Recycled Bird Feeder Craft
In honor of Earth Day just yesterday, I wanted to share a simple project that will get you in the spirit of conserving and thinking creatively about what we can do to work in harmony with our Mother Nature.
The project is simple and uses materials easily available to you. Remember that we want to be as resourceful as possible.
You will need a tissue cardboard tube for each feeder, string or cord, scissors, a yarn needle (or something to pierce holes), peanut butter, cheerios and birdseeds.
We did two variations of birdfeeder. The first and most simple just requires you to pierce a hole through the top of one of the recycled tubes and string your cording through. After tying a knot to secure the loop, coat the tube in peanut butter. Roll the coated tube in the seeds and hang it out for our birdy friends!
The second feeder is great for older children as it has more steps and requires finer hand eye coordination. Still working with a single tube, first flatten it and insert 5 nicely spaced holes. Make sure you don't put holes to close to the edges. These will be the center of the strips you cut next. Once you have your strips cut, prepare your cord by tying off 3 or 4 cheerios to the end of the string.
Now take your cardboard strips and paint them with peanut butter! This can get kinda messy! Once nicely coated roll them in the bird seed. String one side of the cardboard onto your string. Add 4 or 5 cheerios and then string through the other side of the strip. Add more cheerios to create a pattern that is appealing to your preference and then repeat the process until you've used all five of your strips. Knot a loop at the end and then hang from your favorite bird watching spot!
Have fun!!!