Learn about Bluebirds and Soar into Learning
As your little bluebirds flit from place to place they will find educational activities at every turn. Your students will read about Winsome Bluebird and Welcome Robin as they sit under the tree, paint with feathers, spell with birdseed and count the bird tracks. Open your wings and fly!!!
Bluebirds Table of Contents

- Bluebirds at Calendar Time
- When do the Birds come Back?
- Bird Count
- Math in the Meadow
- Beginning Bluebird Readers
- Fly into the Vowel Houses
- Birds of a Feather Write Together
- Scientific Birds
- Bluebird Meadow
- Other Animals that Share the Meadow with the Bluebirds
- Bluebird Games
- Birds of a Feather Draw Together
- Bluebird Songs
- Bluebirds in the News!
- Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog
- Bluebirds on our Farm
- The Bluebirds are in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
- Do you feed the birds? Have any of these ideas intriged you?
- Follow the Bluebirds and their friends on Twitter
- About the Author of this Lens
- Come Visit the Bluebirds in Vermont
Bluebirds at Calendar Time

At Calendar time we add pictures of birds that represent the ones seen outside the classroom window. We add the name of the bird below it's picture making this bulletin board a Word Wall for the children to use when writing. Materials for drawing, coloring and cutting out are in the observation center near the window.
When do the Birds come Back?
Project BudBurst is not just for counting when the flowers begin to blossom. It is also watching for other signs of Global Warming such as shifts in bird populations.-
Project BudBurst: Recording the Signs of Spring
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My grandmother was an avid gardener and observer of nature. She kept careful track of when the snow melted, buds emerged in the Spring and when each flower burst into bloom. Records like these are now being sought by Project BudBurst to create a data...
Bird Count



- Feed and Count the Birds
Here Birdy, Birdy Kindergarten Telecollaborative Project
In the fall a kindergarten class started a project for counting birds. They were officially joined by students from Texas, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Costa Rica to the project.- Great Backyard Bird Count
- The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.
Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.
It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It's free, fun, and easy-and it helps the birds.
Bird Counting
To see bluebirds you need to have a large open field with lots of insects and bluebird houses placed about ten feet off the ground facing the east. See bluebird house construction below.


Lay a bulletin board down on a table near the window. Make columns with bias tape. Children use push pins to record the birds seen outside the window.
Even if you have a field outside your window, it will be easier for your children to count and identify the birds at the feeder nearer the window. Having field guides and laminated posters of common birds for your area will help in identification.
Bird Feeders

Bluebirds love meal worms. Bluebirds rarely eat birdseed.
They eat mostly insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, and caterpillars.
During winter months they may eat suet.
They like the fruit of plants such as flowering dogwood, eastern red cedar, holly, and pokeweed.
Mealworms can be fed from a cup hung from the porch.

You can make your own bird feeders.
COOKING IS FOR THE BIRDS: Your kitchen station should be near water and an outlet. Have a toaster oven, aprons, hot mitts, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and basic foods such as flour, vinegar, salt, and ingredients for making suet available. A small refrigerator with a freezer is ideal for doing experiments with ice.
1. Write a recipe for suet. Laminate it and post it in your kitchen cooking station. Whenever the birds need more suet you can open this station and the children can measure and mix food for the birds reading the recipe.
2. There could also be recipes for healthy cookies that could be rolled out and cut with letter shaped cookie cutters. Children at this station could cut out their names or theme related words and later share them with the rest of the class during snack time. (This station probably needs a parent volunteer.)
The Woodland Cafe
A Mathematical Activity



WOODLAND CAFE:
1. Write a menu for the Woodland Cafe with pictures and labels of foods that the Woodland Creatures would eat.
2. Make sure that there are 12 items on the menu.
3. Give a value of 1 to 12 either cents or dollars to each item.
4. Have chits (bills) available that have room to write down the name of the customer and two items of food ordered with the amount written beside it and a place to total the bill.
5. Using a 12 sided die or rolling two regular dice find out the food eaten and add up the total.
6. The die could tell the total amount of the bill and the students could try to figure out the two items he/she must have eaten to come up with that total.
Have twelve counters available to help them work out the problem.
Math in the Meadow
Math for this Bluebirds of the Meadow Unit Study
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Bluebird Math
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The bluebirds are busy building nests, laying eggs and helping young children learn all about math. The basis of all math is discovering and describing pattens found in the natural world. This lens offers dozens of math activities, workjobs and cente...
Winsome Bluebird
Gather Your Little Bluebirds for Story Hour
Thornton Burgess wrote many stories about the little creatures of the woodlands and meadows like Winsome Bluebird.

After lunch recess, we like to gather on the rug under Grandfather Tree and loose ourselves in the Green Meadow with all the Merry Little Breezes, Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox, Winsome Bluebird and Welcome Robin.
These are easy reader chapter books that teach about nature while imparting the wisdom of friendship, honesty etc. Learn about Winsome Bluebird and Welcome Robin. They are friends and cousins who signal to the other little creatures of the meadow that spring is here. These are the some characters that are found in "The Adventures of Little Joe Otter"
Blacky the Crow (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) by Thornton W. Burgess
Children will love this wonderful tale of a crow w more...3 points
Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) by Thornton W. Burgess
Poor Mrs. Quack the Duck has suffered terrible mis more...3 points
The Adventures of Mr. Mocker by Thornton, W. Burgess
"If you please, Mistah Buzzard, you can tell more...3 points
The Adventures Of Bob White (1919) by Thornton Waldo Burgess
Burgess was the model for talking animal stories. more...3 points
Beginning Bluebird Readers
From the grasses that shape the meadow to the insects that the bluebirds eat, these books will help children develop a better understanding of the bluebird's habitat in a colorful easy to read format.
Learn all about bluebirds and the meadows they live in.
Write the Room and Who's Hatching

WRITE THE ROOM: Give children 10 cut up pieces of sentence strips. They will look for a word to copy onto each of the cards. They can use toilet paper binoculars, sunglasses, funny glasses etc. and pith helmets to look for the words. When finished they put them in the Bird Mailbox and put the flag up. (These cards will be used in the next activity.)


