Despite the incident we had at Granville Island a couple of months back, our little lady remains a dedicated bird lover (unlike her mama). So today we headed out into our sunshiny backyard, supplies in hand, to make a couple of simple, toddler-friendly bird feeders. Here’s what we did…
Seedy Bagel Rings:
For this project, we used wild bird seed mix, some wholewheat bakery bagels, some ‘just peanuts’ peanut butter, some jute (it’s biodegradable and can be repurposed by birds when building their nests), a spatula, and some scissors.
First things first, cover one side of the bagel with peanut butter.
You want it nice and thick so that the seeds really stick.
Then plop it, peanut butter side down, into the seed mixture.
Really push it down into the seeds to collect as many as possible.
It should look something like this.
Next, spread peanut butter on the other side.
And cover it completely with seeds.
Almost done! While you tie a loop of jute through the middle of the bagel, have your little one wash the gobs of peanut butter off of her hands.
Tada! Here’s the finished product.
Now tie them up in a tree and wait for hungry birds to flock your way.
Toasted O Loops:
For this feeder, we used jute, scotch tape, low-sugar toasted O cereal, and some scissors.
First thing, cut a piece of jute, tie a triple knot at one end, and wrap a small bit of tape around the other end so that it doesn’t fray.
Next, string the o’s onto the jute, one by one.
It’s a slow process… Especially if your munchkin eats five o’s for every one she strings!
When you’ve got a nice long string, make a loop and tie it at the top.
Then knot it onto a tree branch. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
I’m sure we’re inviting all kinds of scary crows and seagulls into our yard with these tempting treats swinging from our trees, but if it provides some entertainment for our little bird watcher, it’ll be worth it.
Here’s what you need: Some flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, water, food colouring, and a cute little sous chef to help you along the way.
First things first, pour your water in a large pot.
Next, add your salt. Preferably into the pot. But hey, whatever works.
Then, add your cream of tartar.
And your food colouring. (Of course for this little one, purple was the colour of choice.) Give everything a little stir.
Then, over medium heat, warm the mixture until hot, but not boiling.
When hot, add your oil and your flour, cup by cup.
Don’t worry if it looks all chunky and gross. We’ve used this recipe several times and we’ve always experienced this stage. It’ll all work out in the end.
When you’ve added all of the flour, give the dough one final stir and plop it out onto a well-floured counter. Sprinkle some extra flour on top if the dough appears sticky. Be careful – it’ll be very hot still.
Once it’s cooled, kneed the dough well, incorporating all of the extra flour.
Then give your munchkin a chunk and let her go to town.
Fun for hours!
In preparation for Little G’s Valentine’s Day tea, this morning we experimented with making our own finger paint. I found the 
Gracen carefully added all of our ingredients into a large measuring cup first…
And then enthusiastically mixed it up!
Then we warmed the mixture on the stove…
Separated it into small bowls, added a few drops of food colouring, and stirred it well. It looks pretty, right?