Pinecone, Lard, and Bird Seed Winter Bird Feeders

We have been having an usually mild winter this year, but we decided to give the birds some good winter time bird food anyway. In general, birds need more fat during winter time, so we used lard in our winter bird seed this year instead of peanut butter because we got a half pig last year. Pigs have a lot of lard on them, and I have been struggling to figure out what to do with the all the lard. After a few batches of tamales and tortillas I still have lots of lard. I decided that the birds would probably enjoy some nice bird seed and lard since I was told by a local farmer that birds love lard.

To make these simple bird feeders, you just take some fallen pine cones and rub them in lard. Then, you can sprinkle some bird seed on top of the lard. We use a generic wild bird seed mix that attracts lots of different birds to our yard. Finally, hang up your easy bird feeders outside.

Freezing Art

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For Christmas I got the kids some liquid water colors because I was tired of struggling to get the water color pellets to produce nice vibrant colors that I had seen on so many art teacher blogs. Our first project with the new liquid water colors was a science experiment on freezing. I got the idea from the book, Science Arts by MaryAnn Kohl and Jean Potter. The book is fantastic. The book uses art projects to explain science concepts. This book is great for a child who loves art or a child that is weary of science.

In this experiment, the concept of diffusion is explored when children paint on a wet piece of paper with water color paints. Diffusion is when the paint molecules spread. Then, the concept of freezing is explored when you place the painted piece of paper is placed outside in freezing temperatures or in the freezer. When freezing occurs, the water molecules line up into organized structures to create sheets of ice. We took the experiment one step further and watched the paper thaw again in the house. In this case you can watch the paint become more diffuse again causing the intensity of the paints to diminish as the pigments in the paint spread out over the piece of paper.  I recommend taking pictures of your paints before freezing, after freezing, and after thawing to see how much the paint diffuses. The results with liquid water colors can be really stunning. This experiment is appropriate for preschool to early elementary aged children. My toddler also participated, but she does not have a concept of diffusion yet.

Science concepts explored in this experiment: diffusion, freezing, states of matter (liquid and solid), thawing

Materials modified from Science Arts p 101

White paper

Water

Liquid water colors

Cookie sheet

Plastic wrap

Freezer or freezing temperatures outside (we put out paintings outside)

Directions

1.       We the white piece of paper. You want the entire paper wet.

2.       Paint the wet piece of paper with liquid water colors. I recommend taking a picture of your work after this step. Observe how the paint diffuses outward as you paint.

3.       Place the piece of paper on a cookie sheet and place a piece of plastic over the painting.

4.       Place the painting outside or in the freezer.

5.       After 12-24 hours, remove the plastic wrap from the painting and observe the ice crystals. I recommend taking a picture now.

Miss Bubbles': painting a wet piece of paper

After freezing:

The ice up close:

After thawing:

Little BBQ's painting:

After freezing:

After thawing:

Posted on We Love to Paint

Book: Terrible Storm

On our usual weekly library run, Little BBQ picked out the book, Terrible Storm by Carol Otis Hurst.  The book is about the blizzard of March 1888 that left the north east covered in a thick layer of snow for 3 days.  The book is about two men with opposite personalities and that ended up waiting out the snow storm in opposite but unpleasant ways.  For a preschooler, the book this really brings into the light the idea of opposites.   With Little BBQ I asked if he would rather be in a room full of people or a room full of animals, and he responded a room full of animals, so for our art project corresponding to the book he drew a picture of himself in a room full of people, the opposite of what he would have wanted.  To make the snow, he took the eraser end of a pencil and dipped into white paint. 

Feeding Birds in Winter

We recently moved to a new house. While the inside of the house is great, I was concerned that the backyard had no signs of life. No birds outside singing in the morning. No squirrels running through the trees. Nothing. Not even insects. My lifeless yard made me antsy. Was there no sign of life because a predator is hiding in some not so distance trees, was there a pollutant causing all the wildlife to die, or was there a shortage of food for the animals?


To bring life and energy back into my backyard, Little BBQ and I made some bird food for the birds. Since it is winter time here, we took wild bird seed mix from the store and mixed it with peanut butter because the birds need the extra fat during winter time. Then, we placed the food inside orange peels. Finally, we set the food outside and waited.

…and waited

…and waited some more.

Weeks went by and still no signs of life. Was our backyard cursed? Had all the animals in the area died? I was nervous. Finally after 4 weeks some life finally began to appear. First we had a small bird.

Then we got a very small squirrel.

And finally lots more birds.

Little BBQ’s new job is make new bird food whenever the old food runs out. We also practice taking pictures of the animals. Little BBQ is learning to focus a camera. We also make observations about the animals. From watching the animals we have learned about sharing. The animals take only what they need. They do not hoard. They seem to have faith that another food source will pop up if they need it. Everything in our yard seems more harmonious. In the morning there is a flutter of activity from the early morning birds. During lunch time a little squirrel makes his presence known. Feeding the animals has provided us with a fun and educational wintertime activity.