WHO'S HATCHING: Keep plastic easter eggs in a nest. Inside each egg put the letters to form words being studied. Have your Little Bluebirds find out the names of the baby chicks by unscrambling the letters to form words.
Bluebirds on Stage

FINGER PUPPETS:
Have a parent volunteer help children to make finger puppets from felt.
1.Take the felt and fold it in half.
2. Slip your finger into the fold and cut a straight line up leaving enough room to sew a seam.
3. When you get to the tip of the finger angle the cut to a point.
4. Take this piece and sew up where you cut.
5. Now cut a half circle out on the fold where the tip of your finger comes.
6. Put your finger back in and draw a face directly on your finger with a pen or marker.
You now have a Finger Gnome. Change colors of felt, add wings, ears etc. and you have animals. Make lots of animals and put them near the Puppet Theater below.
PUPPET THEATER:
1. Take a couple of tin buckets with tall grass growing in them.
2. Put an overturned milk carton between them and a 9X13 pan of short grass on top of the milk crate.
3. The milk crate could be covered in brown dirt colored cloth.
Use the finger puppets from the above activity to act out scenes from the Green Meadows.
Verbs on the Telephone Wire
One Crow on the Telephone Wire

VERBS ON THE WIRE:
1. Read "One Crow" by Jim Aylesworth.
2. Notice how birds often sit on telephone wires especially on the edges of meadows. They are looking for insects and often flit off to catch one and then return to the wire.
3. Hang a telephone wire near the door where you line up to go out.
4. Cut out bluebird shaped pieces of card stock.
5. Keep a stack of them in a nest near the door with a marker.
As you wait for stragglers brainstorm verbs. Write the verb on a bird and hang it on the line. While you are waiting point to different verbs and have those in line act the action out in place
Eggs in the Nest Bulletin Board
Nothing keeps them on task and learning like a good game.

1. Make a meadow scene with a row of fence posts running across it.
2. On each fence post put a Jello box that has been decorated to look like a bluebird house with the roof hinged so that eggs can be added and taken out.
3. Each birdhouse has a number on it that represents the answer to a number problem.
4. Eggs have number problems or word problems.
5. The students put the eggs back into the right nests.
6. If you have 10 birdhouses and 20 eggs the back of each egg could correspond with the color on the inside of the roof of the birdhouse for self checking.
NOTE: Move the birdhouses often so that they don't memorize the colors instead of the math problems.
Bluebird Math Activities
Store the eggs in a bluebird house and use them during Center Time.
- Number Sequencing from lilteacher.com
- Miss Renée's Kindergarten Pad

Number Sequencing- Program 3 egg patterns with numbers, laminate, and connect with a brad. Children guess what number will be found inside eggshell.
Fly into the Vowel Houses

- Fly into the Vowel Houses
- Each student had a supply of laminated bird cutouts at their desk. Whenever the student "landed" upon a good example of a vowel sound during reading time, he or she could "fly" the bird to the correct vowel house (staple to the area near the right house). This not only allowed me to see who needed extra review, but gave the children an opportunity to show off their new found skills! Plus, it got them away from the rote identification of vowel sounds and had the added bonus of giving them a little more motivation to read.
Bluebird Mail
BLUEBIRD MAIL: Students dress as mail carriers, passenger pigeons or Bluebird Mail carriers with mail sacks and hats. They take the cards from the mailbox and put the flag down. The then deliver the mail to the correct birdhouse. The bird house will have signs on them that correspond to phonic skills being studied for example-words beginning with letter b on one house and d on the other.
-verbs vs. nouns
-three letter words vs. four letter words(Ask the students for other ideas to reuse these words.)
Shadow Puppets

SHADOW PUPPETS: In a dark corner or in the cave of the tree (see River Otter Unit Study) hang a white sheet with a flashlight behind it. Cut shapes of different meadow creatures out of black card stock. One student holds the flashlight. One student moves the puppets and tells the story. Two children are in the audience. Use a timer to limit let them know when to rotate roles.
Go Fish or Concentration

Make two sets of bird cards. Write the name of each bird on the bottom. Teach the children how to play Go Fish or Concentration with these cards.
GAME TABLE: Make theme related cards with words to play Bingo, Concentration, or Go Fish. Allow up to 4 at this station. Max by Family Pastimes (see below) is a wonderful game where children cooperatively try to help a bird, mouse and chipmunk get back to their tree before Max the Cat comes to eat them.
Wings

BIRD WINGS: Using large pieces of felt make sets of wings. Sew two inch wide strips of felt on the top and bottom of each wing so that the child can slip his/her arm through. Make two more two inch wide strips about a yard or so long attached at the shoulders only. These cross the child's chest and tie in the back. Make one set blue for Winsome Bluebird, one set red for Welcome Robin. Find a couple of pairs of bright yellow socks such as soccer socks to use for bird feet. Children can act out the roles of Winsome and Robin.
Birds of a Feather Read Together

ABC BOOK WRITING CENTER: Brainstorm ideas as a class for each of the letters of the alphabet. Post these ideas above the Writing Center. Children work alone or in pairs to write and illustrate a page, cross it off the list, sign their names beside it and put the page into a folder hanging beside the list. When all pages are completed ask a parent volunteer to bind it. Read it to the class and add it to the class library or Book Nook.
POEMS AND CHANTS: Copy poems, songs, and chants onto large poster boards and have them laminated.
READ THE ROOM: Children can use theme related pointers to read the charts with a partner. Favorite Beginning Readers
HIGHLIGHTER TAPE: Children can use Highlighter Tape on the charts to highlight verbs, beginning letters, rhyming words etc. Favorite Beginning Readers
Birds of a Feather Write Together
Variation: Unscramble the sentence.
BIRD FIELD GUIDES
The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley
David Allen Sibley, America's most gifted contempo more...1 point
The Bluebird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting Bluebirds (A Stokes Backyard Nature Book) by Donald W. Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes
The best book on bluebirds! Attract the "blue more...1 point
The Bird Lover's Backyard Handbook: Attracting, Nesting, Feeding by Jan Mahnken, Hugh Wiberg, Rene Laubach, Christyna Laubach
The bird lover can attract hummingbirds to the gar more...1 point
Birds (Fandex Family Field Guides) by Michael W. Robbins
Bringing the world of Birds to your fingertips, Fa more...1 point
Birds of Oregon by Roger Burrows, Jeff Gilligan, Ted Nordhagen (illustrator)
Too bad it's limited to Oregon birds, because I fo more...1 point
Scientific Birds

Scientists now believe that birds have navigational systems nearly as sophisticated as those of commercial airlines.
Background For Teachers:
Birds are a group of animals with very specific characteristics. They are warm blooded, have feathers and hollow bones, and lay eggs. All birds have wings, but not all birds fly. They all have beaks, but each type of bird has a different type of beak, depending on the kind of food it eats.

