Showing posts with label action songs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label action songs. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Winter Animals: Activities and Songs!


Baby Polar Bear Song
tune: Baby Bumblebee

I’m swimming with a baby polar bear,

Hear my mommy shout, "watch out, beware!”

I’m swimming with a baby polar bear,
(Swim in a designated space without touching anyone else)

Ouch! It tripped me!
(freeze and touch the ground)


I’m running with a baby polar bear,

Hear my mommy shout, "watch out, beware!”

I’m running with a baby polar bear,
(Run in a designated space without touching anyone else)

Ouch! It tripped me!
(freeze and touch the ground)


I’m jumping with a baby polar bear,

Hear my mommy shout, "watch out, beware!”

I’m jumping with a baby polar bear,
(Jump in a designated space without touching anyone else)

Ouch! It tripped me!
(freeze and touch the ground)


I’m sleeping with a baby polar bear,

Hear my mommy shout, "watch out, beware!”

I’m sleeping with a baby polar bear,
(Yawn, stretch and walk to the middle)

Now my mommy won’t be mad at me!
(All cuddle together to sleep)

Polar Bear Ice Game
Information:
Polar bears loom large on the ice cold tundra, with some males reaching 10 feet tall when standing upright. This animal is classified as a threatened species. Polar bears do not hibernate like other bears. However, females build dens to give birth and “hole up” with their newborn cubs. During this time, their bodily functions slow down in a process scientists call “winter sleep,” but the bears can be easily awakened. Polar bears eat an almost exclusively carnivorous diet of seals. They enjoy a semi-aquatic lifestyle, and have the largest home range of any land mammal. Living in the tundra, polar bears have 2-4 inches of blubber (from your thumb to your
index finger) to keep them from starving and to keep them warm. The blubber also helps them float in the water. Their fur is made of clear hollow tubes, which stick together when wet, and are waterproof. Their skin is black, which absorbs the heat of the sun. Beware, polar bears will attack humans.

*Create 8 irregular chunks of sea ice out of poster board to jump on. On one side, write a yes or no polar bear statement. On the other side write yes or no accordingly like the following:

Polar bears live in the cold tundra. YES

Polar bears hibernate like other bears. NO

Females “hole up” with their cubs and are easily awakened. YES
Polar bears are great swimmers. YES

The polar bear’s blubber makes them sink. NO
 Blubber helps them float.

The polar bear’s skin is white, which absorbs the heat of the sun. NO
Their skin is black, absorbs the heat of the sun and keeps them warm.

Polar bears might attack humans. YES

Polar bears are a threatened species. YES


*Create a seal out of poster board.

*Line the ice up in a zigzag fashion with the statement visible. Put the seal at the end of

the line.

*If the child answers correctly they get to jump on the ice chunks until they reach the

seal and have supper.

*If they can’t answer the question they go to the end of the line and try again.

*If the answer is NO and they can correct the answer they get to jump two ice chunks!

*To vary the game, have the children hop or jump backwards.

*If you have an adult helper, split the class into two equal teams. The team who gets all
their members to the seal first wins.

SNOWFLAKE STREAMERS

Each child cuts 4 small snowflakes from folded paper. Staple (4) 12” lengths of ribbon

onto the top of a 6” dowel or straw. Staple a paper snowflake on the end of each ribbon. Use these snowflakes for the following song. 


 Winter Snow Song
Tune:
Wheels on the Bus

The snow from the clouds falls down on me,
(lift snowflakes up and down)
down on me, down on me,
The snow from the clouds falls down on me,
All around the town.
Verses:
The snow in the air whirls all around
(turn around)
The snow on the ground goes swish, swish, swish
(move flakes side to side)
The kids in the street jump in the snow,
(jump)
The kids in the street slide in the snow
(slide)



Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965# http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285 Add to Technorati Favorites

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Trouble on Earth Day has been Released!




  • Paperback: 44 pages

  • Publisher: Wild Plains Press (September 30, 2011)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1936021366

  • ISBN-13: 978-1936021369

  • Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.1 inches

  • Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces


  • When Shelby wins a first place ribbon for her Earth Day poster, she gets her parents involved with recycling items in their home and then befriends a bluebird - helping him rebuild his home with recycled items.
     
