How to Do a Homeschool Bird Study This Winter!

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Bird watching is a favorite pastime at our house during the snowy days of winter! Our little feathered friends are such a bright, beautiful contrast to the white snowy blanket on the ground. We make sure the bird feeder is full to the brim on these kind of days!!!

It doesn’t seem to snow as much as it used to 50 years ago from what I’ve been told, but even on days that are not so white and cheerful we find enjoyment in watching the little birds flutter about in their outdoor environment.

When it comes to homeschooling, we are always looking for ways to tie fun, meaningful experiences into our learning. Bird watching is one of many enjoyable ways to learn during winter!

(Check out this fun printable to use while bird watching this winter!)

Why Study Birds?

People have been fascinated with birds for hundreds of years! It’s one of the most popular hobbies in the world! Studying birds- their behaviors, habitat, diet, size, etc help us to become more observant, spend more time outdoors, and learn how to collect data and organize it. Studying birds with a Biblical worldview helps us reinforce in our children everything from a bird’s natural instinct, to their perfect performance of aerodynamics points to an intentional Creator, not a bunch of random changes that eventually evolved into these beautiful creatures.

Mathematics and Birds

Has your child learned how to collect data and chart it on a graph? No matter what age, graphing is a fun mathematical hands-on activity to do! When children learn by doing, instead of reading the how to in a text book, it goes into their long term memory. This is because they can see how what they are learning can be applied to real life situations (while having fun too!)

In the Bird Watching Packet, you will find 2 types of graphing systems. The first one is for charting how many of each type of bird your child sees over a one week period. The other graph is useful if you just want to record how many birds your child sees in the morning and evening over a one week period (better for younger children).

Language, Writing, and Birds Oh My!

While bird watching, have your child observe and talk about different things they saw that they find interesting. Were some birds more timid? Maybe you had a bird bully that was trying to hog the food? Do some prefer to eat on the ground instead of the feeder? Use this opportunity to research together any questions they may have, (such as why are male birds prettier than female birds).

Included in the Bird Watching Packet, you will find pages your child can use to record their discoveries. There are also other fun pages they can use if they want to learn about a specific bird, and make a mini book report about their favorite bird!

Science

focused photo of blue and brown bird on the stone

There is soo much to learn about birds! You can consider doing a study on

why birds have different types of beaks

birds of prey

The development cycle of birds

poultry we eat

why do some birds have webbed feet

aerodynamics/how birds fly/V pattern

Mimicking birds
Why do birds migrate

And the list goes on!!!

History

woman in blue denim jacket walking with girl in blue jacket

Have you ever heard of the Homing Pigeons? They used to be the text message system of the 1800s! Even before then, Egyptians used these birds to carry messages. These birds always returned home, no matter how far away you carried them. People used to put bands around their foot with a little message on them. Then they would let the birds loose, and it would return to its original home- with a message for the people of the house! The military found them very useful for carrying important messages. (You can read more about Homing Pigeons here.)

The Wright Brothers were the first fellas to invent a functional airplane! How did they reach such success? They learned about aerodynamics by studying how birds flew! A book by the “Who Was” series has a cool book about the Wright Brothers. You can grab a copy here.

These are a couple examples of how birds have been a help to mankind throughout history!

Biblical Worldview

close-up photography of flock of chicken

I was in a science museum last month that had an entire room dedicated to explaining how dinosaurs turned into birds. I have to wonder why do we still not see cold blooded reptiles growing feathers and turning into warm blooded mammals today?

When we look at things through a Biblical worldview, things just make sense. We read in the book of Genesis how birds were created on day 5. We see that birds naturally know how and where to build their nest, how to find food, how to care for their young, how to fly, etc…..stuff that requires some of us a trading school or college education to fully comprehend and master these skills (Carpentry, Aerodynamics, etc.!) The knowledge that birds use to function is not something that just evolved over time, it was intentionally programmed in them by an intentional designer. Just like a robot, a computer or the phone we use every day has a designer or programmer.

The Bible has some important references to birds. God used birds to feed Elijah and to let Noah know that it was safe to leave the ark. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. Isaiah tells us those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, and mount up with wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

Incorporating the Bible into our studies help children to connect scripture to the present, and instill a strong persuasion that the Bible is true and can be trusted.

Fun Activities!

We know Pinterest is full of fun, hands-on activities for children! Some activities I want to do with my children as we study birds together this winter are:

Use the Winter Bird Watching Packet. This packet includes graphs, journaling, bird report worksheets, and fun coloring pages!
Make a pinecone bird feeder. This a simple and fun project!! All you need is : string, pinecones, peanut butter, birdseed, and a place to hang your homemade feeder outside! Tie the string to one end of your pinecone, and then “paint” the pinecone with peanut butter. Then roll the pinecone in bird seed, and hang it up outside your window!
Make a model airplane while learning about the Wright Brothers! I think my oldest would enjoying making this plane.
Purchase a foam plane to fly These planes look extremely fun! My younger will enjoy these!
Fly a Kite and use while studying aerodynamics (Here are the kites I will be purchasing)
Hatch chicken eggs! we have laying chickens, but it would be fun to watch the process of the development of the baby chick in the egg! (This is done using special lighting)
Try to make your own bird nest! It may be harder than it appears…..!
Visit an Air Force Museum!