Although, it is still a little warm to be attracting birds to feeders, I had two of my students fill them anyway. My first grade students have been feeding wild birds since 2005 at Cracker Trail Elementary. My classroom was in a portable at the time and I had written a grant I titled,' Window to the World of Science." I placed a lamp style feeder and birdbath in view of the classroom window, as shown below.
There is not a lot of space in a portable, as any one who has taught in a portable knows. I did manage to find a small table to place in front of the window, where I placed binoculars and bird identification books, along with other science materials.
I included Backyard Journals on the science table as well. Here students could record the date and time of when they observed birds at the feeders. Additionally, students illustrated the birds and wrote about bird behaviors.
Feeding and observing birds has been so popular with my students, I've continued the project all of these years. In 2009, I wrote another grant called, "Wild About Birds." My students and I created the birdwatch garden as seen below.
My students learn how to identify, count and record collected data about the birds.
In the Spring of 2012, I won a classroom makeover grant from Honeywell Hometown Solutions and brought the bird theme inside the classroom with a mural painted by my daughter Molly. The mural depicts birds seen in the birdwatch garden.
I won an ING Unsung Hero grant in the Fall of 2012. This grant was used to purchase a live webcam that is installed within the perimeter of the bird sanctuary. Now, anyone on the Highlands County School Board network can tune in and observe bird activity in the bird garden.
I'm looking forward to another exciting year of bird watching with my students.
Here are our first visitors, a family of Sandhill Cranes.
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