SCIENCE TABLE: Collect feathers, egg shells, nests, seeds, etc. Have a cage of parakeets or finches nearby. Magnifying glass, tweezers, nutcracker, lab coat, safety goggles, etc. for examining the collection. Field guides such as "The Sibley Guide to Birds" by David Allen Sibley should be handy. Record your observations.

OPERATING ROOM: With the teacher or an experienced parent volunteer, dissect a chicken, turkey, and a quail. Check for skin, where feathers attach, muscles, fat, bone structure, etc. Move the wings and see how the ligaments hold the bones together. -Dissect chicken, duck, emu, and quail eggs.
-Dissect a rabbit and any other animal you can acquire. How about clams, muscles, fish, snails, lobster, shrimp...



CLASSROOM ZOO: Compare the birds to the fish in your Aquarium, your hamster, butterfly, frog and turtle. What do they have in common? How are they alike? Record your observations.
SOIL SCIENCE: Go on a walk and collect samples of soils in different habitats. (meadow, riverbank, forest, etc) Store these samples in labeled baby food jars. At the Science Table open each one and smell, observe, touch, and rub some between your fingers to hear the similarities and differences.(Do not taste them.) Draw pictures of your observations. If they are dry try adding water with eyedroppers. Observe and record the differences. How do the different soils effect the types of vegetation growing in the different habitats and how does this in turn effect the types of animals living there.
Raising Baby Chicks
Bluebird Meadow
Turn your Classroom into a Meadow for the Bluebirds
BLUEBIRDS nest in small cavities in lone trees or fence posts on the edge of fields. The fields are full of many different types of grasses and wildflowers as well as insects, snakes, and other birds. (Look in my other lenses for ideas on how to add trees and water to your room.)
FLANNEL BOARD:Set up a Flannel Board with a meadow scene (see below). Add plants and animals from the meadow.More variety can be added by cutting out pictures and gluing them onto scraps of flannel. These pictures can have words written on them.
Words such as AND, THE, IS, can also be glued to the flannel for writing sentences.
RICE TABLE MEADOW: Surprise your little bluebirds by dumping a bag of potting soil into the rice table. Give them some birdseed and a little water to sprinkle to make streams run through. Add Playmobile figures or other little plastic animals, small twigs, etc. and let them make up stories as they go.
Keep a cover on it whenever it's not in use. In a few days they will be surprised when the seeds sprout and start to grow. Record this growth on a chart nearby.
PLANTS: Grasses grow easily in shallow containers.Put 1-2 inches of soil in 13X9 baking pans. Children can scatter birdseed, grass seed, or collect seeds from plants found on walks. Add some wild flower seeds. When you go on walks look for varieties you haven't seen before. Keep notes in your journal.
FEEDING STATION: Set up bird feeders outside near the window. See The Bird Lover's Backyard Handbook: Attracting, Nesting, Feeding by Jan Mahnken.
Write a recipe for suet in the cooking center and have children make and replace the suet as needed. Measure and record the amounts of different kinds of seeds eaten by birds daily.
Put binoculars and pith helmets in the loft of the tree (see River Otters Unit Study lens) and record your observations of the birds at the feeder.
Join the Kindergarten Class from the Here Birdy, Birdy Kindergarten Telecollaborative Project in recording the birds at your feeder at Calendar Time. (See link below)
FLANNELBOARD MEADOW
and the science of Grass
- Meadow - Sky Flannelboards
- Note: A Mounted flannelboard is adhered to two sheets of heavy guage cardboard backing. The Large & Medium fold in half and the Small includes a cardboard tabletop stand that pops out of the back. Unmounted flannelboards are do-it-yourself, where you need to mount it with your own material or use it as a loose sheet of fabric.
All of our flannelboards are made with high quality 100% polyester felt. - How Grass Works
- At the base of the grass plant, roots grow down into the earth. Typically, grass roots are fibrous, or threadlike. They extend into the soil like fingers, collecting nutrients, soaking up water and securing the plant to the ground. (Click on link to see the whole article by Tom Harris)
Other Animals that Share the Meadow with the Bluebirds
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Woodchucks Under the Porch
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Woodchucks chuck wood and Groundhogs determine the coming of spring. They eat your garden, dig holes under the porch but look adorable when they are first born and start to venture out of their dens. Watching the woodchuck babies venturing out from...
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It's Turkey Time!
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Wild Turkeys nearly became extinct in the 1930's but times have changed and turkeys have benefited. Now turkeys are often found in fields and on the edge of the woods. In this unit you will learn about Wild Turkeys, read turkey facts and stories, pl...
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Cows Aren't The Only Ones
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Sure you know that milk comes from cows but did you know people around the world milk other animals as well? There are many books about milk and milking to start off a Unit Study about dairy animals and their products. Finding a friendly farmer who...
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Milk and Milking Headquarters
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Milk and Milking: Cows aren't the Only Ones This Group is for all milk related lenses whether Dairy Products or the Animals the milk comes from, all milk related lenses are welcome. Milk comes from cows, goats, sheep, camels, water buffalo etc.
Bluebirds in Flight
During circle time put several of these birds in a sack. Squeeze one at a time and have them guess which one it is from the call.
In the listening center play CD's of Bird Calls (See Below)
FLYING BIRDS: Ask parent volunteers to help you make the Bird Mobiles by Anne Wild (see below). Read about each type of bird as you hang them up. Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Birds by Jim Arnosky (see below) has beautiful illustrations and easily captures children's attention.
Bluebird Photos
Capture Bluebirds on Film
Have a digital camera available near the window so that children can take pictures of the birds they see. Now that digital cameras have become available it is possible to allow children to take as many pictures as they like.
Download the pictures onto your computer and let the children use them to illustrate books about the bluebirds and other birds they see and learn about.
Bluebird Picture Books
Picture Books about Bluebirds and other birds to Read Aloud
As you read each book, come back and vote it up or down. The little green arrow will help you keep track of the stories that you and your children liked best.
If you know of any other bluebird tales, please add them to the list so that others may enjoy them as well.
Leaving the Nest by Mordicai Gerstein
Book DescriptionWhat do a baby blue jay, a kitten, more...2 points
Building Bluebird Houses
How to Build a Bluebird House
At the time that Thornton Burgess wrote about Winsome Bluebird and Welcome Robin, bluebirds were common. With habitat loss, pollution and the introduction of the English Sparrow, Bluebirds have become quite scarce.Some children would love to learn
how to build a bluebird house. One year we visited a local farmer and bluebird enthusiast who took the time to show the children how to make bluebird houses. We now have several along the fenceline of our meadow.
All About Bluebirds