    This colorful picture book will facilitate dialog between parents, teachers, and children about conserving the Earth's natural resources and the 22 page activity section includes comprehension questions and easy to learn songs, as well as enjoyable worksheets, games, and compound word activities.

    Included discussions about trees, birds, and recycling materials provide everything that home-schooling parents and other educators need in order to pass on knowledge about caring for the environment and teach environmental responsibility.
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965# http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285 Add to Technorati Favorites

    Wednesday, August 17, 2011

    Fish theme games and songs!


    LET’S GO

    FISHING!


    Preparation

    · Make a couple of fishing poles by attaching 3 feet of string to a dowel and affixing a small magnet to the end of the string.

    · Make fish shapes in different colors and sizes.  Attach a paper clip and put a number on each fish.

    · Use large poster board to make a lake and spread the fish out.

    · Also tape some numbered fish shapes to the floor. (floor fish)

    Activity: Take turns going fishing.

    · Ask them to catch the big fish, small fish, red fish, or blue fish. Count the number in each group.

    · Blind fold them and let them fish. Identify the number on the fish.  Jump to the number on the floor fish.

    · Fish for a certain number of fish. EX: Catch 5 fish. Jump five fish.

    · Catch two fish. Add them together.  Use the fish on the floor to help them add the two fish together by jumping to the first number, then jumping the second number to find the total. 

    · Or subtract them. With subtraction, jump forward for the big number, then jump backwards for the number to be subtracted.



    FISHY POKEY  TUNE: HOKEY POKEY



    Put your left fin in, put your left fin out,

    Action: (Left elbow in, left elbow out)

    put your left fin in and shake it all about

    Actioin: (left elbow in and shake it)

    Do the fishy pokey and turn yourself around

    Action: (Turn in a circle}

    That’s what its all about.

    Action: (jump in place, clap clap)

    Do the fishy pokey, do the fishy pokey,

    Action: (Swim into the circle)

    Do the fishy pokey,

    Action: (Swim backwards out of the circle)

    That’s what its all about.

    Action: (jump in place, clap clap)

    (Right fin)



    Put your left gill in, put your left gill out,

    Action: (left shoulder in, left shoulder out)

    Etc.

    (right gill)



    Put your tail fin in, put your tail fin out,

    Action: (put your bottom in, bottom out)

    Etc.



    Put your fish eye in, put your fish eye out,

    Action: (put your head in, put your head out)

    Etc.



    Put your fish belly in, put your fish belly out,

    Action: (put your belly in, put your belly out)

    Etc.

    FISH FOOD

    Fishy swimming in a brook        

    Daddy catches with a hook       

    Mommy fries it in a pan

    Children ate it then they ran.





    Tune: I’m a Little Teapot



    I’m a little fishy, watch me swim

    Here is my tail, here is my fin

    When I want to have fun with my friends

    I wiggle my tail and jump right in!



    INDIVIDUAL SPELLING GAME

    Make letter squares of either 6, 8, 9, or 12 letters. Make sure there are vowels in each letter grouping. Each child must jump through as many fish words as he can with his set of letters. An observing student should check the spelling and write it down.  Set a time limit, count the words spelled correctly, and announce a winner. Change places with your partner. Fish words: fin, flipper, swim, dive, gill, school, scales, eye, tail, water, seafood, fillet, gut, seaweed, jump, mouth, eat, sand, mud, eggs, bite, catch, fluke, trout.



    FISH SONG


    Tune: Frere Jacques

    Big ones, small ones

    Big ones, small ones

    See them swim

    On a whim.

    Smoothly, smoothly, swimming

    Never, never, drowning.

    Fish, fish, fish,

    Fish, fish, fish. 
    Kathy Stemke's websites:
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965# http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285 Add to Technorati Favorites

    Monday, November 22, 2010

    THANKSGIVING SONGS FOR KIDS!


