If there was ever a fun spring activity, then building a bird nest is it. It’s got it all: craft, art, sensory exploration, loose parts and small world play. We love it all. And the best thing is, you already have all the materials you need since you’ll be improvising with what you’ve got. Have a look at how we set up our own invitation to build a bird nest and grab some ideas!

How to set up a Creative Invitation to Build a Bird Nest

To set up this invitation to build a bird nest, I had a quick rummage through our craft supplies and found a rather eclectic collection of materials to use. I recommend having a look at home first too to see what you’ve got. The thing to keep in mind is that you want to gather a variety of materials which will make the activity more interesting.

Here’s what we used:

• serving tray (let me count the ways I love using serving trays in play and why!)
• fake grass, raffia-like string (?) I randomly picked up somewhere a long time ago
• strips of newspaper
• fabric scraps
• yarn strings
• pipe cleaners
• shredded paper (which we’re recycling from our winter sensory activity tray)
• plastic bird eggs

Building a Bird Nest

The idea of an invitation to play or create is to set up the invitation and let the children play, explore and create. In this case, little ones might need a couple of pointers or a bit of help to create a bird nest. Well, my kids did, yours might be absolutely fine on their own!

But just in case here are a couple of tips:

• you can use the pipe cleaners to create some kind of bowl-like structure to weave all the other bits into
• you could give the kids some bowls to make nests in
• you could just let them go for it

Here’s what my two little ones, Miss Glitter (6) and Mister T (3 1/2), created and are presenting with all the pride in the world. Don’t these bird nests look gorgeous?

Building on the Invitation to Build a Bird Nest

The fun does not have to stop here. You can make some pom pom bird chicks and surprise your kids with hatched eggs one morning. When you’re done with the nests all together, you can recycle all the used materials to create a bird nest helper to hang outside!

Here are a few other fun bird nest building ideas you might like:

• invitation to build a bird nest with play dough (by Fantastic Fun and Learning)
• make a paper plate bird nest (by Whatever)
• make a bird nest STEAM challenge (by Kids Craft Room)
• set up a bird nest sensory bin (by Glued to My Crafts)
• make some chocolate egg nest treats! (by I Heart Nap Time)

Enjoy!

Ann*

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