You have come to the right place if you are looking for fun, engaging and exciting Bird themed activities to do with toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners. Our activities are used by teachers, moms, dads, child care providers and more!
All our activities are available at no cost and are free to print and share. Select below to get started.
Birds Arts and Crafts
Shredded Wheat Nests
Materials: Large shredded wheat biscuits, glue or maybe marshmallow glue and candy eggs
Activity: For each child crumble one large shredded wheat biscuit into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup white glue or melted marshmallow. Help the child pile the mixture on top of a plastic lid. Let child shape into a nest and add the eggs.
Cheerios Bird Feeder
Materials: Big pipe cleaners and Cheerios.
Hook one end of pipe cleaner and have children add Cheerios until 1 inch from top. Bend pipe cleaner over Cheerios so they will stay on. Make the pipe cleaner with Cheerios look like a J. Hook over tree limb for birds to enjoy.
Bird feeder
Use large coffee can with both ends cut out, then cut a piece of wood that goes just about 1/2 way up & put in both ends, then hook a piece of wire on the top so you could hang it. Paint. Send home a Ziploc bag full of bird seed with each feeder to start them out.
Bird in a Nest
Make a bird in a birds nest by giving them half a paper plate, let them add skinny brown rectangles for twigs. Use some real twigs if you have them, and pieces of string, and whatever else you may have to glue on plate for the nest. Then either do a footprint in yellow, add beak, eye and legs, or dip the side of their hand in yellow (or whatever color their bird is) paint & add fingerprint toes, then beak, eye & legs. Glue bird into nest.
Robin Eggs
Paint on egg shaped easel paper with blue tempera paint that has sand added. These make pretty robin eggs.
Paper Plate Owl
You will need paper plates (the kind with the ridged edges), circles of orange construction paper for eyes. V-shaped pieces of orange construction paper for bills and claws, a magic marker, brown tempera paint, and glue.
Using the magic marker, draw cutting lines on each paper plate at 10, 2, 5 and 7 o’clock, and along the inner edge of the ridges (these will be the wings). Have the children cut their plates on the lines, then have them paint the pieces of the paper plate with brown tempera paint and let dry. Staple the owl’s wings to the bodies for the children (or use brads for more movable wings). Have the children glue the eyes, beaks & claws onto their owls.
Rainbow Birds
Materials:
Newspaper, scissors, 1 paper plate, paints, paint brushes,glitter (optional), Stickers (optional), white glue,1 six inch piece of pipe cleaner, tape, 2 cut out circles one bigger than the other (smaller circle is head)
1) Cover your work area with newspaper. To make the bird tail, cut a 6 inch circle out of a paper plate or use a 6 inch paper plate. Cut a narrow strip off the bottom of the paper circle. Paint the paper circle. or decorate with glitter or stickers.
2) Glue the bird Head to the bird body ( little circle on top of big circle) Glue the bod to the bird tail. Make face any way you want.
3) For the legs and feet, fold the pipe cleaner in half. Bend each end of the pipe cleaner out about 3/4 inch. Tape the feet to the back of the bird body. Adjust the feet so your Rainbow bird will stand up. (The bird should look like a Peacock or turkey)
Flamingo
Materials: 1 large & 1 small pink pompon
Pink & yellow pipe cleaners
Wiggly eyes
Pink feathers
Make legs with about 4″ of pink pipe cleaner. Glue to big pink pompon Cut two 1″ pieces of pink pipe cleaner & twist around bottoms of legs to form feet. Cut one 2″ piece of pink pipe cleaner for neck. Glue between big & small pink pompon. Cut small piece of yellow pipe cleaner to make beak. Glue beak & wiggly eyes if you want to use them. Glue two pink feathers on each side of big pompon.
Chick
Materials:
1 large & 1 small yellow pompon
Orange pipe cleaner
Wiggly eyes
Yellow feathers
Glue pompons together. Cut two orange pipe cleaner pieces about 2 inches long, twist centers together, glue on for feet. Cut small beak out of orange pipe cleaner glue to face & add wiggly eyes. Glue some yellow feathers if you like.
