Sunday, April 10, 2011

Science Sunday - Bird Beaks for Insect Catching

Our Science Sunday activity, this week, came straight out of Janice Vancleave's Play and Find Out About Nature.


To find how beaks help birds (certain birds, at least) to catch insects, we turned letter sized envelopes into paper beaks, for catching pom-pom insects.


First, we cut the flaps off of the envelopes.


Then, we folded the envelopes in half, small ends together, and unfolded them.

The children placed their hands into the envelopes, with their thumbs in one corner, and fingers in the other...

...and we pushed the envelope in, at the fold line, to form a beak...


...which we secured to the children's hands with a rubber band.


They took turns tossing, and catching their insects - a task which proved harder than it looked.


We learned, that hunting insects takes a good eye, a lot of energy, and a properly shaped beak, and that catching pom-poms in an enveloped hand is a lot of fun.

For even more fun with science for children, check out this week's Science Sunday link-up, at Adventures in Mommydom.

It's great to be a homeschooler.
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10 comments:

  1. SparkleeApril 10, 2011 at 6:40 AM

    Looks like fun!

    We love the Janice van Cleave books--they always have lots of great activities!

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  2. SusanApril 10, 2011 at 6:49 AM

    It looks like your children had fun with this one! :)

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  3. PhyllisApril 10, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    They look like they are having so much fun!

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  4. DebbieApril 10, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    I love the last picture, your daughter looks like she was having so much fun! What a great idea, we may just have to give this a try.

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  5. TiciaApril 10, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    I"ve never seen that version of bird beaks. I've always seen it using different kitchen utensils. That looks fun too.

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  6. Christy KilloranApril 10, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    That does look like fun!!!!

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  7. ShereenApril 10, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    Awesome study! You might like what we did when we did a bird study. Eating with different bird beaks - lots of fun and learning!
    Here is the link (do a search for 'beaks' - http://shereenmchugh.blogspot.com/search/label/bird%20study

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  8. EliseApril 10, 2011 at 11:18 PM

    Another fascinating and memorable lesson. Your children will truly have an appreciation for how important a bird's beak is.

    I'm off to check out this author and her books.

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  9. Pebblekeeper ~ AngieApril 11, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    What a fun activity! I might make up a ziplock bag of these supplies for our next co-op meeting, having an impromptu activity for the little, or not so little ones!

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  10. Natalie PlanetSmartyApril 11, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    This does sound like a lot of fun! Now I only need to borrow one of your children :)

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