Bird Watching

Procedures:    

Introduce the activity by talking about the bird photo's.  Tell children the            different types of birds and talk about their color and size.  Post the photo's on windows or walls around your classroom.  On the second day show the poster board to the children.  Remind them about the different birds you talked about.  Tell them them about bird watchers.  "When you grow up you can choose to be a bird watcher."  Read a story about bird watching.  Tell the children they are going to be bird watchers in preschool. 

During center time the children can go to the window for the bird watching center.  Show them how to use the binoculars to look out the window and see birds.  If they see a bird, show them how to color in a big square on the poster board graph of the bird they saw.  Make sure you have a teacher in charge of this center to help the children identify birds and mark the graph.

Closure: 
When you feel you have graphed enough birds over the course of one or two weeks, gather the children and talk about the graph.  Ask them to share their bird watching experiences.  Talk about the birds they saw the most and the ones they saw the least.  Tell them they can be bird watchers anywhere they go.