- The Bluebird Box
- FAQ's, articles and photo gallery about bluebirds and bluebird boxes.
LINKS TO GAMES

- Flash My Brain
- Create and print out your own flashcards.
Flash My Brain allows you to create and save your own sets, play more games, save and view your study progress, print in a variety of formats, generate iPod flashcards, and access 100,000s more flash cards. You can manage flash card decks, splitting and combining them, and you can even import flash cards from CSV files and other formats.
All you need to get started is a net-connected computer that can run Flash Player 8. Flash My Brain is Net-powered software which means you can use it at school, work, or home. - Counting Birds Wall Cards
- Beautifully printed 8 x 10 wall cards feature Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Wrens, Sparrows and everybody's favorite digits: 1 thru 10. Heavy card stock. Display on shelves or tack to wall. Suitable for framing. Attractively gift packaged in an illustrated box with ribbon.
Bluebird Games
Birds in the Trees
A Cooperative Game for Little Bluebirds
1. Talk with the children about protection. Trees form a shelter for birds in a storm.

2.In this game some children will be trees and others will be bluebirds. When the music plays it is sunny and the birds fly through the trees. When the music stops, it signifies the calm before the storm when all the birds need to seek shelter under the trees.

3. After each round a tree becomes a bird until all the trees become birds and the teacher is the last tree.
Edible Bird Nests

While birds are busy outdoors building nests and starting new families, you and your students can create edible nests in the classroom.
Heat one container of chocolate frosting in a saucepan. (It liquefies when heated.) Then add 1 bag chinese noodles. Blob the mixture onto wax paper and have kids "form" nests using plastic spoons. Use jelly beans for eggs. Nest hardens as it cools.
By Sherri Mcwhorter
Label the Bluebird

LABEL THE PARTS OF THE BLUEBIRD: Attach a large picture of a bluebird to a magnetic board or tray. Use magnet words or cards with magnet strips attached to label the parts of the bird. Have a Bird Field Guide handy.
Chickens Aren't The Only Ones


Oviparous Animals
When studying birds I like to diverge a little and learn about all the other oviparous animals, animals that lay eggs. Quail eggs, duck eggs and emu eggs can often be found to bring in to class. I like to put them into a paper sack and ply 20 Questions with the children so they can guess what I have brought in. The questions can only be answered with a yes or no. This develops a lot of excitement and anticipation. We then estimate the circumference and weight and then check our estimates with a tape measure and scales. Each of the children gets to hold the eggs and then we disect them very carefully looking at the membrane, the yolk and the white parts.
We brainstorm all of the animals that we can think of that lay eggs and then I read "Chickens Aren't the Only Ones".
Mrs. Flanagan has more great Oviparous ideas.

Last year we went on a field trip to the Everglades during nesting season. There was a Great Blue Heron nest right beside the Visitor's Center. Many Anhingas were nesting in trees along the path and we found the eggs of the Pondapple Snail in a sinkhole along the path.
Did You Ever See An Egg?
Sung to: "Did You Ever See a Lassie?"
Did you ever see an egg and think what was inside it?
Did you ever see an egg and think what was inside?
It could be a chick, or a fish, or a lizard.
Did you ever see an egg and think what was inside?
For next verse, substitute other oviparous
animals in place of chick, fish, and lizard.
Eggs
Lots of animals come from eggs
Some with fins
And some with legs.
Some that chatter
And some that cheep
Some that fly
And some that creep.

