If you saw our toy rotation post for this month, then you know the Folkmanis Bird Finger Puppets and the Backyard Bird Songs book are currently in our toy rotation. The kids have been fascinated by learning about the birds and they especially want to know what the birds eat. So, I thought a sensory/ small world/ learning tray might be fun activity for them.
I used the Bugs in the Garden kit from Readymade Play Canada to make this tray. The kit includes dirt scented sensory filler that really smells like dirt and makes the scene seem so much more realistic. Then I added in our paper maché tree from a previous play, our large resin pondscape, some moss and some scrunched paper filler to fill up the tray. It was the perfect scene for our little birds and their food sources.
The kids dove right into this activity and wanted to explore all the different types of bird food available (worms, insects, seeds, berries). The artificial worms, in particular, were a big hit. They are very stretchy and added an extra interesting sensory texture to the tray.
My 3 year old son spent a lot of time acting out little scenes with the birds. One of his favourites was bringing all the birds and insects inside the tree because it was raining.
It was a great way to extend our play with the Folkmanis finger puppet birds and add a sensory element to our learning about what birds eat.
Materials
- The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs – Amazon
- Folkmanis bird finger puppets, felt worm, ladybug and dragonfly, felt balls for seeds and berries – Sewing Seeds Play (code HOUSEOFPLAY10)
- ”Bugs in the Garden Bin in a Bag” with scented dirt filler (I used 2 bags of the dirt filler here) – Readymade Play Canada (code PLAY10)
- Resin pondscape and resin stump – Olive Eve and Co.
- Artificial worms – Amazon
- Tuff Tray – Scholar’s Choice
- DIY paper maché tree (I have another blog post here about how I made it)
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