Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

Textured Eagles

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During our bird week, we wanted to make sure we talked about one of our favorite and one of the most impressive birds, the bald eagle.

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We found a wonderful book about eagles at our library, Soaring with the Wind: The Bald Eagle by Gail Gibbons. After learning all we could about the bald eagle, we decided to make a couple of our own.

The first thing we needed to do for our eagles was to make our white paper look textured and mimic the look of feathers.

I looked all over our house trying to figure out what would work best. Finally, I hit up our collection of empty cardboard tubes. I flattened a couple of tubes and cut strips partially up the tubes.

We used white paint on top of white paper and painted our texture all over. This was by far the most fun part of the whole project!

After our paint dried, I drew a simple eagle head shape on the white paper. I kept it simple so that the girls could cut it out.

I drew the shape on the back of the paper so we wouldn’t have to worry about the pencil lines showing up on our project.

We also cut out a simple eye and beak from yellow paper. The girls glued these pieces on a sheet of blue construction paper.

Finally it was time for the finishing touches.

We used markers and pencils to add any additional detail that were needed.

Lizzie’s wonderful creation is the top pictures and AJ’s is below. Note that AJ’s eagle is going to have a bit of trouble eating. It’s a good thing he’s so cute!

Our bird fun hasn’t ended. We’re going to keep on learning about them and doing projects for the next week (or two)! We are having too much fun learning about, crafting and exploring the world of birds.

Weekends: How to Sew a Button

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After having the book How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew by Erin Bried on my “To Read” list for over a year, I decided it was finally time to pick it up.

I do know how to sew a button, but I knew there are many bits of wisdom that our grandmothers knew that have been forgotten in these modern days.

After realizing she was losing her ability to take care of herself, Erin Bried turned to 10 women from all over the United States. Through this interview process, Erin compiled over 100 bits of wisdom from how to carve a roasted bird to how to wear red lipstick. The information is useful and told with a humor sure to appeal to our modern times.

I picked up the book hoping to learn something and I didn’t come away disappointed.

I learned the best way to hone a knife, how to clean anything with vinegar or baking soda, how to dry apples, how to scent my home without candles, how to delegate chores, how to barter, how to host a potluck dinner party, how to introduce people, and many other things.

I also came to the realization that knowing how to do many of these simple things went a long way in helping you save money, save time, and live greener.

Is this a book worth reading? Absolutely! Everyone should find something useful between the covers.

Erin Bried has also written How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew and How to Rock Your Baby: And Other Timeless Tips for Modern Moms. I plan on adding both of these books to my “To Read” list.

Is there any old skill that you don’t know but hope to learn?

10 Ways to Learn About Birds

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We’ve been enjoying our time learning about birds this week.

Birds are all around and fun to learn about.

They’re fascinating and so different from me or you, or even the family dog.

If your kids are interested in birds, I’ve compiled 10 fun ways to help your kids learn about birds.

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1. Observe birds. We are fortunate to have been able to visit the National Eagle Center and observe eagles up close. Through observation, we’ve learned size, color, sound and the impressive wing span of an eagle. Unfortunately, it’s not always practical to be able to observe birds at a location devoted to them. Luckily, birds are everywhere! Take a trip to a local lake, river, or hiking trail. Or, even better, just walk out into your own backyard. Having Fun at Home shares a creative way to observe and keep track of the birds that visit their backyard.

2. Listen to birds. While you’re observing, use your ears. What do birds sound like? Can you identify a bird by it’s call? ENature.com has an amazing collection of bird calls that you can listen to for free. Listen to all the different calls. Amazing, isn’t it?

3. Feed the birds. Learn about the different food that birds eat and create a bird-friendly yard. We made Cheerio bird feeders and Glittering Muffins made simple bird feeders out of cardboard tubes. You could also make some fun Cookie Cutter bird feeders like these from Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

4. Read a book about birds. There are many books written for kids about birds. You should be able to find one at any age level. We’ve enjoyed A Nest Full of Eggs (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) by Priscilla Belz Jenkins, The Bird Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, and About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill. Your local library is sure to have a collection of bird books for children.

