teaching kids

I have been teaching my kids (5 and 1 1/2 years) how to identify birds. We have a NJ field guide and a cd with backyard bird songs. They are having a blast. My 5 year old can identify some by their songs now. My 1 1/2 year old can point out a blue jay, cardinal, junco, chickadee, robin, woodpecker...it's too cute.
I'm learning some too. I heard a bird song this morning that I haven't heard in our yard.I looked out back and sitting on my feeder was a red winged black bird, I was so excited. I called my son over and he's like wow, a red winged black bird, it flew off too fast to get a pic.

Thats great! Its so good to get children to appreciate nature. Congratulations on your little bird watchers!

awesome Flowerjen! Your kids are going to remember this their whole lives!!

very cool. I know that more and more kids are learning through schools with monitoring programs such as those from Learner.org or activities like the Backyard birdwatch.

I also love those beanie baby-sized birds that the audubon society puts out with the songs.
http://www.bananajunctiontoys.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27_265_205&osCsid=6202f2035678ef98c1a602af8904cfda

We actually have the cardinal and the woodpecker.

Great to hear that your children are learning to appreciate birds, flower! I teach in an elementary school, and I'm the school bird nerd! We use our nature journals to record observations of the birds in our meadows and courtyard. I connect birding to our life science units (food webs, habitat, life cycle, prey/predator etc), and social studies (interdependence, needs, citizenship, etc.)

Right now, the students (several classrooms have gotten onboard this spring!) are studying bluebirds since we have a pair. A kindergarten/first grade class made binoculars out of toilet paper tubes! You should see them standing at the windows observing birds! I got an origami bird pattern to try. These are 2 bluebird sites the folks here at Dave's gave me (sialis has games/activities under "for children":

http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/
http://sialis.org/index.html

I have tried to teach my gd's about the birds too!

I'd bet the majority of us "crazy bird people" had grandparents or parents who taught us early on the love of birdwatching. I remember sitting at my grandparents' window, overlooking their birdfeeders, with a bird book and a record (showing my age there a bit) that played the bird calls... My grandma always made ME look up the birds, she wouldn't just tell me what kind it was... I actually had to search through the bird book and find it and she'd verify it for me. I was bitten by the bug then and have such fond memories of learning the birds with my grandma.
It's a real gift you're giving your kids, flowerjen, and it will stay with them forever.

Unfortunately I wasn't into birding when my kids were little but hopefully someday I'll get to teach it to my grandkids...if I ever have any!

Whew! Now I don't feel so bad..I make the repeat the name and I give them a little fact about each bird and they have to repeat that back to me!

I had a grandpa that new lots of different birds...he knew alot about everything!

It's so important for the next generation to get out in nature, and enjoy it. If we don't teach them to respect other creatures, and be the caretakers, who will do it when we're gone?

We have to make sure our children and grandchildren find value in everything birdie. Right?

Definitely!

flower - I took my 22 4th graders outside with their nature journals to observe the bluebirds. Wasn't certain how it would work out.

They all sat quietly and respectfully waiting for about 5 minutes before the birds made their appearance. The kids had to wait a little bit longer until the birds flew down to eat the mealworms I put out for them.

All the while I quietly lectured about bluebirds.

Yes, kids have short attention spans, but when they practice and have something of interest and value, they can stay focussed.

OP, you hit the nail on the head. Respect is the bottom line for every aspect of life on earth. We cannot go on treating other life forms as inferior to us simply because we have the technology and power to do so. The children under your umbrella of learning are very fortunate to have someone with your ethics.

I want to be in your class!!

I’m enjoying the comments. I too am looking for ideas to entertain and teach little ones. Here are a couple of things I’ve done – first I set up feeders in a corner of the yard to attract some local birds. (1) I copy pictures off the web of a couple of the most common birds visiting the backyard onto a sheet of paper – give that to the child instead of a field guide (just pictures – no words). Ask them to watch the birds and come and tell you which ones they saw by pointing to the pictures of the ones they saw. Then tell them the birds name; (2) if you have blue jays this will work … ask the child if they think birds are always watching us … then place a couple of peanuts in the shell in an open space. Ask the child to watch the peanut and tell you when a bird takes it (give the child a stop watch to add to the tension). .. The blue jays won’t let you down, particularly if you’ve been ‘training’ them for a couple of weeks; (3) have the child help you count birds in your backyard during the ‘The Great Backyard Bird Count’ in February … if the child is Internet savvy, they can do all the on-line work. Plus, they get to see that other people in their town are counting too!

Margaret and Nanny - Thanks, but I also give "detention" when homework isn't done (but they can go play as soon as it is finished)!

Thanks for the tips Tom. Cornell also has activities where you can participate in targeting on maps when certain birds arrive in your area in the spring. I've been using the bluebird games and activities (listed under children) from the sialis site:


http://sialis.org/baffle.htm

OPbirder, life is all about balance isn't it? Freedom versus detention. I can't imagine that you'd ever detain someone without due cause and would explain the rationale behind your action, so that it, too, becomes an educational experience.

I always did my homework!

Good girl nanny!

Actually, Margaret, the kids are often harder on themselves.

OP, if they are, it's probably because they are recognizing boundaries. This doesn't come from nowhere. Credit where credit is due.

Tom, great ideas. Thanks.