Be a good neighbor this season and give back to our feathered and furry friends
Are you looking for a fun activity to do with your kids but glitter, glue and all the markers stress you out? Well this ones for you then friends. This simple project only takes 4 ingredients, it teaches your kids about taking care of others and the cleanup is a BREEZE!!
Ingredients:
3 cups wild birdseed
2.5 tablespoon corn syrup
2 pouches unflavored gelatin
1 cup water (1/2 cold, 1/2 boiling)
Gather your favorite cookie cutters and some twine (yard, string, old shoelace..whatever you've got laying around the house) a large mixing bowl and a spatula. In your large bowl, place 1/2 C water and 2 pouches of gelatin. Gently mix and then pour in 1/2 cup boiling water and mix until all the gelatin is dissolved. Add in your corn syrup and stir until smooth and then pour in your bird seed and stir until evenly coated. At this point the mix may be a little watery, so allow it to sit for 3-5 minutes (or longer if needed). You want a good sticky mixture so that water isn't seeping out of the ornaments. Once you've got your sticky mixture prepped place your favorite ornaments on a piece of wax paper and using your hands mash the seeds into the ornaments. Be sure to really squish the seed in there so that you hit all the nooks and crannies of the ornament and so its tightly packed. Take a straw and make a hole in the ornament to make a spot for your string to go through. I find it works best with the hole near the center to ensure it can hang longer once the birds find it. Place ornaments on a plate and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. At this point, I removed them from the wax paper and just stacked them on top of one another on a single plate, you should be able to do this, if the mixture is still too wet you can always place back in the bowl and allow it to set up a little longer. The next morning, pop the seed ornaments from the the holders and string them. Now head outside and decorate your trees with these tasty little wildlife treats. It does help if you pick a location you've seen birds before. Its also fun to hang them near a window or on your porch so you and your kiddos can see the birds feasting on your creations! This is the perfect project to get those hours in on a snowy day for the #1000hoursoutside challenge!
To take it one step further, create a map of all the places you hung your ornaments and allow your kids to go on a scavenger hunt to find all the cords, twine etc once the birds are finished eating the seed and use this as a teachable moment to discuss littering. It is our duty as parents to raise our kiddos with a desire to help take care of the Earth and this is such an easy introduction to that conversation. But don't fret if some of the twine is missing, the birds may have thought it would be the perfect addition to their nest!
If you make these, be sure to take a picture and share them with me! Tag @eatwild_appalachia and @growing_wild_sage and #eatwildappalachia to be featured