Bird's Nests

Materials:

1. Nesting Materials: Yarn, paper scraps, leaves,
2. grass, sticks, cotton balls, dryer lint, etc.
3. A brown paper lunch sack
4. Newspaper or a plastic tabletcloth
5. Mud
6. A gardening spade or plastic toy shovel
7. A bowl or bucket
8. Plastic gloves
9. Scissors
10. Binoculars (Optional)

Directions:

1. Have each child hunt around the house and yard for Nesting materials.
2. Next send each child outside to gather up a bunch of mud and dirt. If it hasn't rained, scoop up some dirt and add water to it.
3. Dump all supplies on ground outside or if working inside, on a plastic tablecloth lined table.
4. Trim a brown paper lunch sack down by about a third.
5. Help children roll the sides of the paper bag all the way down to creat a shallow bowl.
6. Have each child cover the bag with a layer of mud.
7. Pack the nesting supplies into the mud.
8. Continue adding more mud, then more nesting supplies, etc., until you have built a strong nest.
9. Finally, line the inside of the nest with some soft material like yarn, fabric scraps or a layer of fluffed-out cotton balls.
10. When dry, help children carefully place the nest up in a tree or on a windowsill.
11. Children can look in on nest every once in a while with a pair of binoculars.