    Turkey Pokey
    Tune: Hokey Pokey

    You put your right wing in.
    You put your right wing out.
    You put your right wing in,
    And you shake it all about.
    "You do the Turkey Pokey and you gobble all around,
    that's what it's all about."
    Additional verses: Left wing, Drumsticks, Stuffing, Wattle (Head), Tail Feathers (Bottom), Turkey body.

    Thanksgiving Song
    Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle

    Let's be thankful for this day
    For our friends and for our play
    Let's be thankful; let's be glad
    For the food and things we have
    Let's give thanks for you and me
    And our home and family.
    Mr. Turkey
    Tune: Frere Jacque

    Mr. Turkey, Mr. Turkey
    Run away, run away
    If you are not careful
    You will be a mouthful
    Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Day!

    I'm A Little Pilgrim
    Tune: I'm A Little Teapot

    I'm a little pilgrim on the run,
    Here is my knife and here is my gun.
    When I go a-hunting, hear my shout-
    Deer and turkey better watch out!

    I'm Thankful
    Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

    I'm thankful for my friends
    And my family.
    I'm thankful for the food I eat.
    I'm happy to be me!

    Kathy's websites:
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html http://kathystemke.weebly.com
    Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke
    Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Friday, October 8, 2010

    SIGN UP FOR MY FREE MONTHLY "MOVEMENT AND RHYTHM NEWSLETTER"

    TAKE A LOOK AT SOME SAMPLE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU WILL FIND IN MY NEWSLETTER !

    Feed My Letter Monsters Sounds!

    They're sooo..... Hungry! 

     

    HOW DOES WIND MOVE? 

    Make a pinwheel & explore!

    How does wind move objects? How can my body move objects? This fitness and science exploration asks open-ended questions to help preschoolers discover answers on their own. Preschoolers will run, jump and twirl to stay active as they use simple science tools to investigate wind and movement.

    To explain one reason wind changes direction, have each child put a piece of paper in front of his mouth.   Blow like the wind and watch the paper move.  Did the wind go through the paper?  No.  It went up over the paper or out to the side around the paper.  

    Imagine the paper is a mountain.  Will the mountain move like the paper did?  No.  The wind can’t go through it so it has to go up and over the mountain.

    FEATHER GAME
    Pair you children off and give them a feather. Tell them to try to keep the feather in the air by blowing it. Explain that the air they are blowing out of their mouth is like the wind outside.

    WINDY BOOKS!
    When the Wind Stops
    by Charlotte Zolotow 
    Feel the Wind
    by Arthur Dorros  

    The Life of a Leaf 

    You are a tiny leaf bud on a tree.  In the spring you grow into a small leaf.  When the rain falls down you grow into a big leaf.  You twist and turn all summer to find the sun.  With all your leaf friends you make an umbrella of shade (kids can clump together) to keep people cool.  Now slide away to your own space.
     
    One day it gets cool and you tremble slowly.  You better hold on to your branch tightly.  Because it’s so cold, you turn into a bright orange leaf.  The wind lifts you up and down.  The wind rocks you side to side.  It gets colder every day so you shake.  You shake faster and faster.   You twist and spin and hold on to the branch with all your strength.  

    Suddenly you can’t hold on, so you fly around the yard.  You love being free so you dance.  Now bounce up as high as you can.   Slide low under a bush.  Now hop as fast as you can.  Stop and reach to the sky.  A gust of wind pushes you into a whirl.  

    You land in the stream, and float slowly down the hill.  You’re getting tired so you hug a giant rock.  The water is pushing against you.  Climb up to the top of the rock.  Balance on one part of you.  You wave to your friends on the tree.  You want to get back so you leap as far as you can.  You fall into the stream and dive deep.  You swim then pop up for some air.  At last you rest on the shore.  You pick up your head when you hear your friend Doug.  You laugh out loud to see all your friends come together again.

    KATHY STEMKE'S WEBSITES:
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html http://kathystemke.weebly.com
    Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke
    Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile
      Add to Technorati Favorites

    Thursday, July 29, 2010

    BUG SONGS AND POEMS PART II



    Fireflies in Flight
    (Tune of "Camptown Races")

    Fireflies come out at night.
    Blink, blink. Blink, blink.
    Showing off their little lights
    In the summer sky!

