Quick & Easy Bird Nest Craft
Make this quick & easy bird nest craft with both your toddlers and preschoolers! It’s perfect for your next Birds & Eggs theme and is sure to be a huge hit with your little kids. You’re definitely not going to want to miss this cute bird-themed process art activity!
With everything that’s going on around us, the kids and I have been hanging out at home for the last few weeks. And because we have so much extra time on our hands, we decided to go ahead and get started with our Birds & Eggs theme a few days early. Today’s topic was Nest and this Bird Nest Craft was all kinds of awesome!
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A huge thanks to Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time) for providing us with their Experience Preschool curriculum for free in exchange for sharing our honest and authentic stories resulting from our personal experiences. It’s been such a huge blessing to us! As always, my opinions on awesome stuff for little kids are 100% my own.
Keep in mind that all preschoolers do things in their own time and on their own terms. What one is ready for, another might not be. Please use your best mama judgement when planning activities for your little kids.
Children are highly motivated to learn about animals, especially ones they see in their backyard. As children learn about animals such as birds, they are engaging in the scientific method. The scientific method naturally occurs as children observe birds and ask questions such as “What do woodpeckers eat? or “How do birds build a nest?”
With every observation, there are more questions for children to inquire about. As children learn about wildlife and their natural environment, they can begin to access their innate curiosity in the world around them. Teachers play an important role by creating learning environments that promote play and exploration in the natural world.
Our bird theme got off to a great start! We read Mama Built a Little Nest* and baby girl did the Hello Bird Stickers activity that was included in this month’s toddler curriculum.
A very special friend of mine was sweet enough to make sure that baby girl got a toddler “take home” bag and of course we purchased one of the Little Goose Toddler Teacher Guidebooks as well, so we’re going to have lots of fun with both little kids.
Process Art for Preschoolers
Experience Preschool includes lots of process art activities, which the little guy and baby girl are head over heels in love with. Here’s the thing about process art, the focus is on the experience and not the end product.
Unlike so many of the preschool crafts out there, open-ended art is about learning and creating, exploring, making mistakes and of course having fun. Instead of looking at a craft and asking themselves, “How can I make mine look like the example?” your little kids will be asking, “What can I do with these materials and how can I make it my own?”
There are so many benefits to process art including building fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, encouraging creative thinking and problem-solving skills, providing sensory experiences and of course exploring new materials and mediums.
Because of the wide range of skills, these open-ended art projects are ideal for toddlers and preschoolers who are still very much learning about the world around them. And let’s not forget that they’re great confidence builders too!
If you’ve never tried open-ended art with your little kids, what are you waiting for? Little kids love process art, trust me. While I wouldn’t go as far as calling it messy, it’s definitely more sensory-based than most crafts.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Process art is a great way to use everyday items that you wouldn’t necessarily think to use and definitely not together. I’m willing to bet that if you give it a chance, you’ll be amazed at what your toddlers and preschoolers create.
Bird Nest Craft
Little kids will love this adorable bird nest craft. It’s a wonderful, open-ended activity that encourages your toddlers and preschoolers to think outside the box. How can they use the materials to create a bird nest of their very own?
Birds build nests to have a place for their eggs to hatch, though not all bird species build nests. Most hatchlings do not stay in the nest for very long, though bald eagle chicks (eaglets) stay in their nest for almost 100 days.
Because of the materials used, this activity is great for experimenting with the concept of three-dimensional art. Did I mention that you can include nature items for even more open-ended building and creating fun?
Small sticks and even leaves are great for crafts like this one. Not only are they lovely to look at, but they also provide a wonderful sensory element.
“Where can you find a nest?”
Not surprisingly, that was a fairly easy question to answer for the little guy and baby girl because we literally just found a nest today while we were playing outside.
Obviously, it was abandoned because of the time of year, but we had the opportunity to take a close look at it and talk about how bird nests are similar and different. It’s was such a gorgeous day and I love that we got to take advantage of it while exploring nature together as a family.
The best thing about making nature-inspired art is that little kids are curious. And before you know it, you’ll both have learned so much.
Challenge your little kids to use their imaginations by giving them lots of materials to make their very own bird nest craft! Keep reading to find out how.
Nest Invitation to Create
What you’ll need
Here’s how to do it
Set Up
- Set out the inspiration photo and any additional materials.
Prompts
- What materials do you see in the nest in the photo?
- What type of nest would you like to make?
- How will you use the paper bag? Will you roll the side down or cut the bag?
- What will you use the paper shreds for?
Observe
- Did the child demonstrate fine motor control when cutting, tearing, or rolling the paper bag?
Not surprisingly, the little guy and baby girl had an absolute blast with this activity. They were both incredibly focused the entire time and I’m for sure impressed with what they each came up with.
One of the reasons why I absolutely love process art is because I get to see how my little kids interpret the inspiration photo and how they use the materials that we’re given. I truly enjoy getting a glimpse into their creative process and wouldn’t trade this time making art with them for anything.
They both start with the exact same materials and yet more often than not their projects look completely and totally different.
Our next topic is Egg and we’re all kinds of excited to learn more!
Don’t forget to check back if you’re interested in seeing what we’re up to next week with our Birds & Eggs theme from Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother Goose Time). And if you missed this year’s preschool homeschool space post, you can check it out here.
Looking for more insight & inspiration? Here are the top 10 most popular posts from The Keeper of the Memories. You’re definitely not going to want to miss these!