5. Learn about nests. We were recently able to study a real bird’s nest. But, if you don’t have one, you can make your own! Sun Hats and Wellie Boots made nests from mud and twigs. Mommy & Me Book Club made large nests from branches and twigs. Get hands on and learn how a nest is put together.

6. Help a bird build a nest. While you won’t actually be able to work side-by-side with a bird, you can provide them with materials to help build their nests. Paint Cut Paste shows you how to make fun nest zests and Inner Child Fun shows you how to make colorful bird nesters. Learn about the materials used to build a nest and help the birds at the same time.

7. Learn about feathers. If you can, find a feather to examine. Feel how light it is. Fun your fingers along the side and feel the texture. Have some fun with the feathers and paint with them like this example from Mommy and Me Book Club. You can also try your hand at creating feathers, like we did with these peacock feathers or our feather stencils.

8. Learn to identify birds. What characteristics do you need to observe in order to determine the type of bird. Find a good bird book and learn about all the different types of birds that live around you. Inner Child Fun created this simple backyard field guide for an inexpensive, child-friendly option.

9. Get active! Learn about birds through active play. Flap your arms like a bird. Can you feel the breeze it makes? Pretend to glide through the air or land on a branch. Help your kids learn about birds and burn off some energy at the same time.

10. Do a bird craft. Do a quick search for birds on Pinterest and you’re sure to find many ideas. We made these cute collage owls. Toddler Approved made cute chicks using tape. Dilly-Dali Art made fun light bulb birds. Creativity My Passion made colorful birds from recycled tissue boxes. And this is just the tip of the iceberg or fun bird crafts! (Again, you can check my Birds Pinterest Board for more fun bird crafts.)

*Bonus Activity: You’re never to young to learn about birds! The Educators’ Spin On It shares some wonderful ways to introduce babies to the natural world and the wonders of birds.

What is your favorite way to learn about birds?

Art Lessons: Creating Feathers

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Since we are learning about birds this week, I thought it would be fun to make some pretty artwork with feathers.

Feathers are both beautiful and easy to draw, so I hoped the girls would have a fun experience creating them.

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In order to help them out, I cut stencils from an empty cereal box.

I cut basic feather shapes in several different sizes, so they could cover their paper with unique feathers.

We used oil pastels on black construction paper. But, if you don’t have oil pastels, crayons would also work well. (I would use a lighter color of paper if using crayons.)

I showed the girls how to use the stencils and instead of instructing, I worked alongside them.

AJ used her stencils and scribbled a few lines inside each, which is how she does all her artwork. She creates scribbles in as many colors as possible!

Lizzie watched me carefully and noticed that instead of coloring my feathers all one color, I was using different colors.

The more she worked, the more creative she got. I love her multicolored feathers!

This was an easy project to set up and a nice way to create a beautiful picture!

Exploring Nature: Bird’s Nest

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This past fall, we discovered a bird had built a nest in our garage on top of the garage door opener.It had been abandoned at some point (probably when the poor birds realized just how loud a garage door can be).

We pulled it down, showed the girls, then it was placed in a plastic bin and forgotten about.

When Lizzie requested that we spend this week learning about birds, I happened to spot the nest again.

Perfect! I got out the nest, took it outside, and we started exploring.

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We found the perfect book at the library to help us learn about this nest of ours, A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz Jenkins. The book was written for young children and my preschool-aged child easily understood and enjoyed this book.

We learned about how birds make nests, lay their eggs, how birds grow from egg to adult, and the different kinds of nests birds build.

While we were reading, we examined the nest.

We looked closely to see what materials the bird used to build this nest and came to the conclusion that the bird must have gathered a lot of materials for a nearby farm.

We each held on to a side and tried tugging. We learned how strong a bird’s nest is since it didn’t come apart at all.

We felt inside and discovered how soft it is. We decided it would be a very comfortable spot for an egg to rest. I know that my girls learned a lot through our bird’s nest exploration.

We had fun, asked questions, drew our own conclusions, and now how more knowledge of the natural world we live in.