Birds of a Feather

We have been studying birds for the past month at Art and Soul Preschool, and we plan to continue 

with more bird exploration, especially as winter comes to an end and spring begins.

In our journey so far, we have talked a lot about the noticeable features of birds; beaks, wings, feathers, shapes of the body, different species of birds.

Shortly before we began our study, I hung up our viewing bird house.  

We still haven't found any tenants, but we are hoping that once nesting season really takes off, we will have a family move in.  It would be wonderful for the children to be able to watch the eggs hatch and see the baby birds.

In their art explorations, the children each chose a bird they wanted to study and do a drawing of.

We talked about the shape of the body, the physical attributes of their bird of choice, and then they set to work drawing their birds.  

I loved how intensely many of the children studied their birds before and as they drew.

 

  

After they completed their drawings I wanted the children to revisit their drawings again, so I had them take Wiki-Sticks and try and recreate their birds using a line and a sort of sculptural manipulation.  I love how they turned out, and the kids really enjoyed the process.

The wonderful thing about Wiki-sticks is that the children could place the sticks over their drawings and recreate them, but they are also a pliable wax stick, so with a little pressure they are able to make the lines stick together and hold their shape.

I love the crown of feathers on this bird.

Later I mounted their drawings along with their wiki-sticks and the original picture of the bird they chose to draw.

A close up of a drawing and wiki-stick bird.

Because the children loved these birds so much, we had to share them with others and so we put them in the annual Outside the Lines art show.  Outside the Lines features artwork from the different schools throughout the county.  Each year it is a delight to be a part of this gallery show.  Unfortunately, I failed to get a really good picture of the display, but it looked wonderful having all thei mounted bird pictures on the wall. 

He said "He needs long legs for walking, you can't see them in the picture because they are in the water."

A very excited artist who found his artwork at the art show.

Some friends who made it to the Art Opening.

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We have also been trying to feed the birds with a group project making a bird feeder, but alas, I think the kids were a little over zealous with their stickers, because the birds seem to be afraid of the feeder.  However, just like them, it certainly is cute.

They also made bird binoculars during project time, I am looking forward to warmer weather and exploring with these.

We will continue to enjoy the birds and life at Art and Soul and do not be surprised if you end up reading more about our winged friends, in future posts.