Kindergartners build their own bird nests learning a little more how the world works

Silver Beach teacher Megan Cooley gives us a peek into a kindergarten project that touches on a multitude of lessons. She also shares how remarkable the academic and social emotional growth is with these early learners through the course of a school year. “Those first two years of school build a vital foundation,” Cooley said “and help set the tone for a lifetime of curiosity and learning.”

Explain how this project teaches important science lessons in age appropriate ways. 
Cooley: The bird nest project was part of a lesson in our current inquiry unit: How the World Works.The kindergartners have been studying weather patterns with the central idea that “predictable cycles help us to make sense of the world.”

This specific lesson comes from the Mystery Science curriculum. Students learned why spring is the best time for baby birds to be born. The kindergartners came to the conclusion that food is more available in the spring and being born in the spring gives the baby birds time to grow strong enough to become independent before winter comes.

The kindergartners noticed how birds can change their environment to meet their needs when they build their nests. The students built nests that were shaped in a way that protected the eggs and had soft cushioning to keep the babies warm, safe, and comfortable.

Share the moment of surprise with the bug and how it stopped the class in its tracks.

Cooley: The Mystery Science lesson suggests providing cotton balls and Kleenex for the students to add padding to their nest, but I wanted their nests to be more authentic, so on the morning of the lesson, I hastily collected some nature bits from my yard before school. My yard is basically an extension of Whatcom Falls Park, so I had moss, leaves, lichen, pinecones, etc. Of course, grabbing clumps of nature in the dark means unknowingly transporting the home of some critters. One kindergartner basically catapulted himself across the room when he discovered a slug in his moss! It was a moment of chaos, but the kindergartners decided it made their nests even more realistic. “Now your bird has something to eat!” one student told her startled classmate. I have a very compassionate class, so by the end of the day the bugs we found were given a new home outside at Silver Beach.  

I heard there was an egg surprise at the end of the school day.

Cooley:  We made the nests in the morning. In the early afternoon, we have worktime, which is an open-ended, kid-directed playtime. (We call it “worktime” because play is the work of childhood.) Several of the students decided to add more to their nests during worktime. They made little drawings of birds that they carefully cut out and small paper eggs that they tucked inside their nests.

The class then went off to physical education and recess, but little did they know that their birds had laid some “real” eggs while they were gone. As I handed the nests out during closing circle, each child saw a blue plastic egg inside. They gasped! They then “hatched” their eggs and found a marshmallow Peep chick inside. The room erupted in joy! Once the class settled again, my student Elias said, “Wait a minute, I think you put those in there, Mrs. Cooley.” I said, “No! I think you built such cozy nests that your birds decided to lay eggs right away.”

Can you give a little perspective and share how much kinders grow in a school year? 

Cooley:  It’s pretty amazing to see the growth from September to spring. Kindergartners become much more independent through the course of the year, but we have to remember that they are still young children. It’s important for our planning to reflect on that. Primary teachers put a lot of thought into the flow of the school day, so during just that one science lesson, we are building in movement (pretend you’re a bird learning how to flap your wings), collaboration (talk to your table partner about how you’re making a nest that protects the eggs), and joy. Who doesn’t want to end the day with a marshmallow Peep?

When I’m not teaching kindergarten, I’m teaching first grade, so it’s also fun to know where they will be socially and academically a year from now. Those first two years of school build a vital foundation and help set the tone for a lifetime of curiosity and learning. With just a couple of months left in this school year, these little fledglings are just about ready to launch.