pine cone feeders

Pine cone feeders are a great thing to make in the cold weather when food for animals is scarce. Children love to watch animals eat something that they created themselves. Trust me, they will get very excited when they see the first birds nibbling on this treat. I worked in a zoo a while back and I was amazed at how excited middle schoolers got when the bears played with one of their homemade goodies. It's wonderful to watch a child of any age get excited about nature. If you can't catch a bird in action at your pine cone feeders, take your child outside about a week after you make them to check out how much has been eaten. Talk about how the feeders help birds survive the winter by providing food. For my North American readers, it might be fun to try to identify the birds using a book like this.

Materials:

• pine cones
• scissors
  
• string or ribbon
• newspaper
• peanut butter (or honey if there are allergies)
• wooden spreader (like a wooden craft stick)
• paper plate
• a few handfuls of wild bird seed

Go outside and collect a few pine cones. You can talk with your child about the kinds of trees that produce pine cones. They are called conifers and make seeds in the cones. Head inside to your work space and cover the area with newspaper. Cut some string and tie it at the wide tips of the pine cones, securing tightly. Use the wooden spreader to coat each pine cone with peanut butter or honey. Spread some bird seed onto the plate. Roll each pine cone in the seed until well coated. Hang them on tree branches and watch for the feasting to begin!