Bag Owls
Loosely stuff a bag full of crumbled newspaper. Bring the top together & fold the two outer edges in toward the center & glue to form a point. Fold the point down. Cut eyes & feet from construction paper & glue to the owl. Big grocery bags will make grandfather owl, small candy bags turn into baby owls, & all sizes between are the flock.
Squawking Toucan Beaks
Provide each child with a snow cone cup. (cone-shaped) Let them decorate their “beaks” with colorful markers. Allow them to spend some time on this project. You may want to hang some colorful pictures of real toucans near the table to show how colorful toucans are. Use a hole punch to make a hole on each side and tie a piece of yarn to each side to hold the beak onto the child’s face.
Birds Of A Feather
Things you’ll need:
Four Large feathers
Four colors of paint on paper plates
Construction paper
Small, fluffy, colorful feathers
Let the children use the feathers to paint a light and airy picture. Remind them that the less paint they put on their feathers the more feathery the painting will be. When they are finished painting, let them stick small, fluffy feathers into the paint.
Bird Games and Activities
Bluebird, Bluebird
Children join hands & stand in circle. Construct one bluebird necklace out of construction paper. One child is first bluebird & weaves in & out of children’s arms while chanting (3 times) Bluebird, bluebird through my window. Who will be the next bluebird? That child then choose someone who has not had a turn to be the next bird & that child wears necklace. Play until everyone has a turn.
Birdseed Biscuits
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/2 cup cold water
2 Tbsp margarine
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 425F. Form a soft dough with baking mix & water. Roll out the dough to 3/4″ thickness & cut it into shapes with cookie cutters. Using a straw, punch a hole in the top of each cookie. Melt the margarine & brush over dough. Sprinkle the seeds & nuts onto the dough and press it in FIRMLY with a fork. Bake for 15-20 min., or until light brown. When cool, thread brightly colored ribbon through the hole & hang in a tree.
File folder game
Cut 10 egg shapes from white construction paper. Decorate eggs then cut them into halves varying the cut pattern (zig-zag, wavy, straight,etc.). Glue one half of a set into a folder. Have the children match the halves.
Birdie in the Tree
Make a tree with no leaves. Make it big enough to fit your flannel board. Make birdies, one each of red, yellow, green, purple, orange, blue, black, and brown. You can make two or tree of each color so each child will have one. Give each child a colored birdie. Place the tree on the flannel board>
Sing this song:
Little Red bird in the tree
In the tree, in the tree
Little Red bird in the tree
Sing me a song.
(The child or children who have a red bird places the bird on the tree and sings Tweet Tweet. Repeat with other colors.
Cracking Eggs
All birds are hatched from eggs so give the children a quick lesson in cracking eggs. After you have shown how to crack an egg, let each child try cracking one of their own. Children love cracking eggs & rarely get to do it. You can use the cracked eggs to make scrambled eggs for snack.
Bird Calls
Ask the children if anybody knows how to sound like a bird. Let them try one by one. They should be able to do a chicken, a turkey, a song bird, a baby chick. Let them think of others. Variation: Let the children come up one at a time & make a bird call. Let the rest of the children try to guess what kind of bird they are.
Messy Table
Fill a couple of large tubs with wild bird seed. Provide the children with funnels, measuring cups, measuring spoons, bowls etc. Spend some time at the table talking with the children about measurements. “How many quarter cups will it take to fill up this cup?” “How many teaspoons are there in this quarter cup? Let’s count them.” Let them count and measure, pour & stir.
Bird Recipes and Snacks
Bird nests
Needed:
Pretzel sticks
Chocolate chips
Jelly beans
Waxed paper
Give each child a piece of waxed paper & a few pretzel sticks. Have them arrange their sticks into a nest. In the meantime, melt chocolate chips. Drizzle melted chocolate over pretzel stick nests. When chocolate cools, place jelly beans on nests.
Fruity Nest to Nibble
Ingredients:
mixing bowl
2 lg shredded wheat biscuits
measuring cups & spoons
1/4 cup coconut
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine or butter (melted)
Muffin tin
Foil
Fruit or jelly beans
1) To make the nests, in a mixing bowl crumble shredded wheat biscuits with your fingers. Use a spoon to stir in coconut and sugar. With adult help, pour in the melted margarine. Stir everything together.
