project journal, week 1

Well, I'm going out on a limb and thinking that there may be one or two of you out there who might have a smidgen of interest in how our Bird Study is coming along. (Did you get that lame-o pun there? Oh yeah, that's how corny I roll.) Since my initial rambling post about my situation as a stay-at-home mom/ my preschool teaching experiences/ my complete and utter adoration of the Project Approach/ the beginning of our first official study actually garnered a whopping 13 comments, I figured this little old blog o'mine might be the perfect place to keep track of our experiences-- successfully recording the progress for posterity and hopefully building interest for this concept in others.

We've got week one under our belts, and this afternoon I sat down and tried to put down on paper the things that we have done together as part of the study-- from simple things like conversations to more complex experiences like our first field trip today! Here, in bulleted-because-I'm-really-tired-tonight-form are the highlights of our study so far:

• Checked out a gaggle of books from library-- we basically cleared out their supply of nonfiction books about all types of birds, and put them in one basket in our hallway. Introduced idea to Red that these are 'information' books, or books that tell us things about real birds, and that we'll keep them all together in this basket. Added two pocket identification books that I had to this basket a few days later, and they are a BIG hit-- small books for small hands, with one bird per page. It amazes me how many birds Red is identifying!


• Pulled together all the fiction books that we have with prominent bird characters, even some of the board books we have. (Yay Pigeon!) Put these in another basket, next to the nonfiction basket, and introduced the idea that these are 'pretend' books that tell stories about bird characters. These are actually staying in their respective baskets, and so far, the nonfiction books are WAY more interesting than these.


• Watched for and pointed out birds on our morning walks or in our yard as we played. Listened for birds singing and calling-- they are always making noise!


• One morning we discovered a feather by the outdoor toybox, and we soon realized that there were many more scattered around the yard as well. At first this made me nervous that our study would be marked in the first few days by the discovery of a decaying bird on our property, but nope-- no dead birds, no blood, just a whole lot of dropped feathers. Black ones mostly, but also connected to some of these were soft, fluffy white and bright orange feathers-- from robins, perhaps? Most of the feathers were in clumps near poked out holes all over the lawn, so maybe we missed a feeding frenzy that morning? Lots of early birds?


• Our stop at the 'pond' to watch the red-winged blackbirds that I talked about in that first post.


• Two brainstorming activities: labeling the parts of a bird that she knows, and a list of things she already knows about birds.

• Continued reading so many nonfiction books, often Red on her own at the breakfast table or in her bed before nap. Pudge has been sitting for many of these readings as well, even for more than a few minutes, and he gets so excited, pointing out 'Bud! Bud!'


• Beginning to identify some of the bird sounds that we hear while outside-- definitely have the red-winged blackbird down pat, also crows, robins and mourning doves. (Daddy does a PERFECT mourning dove call!)


• As we watched a robin hunting for his worm breakfast, Red initiated a conversation about how she wanted to go over to the robin and hold him. "Mommy, I can hold the bird and be SO gentle." This prompted a discussion of the difference between wild animals that live out in nature and the animals that some of our friends have as pets. She wasn't too happy that she couldn't hold the robin, but she actually didn't throw a fit... maybe because it was starting to make logical sense to her?


• That conversation prompted me to think about a great and easy field trip-- the local pet store! So, this morning we were at the PetSmart right after it opened and spent a good 45-50 minutes there (although we did spend time looking at fish, hermit crabs, hamsters and cats as well!). They had a small selection of birds, mostly finches that were flying somewhat erratically around in their cages, and weren't the easiest to observe. BUT! They had one lovely small parrot in a low cage who was social and calm and absolutely accessible for an extended observation. We talked about what we noticed, and Red was so into it. "I want you to write this stuff down, Mommy: I see his wings, the ball in his cage, his rings (that he plays on), his cage, his feathers--orange near his eyes, green and yellow, his sticks for standing on and his big beak. Write this- Red loves birds!"

• The kids both excitedly observed the bird, and he played up his role by really showing off-- coming right to the glass at their eye level, slowly popping open seeds with his curved beak and talons, and actually showing interest in the kids! We sat down with paper and colored pencils (yup, right there on the pet store floor!) and Red sketched the bird while I labeled the parts as she dictated. Pudge scribbled on his paper as well, and I talked to him about the bird as well, pointing out simple aspects like color.

That brings us up to date. It's been a very full week, and I've got several more things lined up for the next few days as well. We purchased some wild bird seed and a thatched bird nesting house that we hope to put out tomorrow, and if the weather is as nice as predicted, we should have the perfect morning to spend outside just waiting for our birdy friends to show up!

The very cool thing that I'm finding is that my main goal in all of this was to get Red involved in project learning, with the expectation that Pudge would simply be along for the ride. The very cool part comes in with the realization that he's getting something out of this, too! We walk all the time, and while he has been pointing out every single squirrel we pass for some time now, he has now begun to get excited showing me when he sees birds flying over our heads. He's pulling out the bird books along with Red, and he got a sneak preview of some really cool videos I found online the other day. I thought he was going to burst out of his skin he was so happy. (And I have the tiny fingerprints all over my little monitor to show for it!) So, bonus- the toddler is becoming aware of something else in his little world as a result of his big sister's project work. Score!

I'm having a blast with all of this, too, but I think that goes without saying. Yay for spring, and yay for our feathered friends!

Ridiculously happy,