Tips for Tots Tuesday: Seasonal Crafts

I love to do crafts myself. Most of the time I have to up my patience in order to share them with Seth but this one is all about getting messy and having a good time. It is also a great way to bring nature a little closer to your window.

Image thanks to Koboose.com

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

Bird Seed, any blend cheap or expensive will work
Crisco or Peanut Butter
Pine Cones of many shapes and sizes
Ribbon or string to tie up bird feeders
Knife or dull spreader of some sort
Plate on cookie sheet to help keep the mess contained

The basic idea here is to cover your pine cone with sticky fat (Crisco or peanut butter) then roll it in the bird seed. Once it is covered thoroughly tie a string on the top. The hardest part may be finding a place to hang it where you can see the birds come and keep the squirrels from running away with them. Yes, squirrels have the ability to bite through the string and haul the whole blasted thing right away. I watched it few times and it is actually rather entertaining.

Since one idea seems terribly insufficient here is one more activity I came across:

Felt Turkey - I came across this cute blog called Chasing Cheerios and if you have some random felt around like I do this could be another great activity. I plan to cut out some pieces today for the boys to play with. (Edited: It took me a few hours with many interruptions but not too bad. See the picture below!) If you check out her source for the idea you can get some further details at My Montessori Journey.

Image thanks to My Montessori Journey.

Here is my silly take on the whole thing. I liked the idea of teaching buttons and counting with my turkey. It was primitively hand sewn but all of the pieces were around the house waiting to be put to good use.

For better instructions on bird feeders and more future craft ideas check out this fun website Kaboose.

Have a seasonal craft or activity that you want to share? Please leave a comment, I would love to hear it!