Some that slither
And some that run
Some with feathers
And some with none.
Animal eggs can be quite small
Or just as big as a tennis ball.
The animals here
They're quite a few
Hatch from eggs
And lay them, too.
Mrs. Pohlmeyer has lots more Oviparous ideas too.
Educational Games and Toys to Learn More About Bluebirds
The Great North American Bird Watching Trivia Board Game
Birders everywhere, its time to drop your binocula more...2 points
Birds of Prey Standard Poker Playing Card Deck featuring Owl, Hawk, Eagle, and many more
This exquisite pack of playing cards shows 54 diff more...2 points
Window Bird Feeder
Children can watch and learn about our feathered f more...2 points
MCNAUGHTON SODA BOTTLE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER
MCNAUGHTON SODA BOTTLE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER Recycle more...2 points
Breezy Singer Eastern Bluebird
This bird will enlighten, amuse, educate and fasci more...2 points
Bird Lover Magnetic Poetry
Whether you occasionally watch birds in the backya more...2 points
Scramble Squares: North American Birds
Unscramble the nine 4 X 4 square pieces by perfect more...2 points
ANIMAL AND BIRD TRACKS KNOWLEDGE CARDS
Close observation of our surroundings is one of th more...2 points
Magnetic KidUSA State Birds
Our staff artist, Judy Richardson, hand-painted th more...2 points
Sea Birds Chessmen
The perfect gift for all you wildlife lovers! Feel more...2 points
Sea Birds Chess Set
Chess is not just any old game. It is one of the m more...2 points
Birds of Summer
A Co-operative Card GameTM.<br /&am more...2 points
Set of 9 Birds-Pre-Cut Feltboard Figure Set
"The Color Birds Flannelboard les more...2 points
ELEMENTARY SCIENCE: BIRDS CLEVER CATCH BALL
This Clever Catch® is one of the new additions to more...2 points
Large Farm Figures Set w/Meadow/Sky Flannelboard - Kit
"This Farm Flannelboard activity less more...2 points
Bird Games on eBay
These are games that would make great Learning Centers or games to be included in Literacy Bags.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byBirds of a Feather Draw Together
Bluebird Art
DRAWING: Children can use their talents to illustrate journals, books, posters, etc. It also helps them to develop better fine motor skills for handwriting. (see list below)ART CENTER: Besides having lots of paper, writing utensils and craft supplies, provide a basket or shelf of books on how to draw. Find step-by-step directions for drawing bluebirds and post them above the art table. Keep a 3-ring binder with simular directions of other animals. Laminating them will not only make them last longer but allow your young artists to trace over the examples with dry erase markers.
DRAWING BLUEBIRDS: Birds are fun to see flitting through the sky, digging up worms, sitting on branches--and they are fun to draw. To make a red bird, all you need are two red triangles, one orange triangle, a red circle, a red C, an eye dot and a few simple lines for legs and feet. Change the reds to blue and you've got a bluebird. Change them to brown to make a robin. It's magic! (See picture) http://www.greenwoodfirstumc.org/child_draw_fun.htm
Bluebird Coloring Pages

Sometimes is fun to just color in a picture of a bluebird. Other times we use these bluebird coloring sheets to label the parts of the bird, label the bluebirds in French or Spanish or use them as a storystarter for Writing Workshop.
Bluebird Coloring Page
2 points
Drawing Sheet - Bluebird - BillyBear4Kids.com
Learn HOW TO DRAW bluebirds!2 points
How to draw Bluebirds
Books about Drawing
Origami Bluebird
Make your own Bluebird
Check out these step-by-step instructions on how to makeorigami bluebirds. Origami bluebirds would be nice hanging from the ceiling as if they looking for insects. I like to hang them using thread and watch them move around in the breeze from an open window, fan or heat duct.
Online Bird and Word Matching Game

Match the bird to it's shadow and then match it's name to the bird.
- Birds of a Feather
- Budding naturalists can have fun with abstract shapes and life sciences by playing games like Bird Watcher. Kids delight in matching the birds to their silhouettes and habitats.
Listen to the Bluebirds
Keep them learning all the time.
Put a CD player in the bathroom on continuous play. Play CD's of bird calls.This idea actually came from reading "Cheaper by the Dozen" which is a wonderfully funny look at teaching and learning. Father didn't allow any wasting of time so he had the children listen to French and German Language Learning records in the bathroom as they brushed their teeth etc. (Don't watch the movie. It has no relation to this wonderful book.)
Learn Bird Calls
Can you recognize a bluebird just from it's call?
"Here Comes a Bluebird": A Bluebird Song and Dance Game
To PLAY the game"Here Comes a Bluebird"
1. Choose a "Bluebird."
2. The rest of the class joins hands in a circle, holding hands high.
3. Children sing the song as the "Bluebird" weaves in and out
of the "windows of the upraised arms of the children in the circle.
4. On the words "Pick a Little Partner," the "bluebird" takes the nearest child out of the circle, joining both hands with the new partner and hopping into the centre of the circle with the partner.
5. The two children drop hands, and begin the game again, now with the partners becoming two "bluebirds." The circle rejoins hands and repeats the song. Both "bluebirds" now picking partners.
6. Continue repeating the song, accumulating "Bluebirds" until there is no circle left!
http://www.musickit.com/resources/bluebird.html
Music, Song and Dance

- Bluebird Song and Dance
- Go to this link to listen to the song, read the words, see the musical score and read directions to the dance.
- Bluebird Costume
- Click here to see bluebird costumes for sale.
Bluebird Songs
Bluebird Poetry
Over in the meadow,In the sand in the sun,
Lived an old mother toadie,
And her little toadie one,
"Wink!" said the mother;
"I wink!" said the one,
So they winked and they blinked,
In the sand in the sun.
Over in the meadow,
Where the stream runs blue,
Lived an old mother fish,
And her little fishes two,
"Swim!" said the mother;
"We swim!" said the two,
So they swam and they leaped,
Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow,
In a hole in a tree,
Lived an old mother bluebird,
And her little birdies three,
"Sing!" said the mother;
"We sing!" said the three,
So they sang and were glad,
In a hole in the tree.
Over in the meadow,
In the reeds on the shore,
Lived an old mother muskrat,
And her little ratties four,
"Dive!" said the mother;
"We dive!" said the four,
So they dived and they burrowed,
In the reeds on the shore.

Over in the meadow,
In a snug beehive,
Lived a mother honey bee,
And her little bees five,
"Buzz!" said the mother;
"We buzz!" said the five,
So they buzzed and they hummed,
In the snug beehive.
Over in the meadow,
In a nest built of sticks,
Lived a black mother crow,
And her little crows six,
"Caw!" said the mother;
"We caw!" said the six,
So they cawed and they called,
In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow,
Where the grass is so even,
Lived a gay mother cricket,
And her little crickets seven,
"Chirp!" said the mother;
"We chirp!" said the seven,
So they chirped cheery notes,
In the grass soft and even.
Over in the meadow,
By the old mossy gate,
Lived a brown mother lizard,
And her little lizards eight,
"Bask!" said the mother;
"We bask!" said the eight,
So they basked in the sun,
On the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow,
Where the quiet pools shine,
Lived a green mother frog,
And her little froggies nine,
"Croak!" said the mother;
"We croak!" said the nine,
So they croaked and they splashed,
Where the quiet pools shine.
Over in the meadow,
In a sly little den,
Lived a gray mother spider,
And her little spiders ten,
"Spin!" said the mother;
"We spin!" said the ten,
So they spun lacy webs,
In their sly little den.
http://www.ongoing-tales.com/SERIALS/oldtime/POETRY/meadow.html
FIVE LITTLE BLUEBIRDS
(Can be sung to Two Little Dickie Birds)
Five little bluebirds, hopping by my door
One went to build a nest, and then there were four.
Four little bluebirds singing lustily
One got out of tune, and then there were three
Three little bluebirds, and what should one do,
But go in search of dinner, leaving only two.
Two little bluebirds singing just for fun
One flew away, and then there was one.
One little bluebird sitting in the sun
He took a little nap, and then there was none.
- Children's Nursery Rhyme
BLUEBIRD WINTER
In summer, juicy insects crawl
On leaves and through the grass.
I feast on bugs until late fall
Then catch them less and less.
Soon winter comes with snow and ice
And winds all in a flurry.
The bugs are gone, but in their place,
a berry February!
--Mariam Kirby
http://www.sialis.org/children.htm
Links to Classroom Activity Sites

- Children's Bluebirdy Activities
- Classroom resources about bluebirds.
Bluebird Gifts for Everyone
Bird bookmarks

Check out the Purple Gallinules, the amazing bird you see above.
Bluebell and Bluebird
by Margo Fallis
Bluebell, the fairy, sat on the branch of a willow tree. Its long, leafy limbs reached to the ground as if it was trying to push itself up. Sitting on the branch next to her was a bird's nest. Lying inside, on top of bits of twigs, string, and leaves, was a bluebird. His feathers were a little darker than Bluebell's dress and wings. He had a bright yellow beak that twinkled when the sun shone on it. Bluebell sighed, "I'm much too bored, Bluebird. Take me for a flight around Periwinkle Glen, so I may see all the glorious flowers."Bluebird whistled a pretty tune as the fairy climbed on his back. He flew out of the nest, through the leaves and branches of the willow tree, into the clear blue sky. "Wheee," shouted the fairy. Her pale blue wings were fluttering back and forth as the wind blew against them. "I can see the whole glen from here," she laughed. Bluebird tipped to the side and then back over to the other side. He flew straight up into the air and then flew back down towards the ground. "Wheee," Bluebell cheered. They were having so much fun flying around the glen that Bluebird wasn't paying as much attention as he should and the next time he tipped to the side, he bumped right into an old oak tree, knocking Bluebell to the ground. She landed with a thud on one of the oak tree's roots. The bird circled around in the air and flew back, trying to find the fairy. He looked, but couldn't see her anywhere.
Bluebell stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress and wings. Her long, reddish-brown hair was filled with broken twigs, and bits of leaves and bark. She picked them out and tossed them to the ground. "Where am I?" she wondered, looking around. She'd never been to this part of Periwinkle Glen before. "Where's Bluebird?" She looked up into the tree and then around in the tall grass, but she couldn't see him. "It's very pretty here," she thought, and started walking about. "Look at the violets and buttercup." She stuck her nose into them and took a deep breath, covering it with bright orange pollen.
Just then she heard the sound of wings fluttering. It was Bluebird. "Come and smell the flowers," she called to her friend, who chirped and whistled. He landed next to her and stuck his beak into a few of the flowers. Bluebell started to laugh. "Look at your beak. It's covered with orange pollen too."
As Bluebell wiped the pollen off with a violet petal, Bluebird spotted something wiggling in the grass a few feet away. His eyes lit up and he tiptoed silently towards it. There sat a plump, juicy worm. Bluebird grabbed it in his beak and gobbled it down. When he finished, he rubbed his tummy and hopped back over to Bluebell. She was standing very still and in the palm of her hand was a ladybug with big black spot. "Look, Bluebird. It's a ladybug." She reached over and rubbed its soft head. Its long antenna tickled her face and she started to laugh. When the ladybug saw Bluebird, it opened its red wings and flew off, afraid it might be eaten.
The fairy climbed onto Bluebird's back. "Take me back to the willow tree," she said. Bluebird flew into the sky. "Wheee," shouted Bluebell. She held on tightly to Bluebird's feathers and looked down at Periwinkle Glen. "I see bright red tulips, and daffodils that are the color of honey. I can see yellow roses with pink centers and lots of big bumblebees. Oh, Bluebird, look at the mushrooms with umbrella caps and snails with shells," she called out.
Bluebird landed on the branch near his nest. The fairy climbed off and sat down on the branch. "We live in a lovely glen, don't we?" she asked and Bluebird whistled a pretty little tune
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/stories/fairy2.htm
Remembering Bluebell Woods
That most lovely of all wildflowers, Ms Bluebell, is starting to push her beautiful head upward and spring into life.When I was a little girl, there was a place called Bluebell Woods. I would spend many enchantingly happy hours in Bluebell Woods. I was a very wistful little girl and the carpet of Bluebells in the shade of the trees was my favourite place to be. I would read up on the folklore that is said to surround Bluebells and I would create my very own fantasies involving fairies and witches. Many of my dreams were thought up within those trees and the flowers knew all my deepest desires and wishes.
And in Springtime, our house was abundant with the pretty flowers. I would pick handfuls, carry them home by the bundles and proudly present them to my mum who would always gasp with delight and promptly retrieve her assortment of vases and jars to display them in.
Of course, the Bluebell is now a protected wildflower and it is, quite rightly, illegal to uproot a bulb or damage the flower. Bluebells grow in ancient woodland and are a vital part of the eco-system. It's also vital therefore to prevent our woodlands from disappearing because they are the perfect habitat for Bluebells.
So, if you come across these vibrant and colourful flowers when you're out walking, absorb and enjoy their simple beauty. But leave them be. T'would not do to damage them. And, if ye are to believe the folklore, it certainly wouldn't do to happen upon a chiming Bluebell.
http://earthpal.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/remembering-bluebell-woods/
Bluebird Costumes

As Fancy Nancy says, every day is a great day to dress up. Here are some inspiring bluebird costumes.
- Sleeping Beauty Bluebird Costume

- FamilyFun: Crafts - and More Family Fun

- Classical Ballet Tutus
- Made to measure professional quality classical ballet tutus for competitions, festivals and performances. Bespoke, elaborately decorated Princess Florine tutu for the Bluebird Pas de deux with professional standard bluebird headdress.