    Can you see them glow?
    Flying to and fro,
    Fireflies come out at night
    In the summer sky!

    The Little Caterpillars

    Ten little caterpillars crawled up on the vine.
    One slipped off, and then there were ______.

    Nine little caterpillars sat upon the gate.
    One hid behind the latch, and then there were ______.

    Eight little caterpillars are on their way to heaven.
    One went to find a leaf, and then there were ______.

    Seven little caterpillars tried to find some sticks.
    One went behind a bush, and then there were______.

    Six little caterpillars crawled down the drive.
    One skittled far away, and then there were ______.

    Five little caterpillars were creeping as before.
    One slipped inside a crack, and then there were______.

    Four little caterpillars climbed up a tree.
    One hid behind some bark, and then there were ______.

    Three little caterpillars found leaves that were new.
    One crawled far away and then there were______.

    Two little caterpillars were snoozing in the sun.
    One woke and ran away, and then there was______.

    The Bugs on the Go
    (Tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

    The small honeybees go buzz-buzz-buzz,
    Buzz-buzz-buzz,buzz-buzz-buzz.
    The small honeybees go buzz-buzz-buzz,
    All day long.

    The crickets in the grass go hop-hop-hop,
    Hop-hop-hop, hop-hop-hop.
    The crickets in the grass go hop-hop-hop,
    All day long.

    The slow caterpillars go munch-munch-munch,
    Munch-munch-munch, munch-munch-munch.
    The slow caterpillars go munch-munch-munch,
    All day long.

    The big black spiders go creep-creep-creep,
    Creep-creep-creep, creep-creep-creep,
    The big black spiders go creep-creep-creep,
    All day long.

    Do you like to Buzz?
    (Tune: Do Your Ears Hang Low)

    Do you like to buzz.
    Are you covered all in fuzz?
    Do you call a hive a home
    In the garden where you roam?
    Do you know how to make honey,
    Are your stripes a little funny?
    Do you like to buzz?

    The Fuzzy Caterpillar
    (Tune:Itsy Bitsy Spider)

    The fuzzy caterpillar
    curled up on a leaf,
    Spun her little cocoon
    and then fell fast asleep.
    While she was sleeping,
    she dreamed that she could fly
    And later when she woke up
    She was a butterfly!

    BEE SONG
    (Sung to: She'll Be comin' Round the Mountain)

    They'll be flying 'round the flowers in the yard. Buzz buzz. (flap hands)
    They'll be flying 'round the flowers in the yard. Buzz buzz.
    They'll be flying 'round the flowers; they'll be flying 'round the flowers;
    They'll be flying 'round they flowers in the yard.

    More verses:

    They'll be slurping up the nectar when they come. Gulp! Gulp! (pretend to swallow)
    They'll be scooping up the pollen with their legs. Fun! Fun! (Stomp twice)
    They'll be feeding all the babies in the hive. Eat! Eat! (pretend to rock baby)
    They'll be cooling down the hive with their wings. Flap! Flap! (flap arms)
    They'll be making lots of honey that we'll eat. Yum! Yum! (rub tummy)

    KATHY STEMKE:
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlhttp://kathystemke.weebly.comFollow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemkeFollow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profileAdd to Technorati Favorites

    Monday, November 16, 2009

    Monday, November 9, 2009

    WINTER ACTION SNOW SONGS!



    (To the tune of Are you Sleeping)

    Dance like snowflakes
    Dance like snowflakes
    In the air
    In the air
    Whirling, Twirling snowflakes
    Whirling, Twirling snowflakes
    Here and there
    Here and there

    Skate like athletes
    Skate like athletes
    Round the track
    Round the track
    Skating, skating, faster
    Skating, skating, faster
    Don't look back,
    Don't look back.

