Sounds of Spring
Common Birds of PTBO
Seasonal Scavenger Hunt
Kim’s Spring Activity List
Three Activities for Earth Day
Home Sweet Home: Build or install a nest box this spring!
Home Sweet Home:
Build or install a nest box this spring!
Here’s a great spring activity to try at home or at school. Nest boxes provide wonderful habitat for many kinds of birds, and having avian families in your yard gives hours of enjoyment watching these feathered miracles.
In nature, holes in trees are prime real estate for wildlife. In fact, many kinds of birds need these holes, called ‘cavities’ for building their nests and raising their young. Especially in urban areas, dead or dying trees are usually removed, leaving a scarcity of nesting sites for our bird neighbours.
Luckily, nest boxes are quite easy to build with a few simple tools and some understanding of what birds need for protection from weather and predators. While there are many specialized types of nest boxes for specific species, a good basic design is suitable for many small birds such as chickadees, wrens, and nuthatches.
Here are some basic guidelines:
- nest boxes need enough space for a nest full of baby birds and access for parents
- the correct size of the entrance hole is important; it should be near the top of the box;
- nest boxes must be cleaned out every year, so make sure you can open up the box, and reseal it safely
- don’t put a perch on your box; birds don’t need it, but perches can help predators reach the young birds
- don’t paint or put a finish on your box; birds prefer untreated, natural wood
- provide ventilation and drainage; a few small holes near the top provide ventilation, and small holes in the floor allow moisture to drain
- use a predator guard to protect the entrance hole from being chewed by squirrels or other mammals who would destroy the eggs or young birds; a metal plate or piece of thick wood are effective (see examples)
- install securely at least 6 feet from the ground; avoid nailing into trees – a pole or post are ideal
Cornell Ornithology Lab has great illustrated guidelines
Here are some plans for a simple nest box you can build from a 4 ft. piece of 1 X 6″ lumber
Chickadee Nest Box Plans from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Note: Entrance hold diameter is 1″ for House Wrens; Use 1 1/8″ diameter for Black-Capped Chickadees; 1 1/4″ for White-Breasted and Red-Breasted Nuthatches
Family Cycling Adventures
Family Cycling Adventures
Here’s a great idea for being active and spending time with those you love, even during social distancing in the pandemic.
The Ernsting family meet up for family cycling adventures on nearby trails. Kids, parents and grandparents can all join in. Pack a delicious lunch or snack as an added enticement for the trip! Make sure everyone brings water to drink, uses sunscreen and wears a helmet.
Going exploring on bikes relates to several of the Pathway Landmarks:
- LANDMARK 4 – Visit a favourite outdoor place every week (Age 4-5 years)
- LANDMARK 9 – Visit an outdoor place that is special to you (Age 6-7 years)
- LANDMARK 13 – Travel by yourself or with a friend on a familiar route (Age 8-9 years); Let the children help plan the route if you’re working on Landmark 13
- LANDMARK 14 – Try several kinds of outdoor recreation that don’t need gasoline or electricity (Age 8-9 years)
If you live in the Peterborough region, we’re blessed with wonderful trail systems, both in town and in the county. We also have great cycling support services. Get started close to home with the City of Peterborough Trails Map. Peterborough and the Kawarthas also have some great cycling route maps and other info for keen cyclists.
Keep trips short if you’re travelling with young children, and lengthen the trip as kids build strength and confidence. Try cycling to a place where kids can explore and play, to break up the trip and give kids a rest. Sharpen your eyes and ears while you’re travelling to listen for new sounds or look for interesting bugs, birds or animals along the way.
If you need help with repairing or finding a bike, or some guidance on how to cycle safely, contact BIKE, Peterborough’s community bike shop.
BIKE and GreenUP have changed-up their Pedal Power program, normally offered to schools in June. This year, it’s Pedal Power from Home and is available to families online. While the available prizes wrap up at the end of June, the excellent cycling workshops are available throughout the summer. They’re filled with fun activities, bike drills and information focused on road safety and bike handling skills that families can do from home.
Wet and Wonderful – A Mud Puddle-and-Pie Activity Guide
Wet and Wonderful – a Mud Puddle-and-Pie Activity Guide
The season of wet-and-muddy is upon us, and with it, an opportunity to embrace all manners of sensory play, mud-puddle math, nature art and interdisciplinary integration! Have boots? Will play!
Mud-puddle math:
Mud puddles provide endless hours of sensory fun, and an incredible opportunity for authentic learning!
How deep is the water? How much water is in a really big puddle? What could it fill? A bucket? A bathtub? How could we even measure it?!
In her blog Puddle Play – Rethinking the ‘Math Classroom’, Deanna Pecaski McLennan, PhD, elaborates the “measurement, counting, capacity, classification, time and quantity” that can all be explored authentically in a puddle. This is rich learning where play and adaptive reasoning intersect.
Math can happen anywhere, and outdoors doing something most children love is the perfect place!
Tool tips? Try:
- Turkey basters That turkey baster that only gets used twice yearly?! An incredible (and FUN) instrument of transfer and measurement: squirting distance, volume transfer – comparing between one container and another.
- Measuring cups
- Funnels
More math and measurement?! Try Mud Kitchens!
Mud Kitchen:
Cooking up delicious “recipes” in a mud kitchen requires only a few second-hand kitchen implements like muffin tins, metal bowls, collanders and spoons. This can be on-the-ground immersive play or hands-in-a-sandbox in a wood or brick enclosure (pictured below). Second-hand stores are inexpensive sources for utensils, and places like the Re-store offer inexpensive sinks and accessories for more elaborate builds!