Easy Birdfeeders

I don't know about you guys, but this is the time of year that our minds wander to our feathered friends in the cold winter months.  And if like me, you have tried to do the old peanut butter, birdseed and pine cones. The kids have such a hard time spreading the peanut butter over the pine cones, and it is so messy pouring the birdseed every where. Last year, I tried to make it as mess free as I could think of. We had the kids spread the peanut butter on mini bagels that I had a yarn looped through the hole. We then put it in the snack size and had the kids sprinkle the birdseed into that. While that worked pretty well, when I saw this idea from pinterest I knew I had to try it this year!!!

Supplies needed:
small bowls
pipe cleaners
Cheerios

This was probably the most simple craft we have done so far! I did this in the morning with the kids in the moms group I run, but forgot my camera. Plus, L saw me getting these ready and pleaded that I let him do it after school that day. The first thing that I did was wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around one of my fingers, and then twist it to hold that shape. Pour some of the Cheerios into the bowls, and show the kids how to thread them onto the pipe cleaners. When they get to the end, let them know they need to leave a little space at the bottom, and fold up the pipe cleaner to secure all the Cheerios on the pipe cleaner. That is it! My kids ended up making a ton of these, and we headed out to put them on the trees. Of course it was dark by then, and snowing, but fun none the less!

 Look at that pile of pipe cleaners!

 Cheesy little D just had to get in the picture!

 There are only a few trees short enough for the kids to reach in our apartment complex, so this little tree got the most!

Books we read:
Curious George A Winter's Nap by H.A. Rey
Under and Over the snow by Kate Messner
Hooray for Snow by Kazuo Iwamura
Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara