Bird Seed

Let the kids eat what the birds are eating, or something that looks similar, by serving them "bird seed." Combine sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, raisins and rolled oats to make a concoction that looks just like bird seed. Birds love a suet cake, bird seed formed into a brick. You can make a similar cake for kids. Spread cream cheese on top of a rice cake and sprinkle the "bird seed" on top.

You can also add to the fun by serving the "bird seed" in a bird feeder. The kids can reach in and grab whatever they want to eat. This gives you an opportunity to talk about what birds eat and how they take food back to their nests while the kids munch on their own snack.

Cookie Cutters

Create a healthy and delicious snack in engaging bird shapes. Make small sandwiches and cut them into a bird shape. You can also cut pancakes, slices of cheese or watermelon into the shape of a bird. If you make bird-shaped cookies, let the kids use icing pens to decorate their birds with all of the colors they saw during the day when they were outside observing the birds. Give them pictures of birds to look at as they design their cookie.

Provide the kids with other shapes to form their own bird. Cut out circles for the body from bread, triangles for the beak out of cheese, and larger triangles of bologna for the wings. Use food coloring to turn whipped cream cheese red, blue or orange and let the kids create their own birds using all of the shapes. They can paint the body of their bird with cream cheese and then layer on wings and a beak. Don’t forget raisins for the eyes.

Nests

Creating a home for a bird gives you an opportunity to talk about where birds live, how they lay eggs and how they feed their babies in the nest. Forming a nest gives kids a hands-on, tactile experience. Shred a large shredded wheat biscuit in a bowl. Melt 1/4 cup of marshmallow and pour it into the bowl. Let the kids form a nest with their mixture. Place jelly beans or Red Hots in the nest to look like bird eggs. Place the mixture in a muffin tin to set. The kids can eat their nests as soon as they are cool.