Is it a Bird?

So George asked me today if he could go to the woods and do some bird watching.  I love it when he self selects activities so I was really keen to make it happen for him. Unfortunately we couldn't go to the woods but Amma's garden is very big and there are lots of trees there so I said we could go over to her house and get the tent and camouflage out. So he grabbed his bird book and binoculars, cushions and a blanket and we set up camp.Ready and waiting for the birds

Once we were all set up, George decided to look at his book at what birds he would like to find. He decided he wanted to see a Sparrow and Pigeon, as he said "I always hear Pigeons in Amma's garden".

At one point he heard a noise he recognised and quickly ran outside to investigate. He saw an Aeroplane! He followed it across the sky with his binoculars until it flew out of sight.

He liked being up high on the chair, his imagination soon turned him into a Pirate looking out to sea from his crow's nest!

After a few minutes of being a pirate he decided that no birds were going to come. Rather than give up I suggested that perhaps we could go and get some bread from Amma's kitchen, put it in front of the tent and then get back inside it. I said if we're really quiet then maybe some birds may come. So we went to get some bread, George shredded it into small pieces and we got back into the tent to wait for some birds.

the waiting paid off because after a few minutes......

He spotted a bird!!!!!!!! "Look a Blackbird Mummy"

A quick look in the book told us it was a Male Blackbird. We also discovered that Blackbirds can be seen every month of the year, all over the UK, that they start to breed in March and that Female Blackbirds lay 3-5 eggs per clutch. We saw a few more Blackbirds and a LOT of Pigeons but no Sparrows! 

Now, George is convinced that part of the reason we saw no sparrows was because someone was making too much noise and scaring them away. He also got a bit cross with that someone as they kept eating the bread we put out for the Birds! I thought i'd share a picture of the culprit with you. So here he is, the one and only, Jakey Boy!  

Being outdoors provides young children with one of the best possible environments in which to learn. George just loves being outside. There is always something to talk about and look at. Any adult who has taken the time to watch their child play putside in a well-resourced environment will have seen first-hand the joy and excitement they experience as they learn new skills and make fresh discoveries. As Margaret McMillan said

“the best kept classroom and the richest

cupboards are roofed only by the sky”

So now that the weather is getting a bit warmer, the sun is shining and the birds are singing, why not get outside with your little one. You could have a picnic, play I- spy, splash in puddles, go on a treasure hunt, or even go bird watching!

In fact, if your child loves being outdoors and is interested in Birds then this site by the RSPB is well worth a lookhttp://www.rspb.org.uk/youth/

Been a long time!!

I haven't posted on here for so long and I feel very guilty about it! I'd like to say I have still been doing loads of cool stuff with George and have lots of pictures I just haven't posted them yet, but honestly I don't. It's not much of an excuse, but I have been super busy with wedding stuff.  As I work 5 days a week I have had to do things like dress fittings, make invitations, have hair and make-up trials etc at the weekends so just find it difficult to sit down at the computer and actually do the blog! I do have a few things to share with you. We made snow cakes, rode our bikes and went sledging in the snow. We went to Eye Children's Centre to a 'Little Diggers' group and got green fingers whilst doing some gardening. We went on an Easter Egg hunt organised by the fabulous Rachel Baker at Fair Green in Diss and we've done a bit of bird watching. I will share these with you as soon as I can xxx