- Boy in Bluebird Costume

Links to Stories about Bluebirds
- Bluebell and Bluebird by Margo Fallis
- A story of a bluebird and a fairy. (see above)
- Remembering Bluebell Woods
- See the story above.
- Bluebirds at the National Elk Refuge (Pixel remix: the Ann-alog)
- A series of bluebird nesting boxes can be seen along the boundary of the National Elk Refuge between Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park.
Bluebirds and the Writing Process
Write a story about Bluebirds

Most educators now use the Writing Process to teach children how to write. Children learn to write by focusing on the process of creating writing rather than the end product. When writing, students utilize the stages of the writing process which include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage. Drafting refers to time spent composing a rough draft. Revising is the process of improving the draft. Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers. Editing is the process of correcting mechanical errors. Publishing is done when the work is in final form and ready to be shared. (Information gathered from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
Once the children have taken a story through these stages they are ready for publishing and "IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit" makes publishing simple. To publish the child simply uses the markers and special book pages included in the kit or the book can be made entirely online using Internet drawing and writing tools. The completed story pages are mailed in the postage paid envelope provided. In just a few short weeks you'll receive back a professionally typeset, hardbound book even includes a title, dedication page and "About the Author" biography page to give it a truly professional touch, ready to display in your classroom library and sturdy enough for the school library. At the end of the year parents will want it to proudly display on their coffee tables.
IlluStory is a multi-award winning activity kit and perennial best seller because few products, if any, can build as much self esteem and excitement for reading and writing. The quality of the finished book is a tremendous value and rewards any level of effort. Extra books can be ordered and are the ultimate gift for family and friends, especially since each can be separately dedicated to the recipient. Ages 5 and up.
More Bird Ideas

- Real Learning: Education in the Heart of My Home
- Check out the beautiful garden, bird feeding station, links and homeschooling ideas.
Teaching about Birds

In the fall, bluebirds shift their diet largely to fruit. A few of their favorites are dogwood, viburnums, American bittersweet, American honeysuckle, and the humble pokeweed.
Bluebirds in the News!



Thank you to the Wheelers for including the Bluebirds in their Directory.
Sparrows are not native to North America and often try to take over the Bluebird's nesting sites. In the spring, it is important to check the bluebird houses every day. By pulling out the sparrow nesting material and eggs you will discourage the sparrows and give the bluebirds a chance.
It is easy to tell the difference between a sparrow's nest and a bluebird's: Sparrows use paper, gum wrappers and other litter; bluebirds use grasses.
The Four Wheelers Unit Study Directory
Encouraging, uplifting, interesting and perhaps ev more...2 points
Economy Bird Feeder
Connect with nature by decorating a bird feeder fo more...2 points
Easter Fluff Kills Bluebirds
Pink, featherless hatchlings can choke on green pl more...1 point
Bluebirds in the Ballet Sleeping Beauty.
Photos and Yat-Sen Chang and Simone Clarke intervi more...1 point
Bluebird houses need checking daily
News, how-to articles, photo galleries and video a more...1 point
The Wonderful World Of North American Bluebirds - Verbal Pictures Of Bluebirds
The Wonderful World Of North American Bluebirds - more...1 point
Bluebird House on eBay

Mount a bluebird house or a series of them along the fenceline of a field and you encourage these beautiful birds to choose your neighborhood to raise their young.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byBird Watching in the Woods


