[email protected]

Check out the instructions and come along, February 18-21. Count the birds in
your yard, a local park, at your feeders, and report the results online.
Check out where the birds are, see the results from across the country as
they come in. Be a partner scientist! Cool links for you and the kids, too...

http://www.birdsource.org

A. Yates

Thanks so much for sharing this. I was just thinking about this
yesterday, as I wanted to participate this year.
I'm thrilled....That was really easy research for me! Bg

DACunefare@... wrote:

> From: DACunefare@...
>
> Check out the instructions and come along, February 18-21. Count the
> birds in
> your yard, a local park, at your feeders, and report the results
> online.
> Check out where the birds are, see the results from across the country
> as
> they come in. Be a partner scientist! Cool links for you and the kids,
> too...
>
> http://www.birdsource.org
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Betsy and Chris

Joyce,

We probably won't participate in this this year (my son is just 3), but I
just have to share how much we are enjoying our foray into bird feeding!

First, we spent 1/2 a day going from store to store to find feeders and seed
and posts and suet, etc. Lots of newness there!

Then, we got to open all the feeder boxes and put together the post. Sam
even got to use the electric drill with my husband--so much fun!

Finally, it was time to get everything outdoors and WAIT!

The next morning Sam's first words were, "Let's go see if any birds are at
our feeders!" and he lept from the bed to go check!

It has taken a while for the birds to come regularly, but it is happening.
Now we've had a bit of snow and there is more activity.

Yesterday we had a male cardinal, and last night we had a BUNNY! That was
really cool!

A neighbor gave us a Coleman Bird Sound thing (insert a card into the
mechanism and pick a bird to hear its song)--Sam spent several minutes
listening to the Cardinal's song this morning, and figuring out how to make
the machine repeat, rather than cycle through all the birds.

So much fun, so much learning! Don't even get me started on our new Worm
Composting Bin!! : )

Betsy S.

TreeGoddess

On Feb 1, 2005, at 3:46 PM, Betsy and Chris wrote:

-=-We probably won't participate in this this year (my
son is just 3), but I just have to share how much we are
enjoying our foray into bird feeding!-=-

Betsy,

I printed out the tally sheets today and have a Birds of Michigan book
that I'm pretty familiar with. *I* am excited about doing it and
haven't even mentioned it to my kids yet. I likely will a day or so
prior to the event, and they might be really into it (they're 5 and
almost 4) but they might not be and that's totally cool too.

What I'm saying is that your DS might be a little guy and not
interested in counting birds with you, but -you- could do it for you if
it sounds like fun! :)

-Tracy-

"Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of
happiness lost." -- Leo Buscaglia

Danielle Conger

==What I'm saying is that your DS might be a little guy and not
interested in counting birds with you, but -you- could do it for you if
it sounds like fun! :) ===

We did it two years ago, and plan to do it again this year with the 4-H
Gardening club I lead, and we'll compare results within the club. We've
already talked about it and the kids are looking forward to it and
already beginning to count. When we did it last time, it was great
because we had a big snow storm on the days of the count. The birds were
out in *full force*!

My kids had lots of fun counting the birds, and they can identify all
kinds of different birds because it's an ongoing thing with us. We're
lucky enough to have *lots* of birds visit our feeders, and,
unfortunately, an occasional hawk who also got one of my chickens.
Grrrrr, but that's a whole 'nother story.

They also had lots of fun checking out the results when they came out.

~~Danielle
Emily (7), Julia (6), Sam (4.5)
http://www.danielleconger.com/Homeschool/Welcomehome.html

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"With our thoughts, we make the world." ~~Buddha


>
>

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/1/2005 5:43:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, TreeGoddess <treegoddess@...> writes:

>What I'm saying is that your DS might be a little guy and not interested in counting birds with you, but -you- could do it for you if it sounds like fun!  :)<<<<<<<<<

You *SHOULD* do it if it sounds like fun! That's that modelling part of unschooling (and living) that's sooooo important!!

~Kelly

TreeGoddess

On Feb 1, 2005, at 8:07 PM, kbcdlovejo@... wrote:

-=-You *SHOULD* do it if it sounds like fun! That's that
modelling part of unschooling (and living) that's sooooo
important!!-=-

LOL I actually wrote "should" first, but then wrote "could" instead.
I didn't want to give anyone a "have to" in my post. ;') But, yeah,
if it sounds fun . . . do it for YOU! :)

-Tracy-

"Every moment spent in unhappiness is a moment of
happiness lost." -- Leo Buscaglia

Julie Bogart

--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 2/1/2005 5:43:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, TreeGoddess
<treegoddess@c...> writes:
>
> >What I'm saying is that your DS might be a little guy and not interested in counting
birds with you, but -you- could do it for you if it sounds like fun!  :)<<<<<<<<<
>
> You *SHOULD* do it if it sounds like fun! That's that modelling part of unschooling (and
living) that's sooooo important!!
>
> ~Kelly

I do it! I count birds for the Backyard Bird Count. This is my second year and its my thing
that the kids are slowly encroaching on. :) They yell, "Mom come quick, it's a Carolina
wren. Be sure to write that down." It's a blast.

I have one son who became so absorbed in my love for birds that he is now a birder,
himself. For Christmas, he got his own pair of binoculars. Not all my kids love birds to the
degree I do, but one of them now does. And I don't care anyway because *I* love birds!

So yes, I do think living your interests is modeling, though I certainly don't do the Bird
Watch with the ulterior goal of modeling anything. <g>

Julie

[email protected]

I feed birds in the front and the back, but I don't watch them eat. I figure they need their privacy. <g>

We have sparrows and doves. Kinda boring. But that's okay.

Maybe I would watch them eat more if I didn't always forget. I remember to feed them, but I forget to look later.

We can't see the nests, and so though I know in the spring we have lots of nesting birds, we have evergreens and I never see the nests.

Sandra