Bird Baths (Art/Sensory k-6)

Have children create their own unique bird baths by building a shallow pool that is about an inch or two deep. You can make your bird baths out of clay or plaster of Paris.

Clay version: Give kids a good-size chunk of clay and have them mold it into whatever shape they’d like, raising the edges so that it will hold water. Once it’s dried or fired, let them paint it with weatherproof paints.

Plaster of Paris Version:
Collect one shoebox for each child, and trim it so that the sides are around 2 inches high. Spray-paint the outside of the box in a solid earth tone. Mix up a bunch of plaster of Paris to a rather thick consistency. Pour some inside each child’s shoebox, and have them mold it to create a pool (or multiple pools) by smoothing it up against the edges of the shoe box. Be sure to leave half an inch or so of plaster along the bottom of your pools as well. You’re going to be filling them with water, so you don’t want the bottom straight up against the shoebox.

If you’d like, you can also give kids some synthetic leaves, flowers or other materials to add along the edges as decoration. (DO NOT use beads or others small, shiny plastic objects that birds might mistake for food.)

Once dry, let the kids paint their bird baths with acrylic paints. (Be sure to have them wear smocks to protect their clothing.)

Once your bird baths are completed, have kids take them home and set it outside somewhere near a fence or a tree. Fill it with water, and then observe what happens from a distance. Sprinkle some bird seed around it for added incentive. Have kids monitor the activity like scientists and report back on what happens.