There is a new group being formed in Squidooville. It's called A Walk in the Woods. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse is inviting you to join him there. If you are a member of Squidoo and you may join the group. The exposure that your lens gets by joining will boost your lens rank and add to the number of web pages linking back to your lens. If you are not yet a member of Squidoo you can still come over and read about those who are. Come take A Walk in the Woods.
Unit Studies to learn about Birds
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It's Turkey Time!
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Wild Turkeys nearly became extinct in the 1930's but times have changed and turkeys have benefited. Now turkeys are often found in fields and on the edge of the woods. In this unit you will learn about Wild Turkeys, read turkey facts and stories, pl...
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Purple Gallinules of the Everglades
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Gallinules are spectacular creatures. The can be found walking on water lilies in the canals throughout the Everglades. One day we took a trip to the Everglades and saw a Purple Gallinule for the first time. It's vibrant colors are unbelievable. We...
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The Thanksgiving Tale of Tobias Turkey
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Tobias Turkey is a determined little turkey who wants to win the prize for being the biggest turkey on Farmer Joe's Farm. This Thanksgiving Tale by Sandra Robbins can lead into a unit study of domestic turkeys with poems, crafts, math activities and...
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Who Layed THAT Egg?
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Everyone knows that chickens lay eggs. Most people know that all other birds do as well but have you ever thought about all the other animals that lay eggs? Children may be surprised that some eggs do not contain birds. Other egg layers include frogs...
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Beginning to Read
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Mrs. Wishy Washy and The Big Bad Pig are inviting you all beginning readers to join them in the adventure of learning to read. Learn how to make Word Walls, Literacy Bags, activities for Center Time and lots, lots, more. You will find suggested begi...
Link the Birds
Please add any bird related links. It will help increase your backlinks and your lensrank.
Purple Gallinules of the Everglades
Gallinules are spectacular creatures. The can be f more...3 points
Take Home Literacy Bags
TAKE HOME LITERACY BAGS are a fun way to help chil more...3 points
Flamingos!
Flamingos fascinate me. Whether they're the real o more...2 points
American White Pelican
The American White Pelican doesn't dive for its di more...2 points
Birding with Grandma
Take your grandchildren birdwatching and you will more...2 points
The Mallard Duck
The green head, yellow bill, and black rump of the more...2 points
Create a Backyard Bird Sanctuary
Bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoo more...2 points
The Canada Goose
Known for their V-shaped migrating flocks, and the more...2 points
Best Books on Birds: Field Guides and More
This lens provides recommendations for books on wi more...2 points
Herring Gulls
The Herring Gull is a familiar bird. It is often s more...2 points
Hummingbirds: Facts, Feeders and Fun Merchandise
Hummingbirds are amazing creatures. The more you l more...2 points
Virginia Birdwatching
This lens introduces readers to birdwatching in Vi more...2 points
Our Nesting Blackbirds
I love birds and a few weeks ago was priviledged t more...2 points
Great Bird Baths and Fountains: A Buyer's Guide
Give those birds a drink! Let my recommendations h more...2 points
Carolina Wren's Nest
The little brown Carolina Wren pair with their per more...2 points
The Cardinal's Nest
Every bird-watcher and most children recognize the more...2 points
Hummingbird Gardening
Who wouldn't want to attract hummingbirds, nature' more...2 points
Prothonotary Warblers
A small golden yellow bird with blue gray wings da more...2 points
How to Build a Bluebird Trail
Lawrence Zeleny's book, the Bluebird How You Can H more...2 points
Carolina Chickadees
Carolina Chickadees are great little cavity nestin more...2 points
Birds Flying into Windows - Bird Window Decals to Keep Birds From Crashing into Windows
Good article on keeping birds from flying into win more...1 point
Garden Gadgets Headquarters
Garden GadgetsGardening is a great hobby, one of t more...1 point
Purple Martin House Diary Tennessee
I have created this lens as a diary to chronicle f more...1 point
Western Bluebirds
A Western Bluebird pair on a nest box at the Tuala more...1 point
Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBluebirds on our Farm
Learn more about the Farm where our Bluebirds Live
We mount bluebird houses on the fence that Garner Rix built. The woodchucks look out from the barn where the hay is stored and see the bluebirds flying overhead. Sometimes the bluebirds land in the apple trees that Garner Rix planted.-
Woodchucks Under the Porch
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Woodchucks chuck wood and Groundhogs determine the coming of spring. They eat your garden, dig holes under the porch but look adorable when they are first born and start to venture out of their dens. Watching the woodchuck babies venturing out from...
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Bluebird Math
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The bluebirds are busy building nests, laying eggs and helping young children learn all about math. The basis of all math is discovering and describing pattens found in the natural world. This lens offers dozens of math activities, workjobs and cente...
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Garner Rix and the Royalton Raid - 1780
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Garner Rix was just 12 when he moved with his father, pregnant mother, two sisters and three brothers from a farm in Connecticut to a log cabin on the banks of the White River, a place that would one day be called Royalton, Vermont. He helped h...
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Old Vermont Barn
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The old barn on our farm in Vermont was built by my Great-great grandfather in about 1870. He learned to build from his father and grandfather in a tradition passed down from the first New England settlers. He took those traditions but he applied new...
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Apple Trees and Apple Blossoms
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When Garner Rix moved with his family to Vermont in 1780 he brought apple seeds with him. He carefully planted those seeds which grew into trees and produced apple blossoms in Springtime and bushels of apples in the fall. It has been 200 years since...
The Bluebirds are in the Four Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory

Thank you to the Four Wheelers for including
Bluebirds of the Meadow in their Online Unit Study Directory.
- Internet Directory of Unit Studies
- The Four Wheelers Internet Directory of Unit Studies contains a list, roughly arranged by subject, of links to unit studies that are published on the Internet.
Look Who's Talking about Bluebirds
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- uludag
- Western Bluebirds, Black Phoebes, an Osprey, mist. Fenton Lake State Park.
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- VelvetMoxie
- wishes everyone sunshine that's not too hot, lemonade with fresh mint, and bluebirds.
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- digeratidesign
- Trying 2 shoo bluebirds out so they don't get trapd in house! I'm about 2 change an entire culture by putting screen doors on hogans, sorry!
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- Lorisay
- A new pair of bluebirds are in the nesting box. I hope they fare better than the last pair!
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- myfootballforum
- Hudson secures Bluebirds move http://tinyurl.com/nhwdlk
Do you feed the birds? Have any of these ideas intriged you?
Please let my know by leaving a comment here. Tell me about your favorite animal or teaching idea. Don't forget the stars at the top and if you lensroll this page or add it to your favorites please let me know so that I can reciprocate.
Heather426 wrote...
Evelyn, you always give so much and your lenses are all beautiful! 5* and favorite, lensroll
HorseAndPony wrote...
Wow! What great ideas. You are a 5* for us. Welcome to the Backyard Birding group.
Follow the Bluebirds and their friends on Twitter
Bluebirds in the Meadow
- evelynsaenz
- aka evelynsaenz
- 721 followers
- 585 following
-
- Can someone learn something from your lens? I just chimed in here: http://bit.ly/vHurk
-
- @Teddi14 I find that I learn something from nearly every lens I read.
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- Hi All, Vt is great! Hope to get back to twittering again when I have more access to the Internet.
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- Quilt sale will help a worthy cause. http://www.squidoo.com/handmade-quilt
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- @kathleentehrani Thank you for referring to my Frog Unit Study in your article about summer. http://www.squidoo.com/frogunitstudy
About the Author of this Lens
Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog.
I have a bluebird house on the fence looking out at the field. Some years bluebirds nest there.
Check out what else I'm doing:
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Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
-
My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
Come Visit the Bluebirds in Vermont
Come Visit Vermont

Photo Credit: Vermont Dirt Road
on Flickr, Creative Commons.
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Evelyn's Bed and Breakfast
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Our home in Vermont is a big old Vermont farmhouse and the land that it sits on has been in the family since the town was founded. This historic 1850's Vermont Farmhouse is surrounded by pastures and hundreds of acres of woods, trails and even a wate...
The Bluebirds are on the Isle of Squid
The Best Squidoo Lenses

Bluebirds: Classroom Meadow Theme is now featured at the new Isle of Squid website. Isle Of Squid is a directory of the best lenses on Squidoo.com.
Check out Isle Of Squid and Review This Site.
by Evelyn_Saenz
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