2) Line each of the 6 muffin cups with a piece of foil. Press the shredded wheat mixture onto the bottoms & up the sides of the foil-lined cups. With adult help, bake in 350 oven about 10 minutes or till crisp. Cool the nests in the cups.
3) Remove the nests from cups by lifting up on the foil. Carefully peel the foil off nests. Fill the nest with fruity bird eggs. If desired, top the fruit with a spoonful of yogurt.
Bird Songs, Poems and Finger Plays
Three Little Birds
Don’t worry ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little thing’s gonna be all right.
Singing don’t worry ’bout a thing,
‘Cause every little thing’s gonna be all right.
Rise up this morning, smile with the rising’ sun.
Three little birds sit by my doorstep singing sweet songs,
A melody sweet and pure, sing,
This is my message to you.
Little White Duck
There’s a little white duck (quack)
Sitting’ in the water
There’s a little white duck (quack)
Doing what he oughter.
He took a bite of the lily pad
Flapped his wings & he said,
“I’m glad, I’m a little white duck
Sitting’ in the water.”
(Quack, quack, quack)
Swans In The Park
(Tune:”Rock-A-Bye baby”)
Swans glide across the pond in the park,
With feathers so white and beaks that are dark.
They spread out there wings and take to the air.
The swans fly away, but I don’t know where.
I’m A Duck
(Sung to : “Frere Jacques” )
I’m a duck, I’m a duck,
Watch me waddle, watch me waddle.
Hear me when I talk,
Hear me when I talk.
Quack, quack, quack; quack, quack, quack.
I Had A Little Rooster
I had a little rooster by the old barn gate
And that little rooster was my playmate
And that little rooster went cock-a-doodle-doo
Dee-doodley-doodley-doodley-do
(substitute other animals)
Five and five eggs
Five and five eggs
(Hold up hands )
That makes ten
Sitting on top is mother hen
(Fold one hand over the other )
Crackle crackle crackle
(Clap hands three times )
What do I see
(Fingers around eyes )
Ten fluffy chickens
As yellow as can be
(Hold up ten fingers.)
Five Little Birds – poem
Five little birds in a nest in a tree
(hold up right hand)
Are just hungry as can be
“Peep”, said baby bird number one
(wiggle one finger)
Mother bird promised she would come
“Peep, Peep”, said baby bird number two,
If she doesn’t come what will we do?
“Peep, Peep, Peep”, said baby bird number three,
I hope she can find this tree.
“Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep”, said baby bird number four,
She never was so late before.
“Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep, Peep”, said baby bird number five,
When will our mother bird arrive?
Well, here she comes to feed her family
(use left hand as mommy bird)
They’re all as happy as can be!
The Chickadee Song
(Fly your fingers away one by one as you sing this song)
Chorus:
Chickadee, chickadee, happy and gay
Chickadee, chickadee, fly away.
Five little chickadees, no room for more,
One flew away, and then there were four.
Four little chickadees, sitting in a tree,
One flew away, and then there were three.
Three little chickadees, don’t know what to do,
One flew away, and then there were two.
Two little chickadees, sitting in the sun,
One flew away, then there was one.
One little chickadee, can’t have any fun.
He flew away, and then there were none.
Birds Fly High
(Sung to ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ )
Birds fly high and bees fly low,
Caterpillars crawl and rivers flow,
Cats meow and cows go ‘moo’.
Puppies bark and babies ‘coo’.
So many things to see and hear,
I use my eyes and I use my ears.
Two Little Blackbirds
Two little blackbirds
Sitting on a wall;
One named Peter,
The other named Paul.
Fly away Peter!
Fly away Paul!
Come back Peter!
Come back Paul!
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One comment:
Hello!! I am working on a Junior Naturalist Program with Black Hill park and was wondering if I could use these resources (the crafts, snacks, and activities) for the program. The Junior Naturalist program is my girl scout Gold Award, and this website would be so extremely helpful if I could use the content for my project and for the program. Would it be okay if I used these materials? Thank you so much!!