eggs (and eventually young) to be safe, comfortable and protected. The process of nest building is a fun study. How the birds gather materials, what types of materials are used, how nests are built and where nests are built, are all fascinating discoveries. My scholars especially like to examine our real bird nests on display. 

An invitation to create and build a beautiful nest is a classroom favorite.

Natural materials are set out, that would be used by birds to build nests. Some of the materials are: twigs, sticks, rope, yarn, jute, string, grass, leaves, moss, ribbon, feathers, fur, raffia, straw, crinkled paper and various small speckled eggs. The rope bowl is the perfect soft, natural material to help hold and shape the nest creations. My scholars love to use the materials to build nests that are functional, beautiful, comfortable and protective. 

Beautiful books on the types of nests and finished nests, can captivate children and adults.

During this portion of our bird life cycle study, I like to cover four different books: 'A Nest is Noisy' by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, 'Birds Make Nests' by Michael Garland, 'Animal Engineers: Bird Nests' by Stacy Torino and the beautiful coffee table book called 'Bird Nests: Amazingly Ingenious and Intricate' by Stan Tekiela. My scholars especially like to pour over the amazing photography in Stan Tekiela's book.

Drawing nest plans or their finished product, adds another component to the activity.

Nest plans or nest journal pages, can also be offered at the activity table. The Nest Building Plans page can have a picture drawn of the nest idea or materials they would like to use. The My Bird Nest Design journal page can provide each students with the ability to record what they have built, before they place the materials back for other students.

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Click the image below to be taken to the Life Cycles Bird Nests Science Pack:

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