    Stomp like big foot
    Stomp like big foot
    In the snow
    In the snow
    Stomping, Growling Big Foot
    Stomping, Growling Big Foot
    Off we go
    Off we go

    (

    Sung to "If You're Happy And You Know It")

    It is winter
    and it's time to ride a sled!
    It is winter
    and it's time to ride a sled!
    It is winter
    that's the season!
    We don't need
    a better reason!
    It is winter
    and it's time to ride a sled!

    It is winter
    and it's time to shovel snow!
    It is winter
    and it's time to shovel snow!
    It is winter
    that's the season!
    We don't need
    a better reason!
    It is winter
    and it's time to shovel snow!

    It is winter
    and it's time to chop firewood!
    It is winter
    and it's time to chop firewood!
    It is winter
    that's the season!
    We don't need
    a better reason!
    It is winter
    and it's time to chop firewood!

    It is winter
    and it's time to skate on ice!
    It is winter
    and it's time to skate on ice!
    It is winter
    that's the season!
    We don't need
    a better reason!
    It is winter
    and it's time to skate on ice!

    Kathy's websites:
    Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
    http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
    http://kathystemke.weebly.com
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Monday, March 16, 2009

    SHAPES SONG AND ACTIVITIES!


    Tune: Farmer in the Dell

    A circle's like a ball.
    A circle's like a ball.
    Round and round
    It never stops.
    A circle's like a ball.

    A square is like a box.
    A square is like a box.
    It has four sides,
    they're all the same.
    A square is like a box.

    A triangle has 3 sides.
    A triangle has 3 sides.
    Up the mountain,
    down, and back.
    A triangle has 3 sides.

    A rectangle has 4 sides.
    A rectangle has 4 sides.
    Two are long, and
    two are short.
    A rectangle has 4 sides.

    A star has five points.
    A star has five points.
    They twinkle high,
    in the bright sky.
    A star has five points.

    Movement activity:

    1. Make a large outline of each of the shapes in the shape song on the floor with masking tape.

    2. Have the children practice various locomotor movements (tip toe, walk, gallup, slide, skip, walk backwards, walk on hands and feet, walk on two hands and one foot, etc.)as they move along the outlines and sing the song.

    Art project:

    1. Give each child several shapes to create a picture of a strange animal.

    2. Remember to vary the size and colors of the shapes.

    3. Name the animal.

    Writing activity:

    1. Create a story about the animal in the picture.

    2. Include things like where he was born, what special powers he has, an example of his actions, is he good or evil, Who does he help or harm, and a surprise ending.

    href="http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html">http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
    http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
    http://kathystemke.weebly.com
    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Monday, November 10, 2008

    SONGS AND RHYMES FOR SHAPES!


    CIRCLE SONG (tune: “If Your Happy and You Know It”

    A circle is a shape that goes round. (clap, clap)
    A circle is a shape that goes round. (clap, clap)
    A circle is a shape
    That goes round and round and round.
    A circle is a shape that goes round. (clap, clap)

    Tiptoe slowly on the circle and go round (clap, clap)
    Tiptoe slowly on the circle and go round. (clap,clap)
    Tiptoe slowly on the circle,
    And go round and round and round.
    Tiptoe slowly on the circle and go round. (clap,clap)

    SONNY SQUARE

    Sonny square is my name.
    My four sides are the same.

    Slide around me, I don’t care.
    Slide around me, I’m Sonny square.

    Each angle is the same.
    Equal angles are my game.

    TIMMY TRIANGLE

    I’m Timmy triangle.
    Come on gang, look at me.
    Count my sides, one, two, three.

    Hop on one foot, on all three.
    Hop the triangle with me.

    Add my angles, it’s a breeze.
    One hundred eighty degrees.

    RICKY RECTANGLE

    Ricky rectangle is my name.
    My four sides are never the same.

    Two are short, and two are long.
    Jump my sides, come right along.

    One and two and three and four.
    Jump around and jump some more.

    http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
    http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
    http://kathystemke.weebly.com

    Add to Technorati Favorites

    Monday, August 11, 2008

    Bird Songs, Facts, Books, & Activities


    Birds Action Song

    The first verse remains the same: children walking around in a circle holding hands singing "Here we go round the Mulberry Bush".

