The Great Backyard Bird Count

Image from Cornell Lab of Ornithology  

How Many Birds Do You See?

The Great American Bird Count is a yearly activity sponsored by Cornell Lab and  Audubon. 

This years bird count is February 15-18, 2013, so get your counting fingers ready!

Image from Great American Bird Count

The Great American Bird Count is for Kids!

 There are lots of good resources to make this a fun and educational activity for everyone.

You can download this printable pdf - Guide to Common Birds --

And this one (pdf or word doc)  for keeping track of your bird count.

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eBird has a great tutorial on how to count birds. This would be a great math activity to practice estimating objects. 

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Cornell has some really awesome videos, like this one:

This is the Spoon-billed Sandpiper on her/his nest, and her babies!

Definitely worth watching with your kids -- fascinating and educational.

Why her and his? What the video and listen to the video for the answer!

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One more thing -- Participants in the Great Backyard Bird Count can win PRIZES!
Be sure to check it out -- They are giving away some nice bird-related items.

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I'll have more bird resources in the future, so if that is something you and your children are interested in, be sure to check back!

So long, for now -- Gotta fly!

Touchy Numerals

Image from Rhyme Time

Oh, what fun! Bags of GOO and numeral writing rhymes!

Rhyme Time recommends making math lessons (or any lesson) purposeful. I can't agree more. One of her suggestions to teach counting, is to count EVERYTHING, including the stairs you walk up and down with your child.

That is how my daughter learned to count when she was 1 1/2 years old. I was expecting my second child and taking a prenatal exercise class. It was up a long flight of stairs. Twice a week, as we climbed up those stairs, and then later back down, we (well, I) counted out loud, "One, two, three, four, five....."

By the time my son was born, my daughter could count to ten.

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Another suggestion Rhyme Time makes: Count to sixty while your children brush their teeth. Currently, teeth brushing is a real chore for the little voyagers, and brushing time might benefit from a little fun counting activity to distract from the dullness.

For more great ideas, read Rhyme Times complete list of suggestions HERE,

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In the comments, I found a link to Little Giraffes Teaching Ideas. This is where the numeral rhymes used on the cards above can be found. 

Here are rhymes for the first five numerals:

Straight line down
And then we're done.
That's the way
To make a one.

Around and back
On the railroad track.
Two, two,
Two, tow.   

Around a tree,
Around a tree.
That's the way
To make a three.

Down and over,
Down once more.
That's the way
To make a four.  

Straight line down,
Then around.
Hat on top
And five's a clown.

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The original post suggests using glitter paint -- fast, colorful, easy! 

Other ideas, left in the comments, include inexpensive alternatives ways to make GOO:

1. Dollar Store hair gel with a little food coloring. (You could probably add glitter, as well.)

2. Cornstarch and water, cooked to the appropriate GOOiness, then colored with food coloring.

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Finding ways to make counting purposeful in everyday life is pretty easy. Teaching children to write the numerals can be a bit like getting them to brush their teeth. This activity adds two elements of fun to the task -- Rhyming and GOO!