    2nd verse:
    This is the way we scratch for worms.
    (children move their feet in a scratching motion)
    3rd verse:
    This is the way we peck our food.
    (children peck)
    4th verse:
    This is the way we sit on our eggs.
    (children squat down and wiggle)
    5th verse:
    This is the way we flap our wings.
    (bend arms at elbows, put thumbs under armpits, and flap)
    6th verse:
    This is the way we fly away.
    (children can "fly" anywhere they want within a set boundary, but return to circle at end of verse)

    WHY BIRDS HAVE BRIGHTLY COLORED FEATHERS

    When we observe the regal display of color on a male peacock, with his feathery fan-like tail spread out, his beauty fascinates us. Like thousands of other species of birds, this stunning specimen is staking claim to his territory and trying to attract a mate. His shimmering green and blue plumage shows other birds that he is a strong and healthy male peacock ready to defend his territory.

    TERRITORY MARKING
    Using visual and auditory cues, each bird species has evolved a spacing method to let other birds know where his territory boundaries end. His vivid color sends a message of dominance and ownership. This is extremely important to his survival. When birds are too densely populated in a particular area, they may starve. If they are too widely spread out, they might never find each other to mate and reproduce. The red shoulder patch on red-winged blackbirds provides an excellent example. The patch is coverable and is shown to males and females of the same species but never to predators. Males who had their patch experimentally covered tended to lose their territories more often than did uncovered birds. Similar results have been shown in other species such as scarlet-tufted malachite sunbirds, confirming that the brilliant badges function primarily in male-male competition over territories.

    ATTRACTING A MATE
    In most species the female is a “plain Jane” with brown or gray markings, while the male is dressed for success like a “dapper Dan.” The reason for this difference is job related. The female needs to be camouflaged in the nest to feed and nurture her young. The male needs to stand out in a crowd to attract a female and win her love. His intense and dazzling plumage shows her that he will contribute strong, healthy genes to their offspring. In fact, during mating season, some males will exhibit breeding plumage, which is more lustrous and vivid than at other times during the year. House finches are monogamous and males exhibit orange or red in their crowns and elsewhere in their plumage. The extent and brightness of the color in individuals is directly related to carotenoid pigments that are picked up from high quality seed. Extensive field studies have shown that artificially brightened males were much preferred by females, and that naturally brighter males were better at providing food to the female and her chicks.

    Activity for home or school:

    For most birds, nest-building supplies consist of whatever nature has lying around — wood, grass, twigs, feathers, and fur. You can provide the birds in your neighborhood with easy-to-obtain nest fodder by stuffng a mesh onion bag with materials such as pet fur, colorful strands of cloth, bits of stuffing, hay, colorful yarn cut into short lengths, hair from your brush, or feathers from an old down pillow. (Avoid anything synthetic or sharp.) Snip a few large holes in the sack so birds can poke around, then hang it in a tree, ideally near a feeder so it will get noticed.

    In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for birds visiting the sack, then watch what trees they return to — from the right viewpoint, you might even get to see your building materials being incorporated into the birds' nests.


    Books for the classroom:

    "The Backyard Bird Watching For Kids" by George H. Harrison

    This book provides a fascinating opportunity for children to learn how to attract birds to their own backyards. And there's no better teacher than "Mr. Backyard Bird Watcher" himself, expert birder and author George H. Harrison. This book will kindle in readers a healthy, enduring interest in birds and other wild animals.
    72 pages. For kids 5-12

    "Are You My Mother?" by P.D Eastman

    Soft and cuddly as a stuffed animal or a favorite quilt, this padded-cloth book, will delight a small child and the person who reads it out loud. Suitable for infants and children up to about five years old.

    A baby bird falls out of the nest and explores the surroundings in search of its mother. This book goes beyond being merely illustrated--it's a real experience. A child can hold the small cloth baby bird and at the end tuck it under the found mother's wing. Highly recommended for a small child in your life.

    Add to Technorati Favorites