Tiny Birding Friends! SAS stock
Dedicated to the youngest bird and nature enthusiasts in our community, Fledglings and Friends Story Time offers children ages 2-5 an opportunity to hear stories about birds and nature, do fun crafts, explore the outdoors, and just have fun! Each story time has a different theme around which all activities are centered.
Fledglings and Friends Story Time in the Nature Shop:
Come join us every third Wednesday of the month at 10:30am for a great time! All story times are free and first come first served. No preregistration or RSVP required. All Story Times are currently online and will not be held in The Nature Shop, until further notice.
Upcoming (and past) Story Times:
December 16: Ducks (Watch the Video!)
Winter is the time of ducks. If there's water, there's sure to be a duck swimming in it. For this month's story time, we will learn about a few different duck species that can be found in our local ponds, read a book about a special duck, create some duck finger puppets, and then sing a song with them! (Download the template for the duck coloring page here.)
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November 18: Fall Leaves (Watch the Video)
The beauty of the fall is in all the leaves that are falling from the trees. We'll read a story about a leaf that isn't quite ready for fall, make a fall leaf rainbow, and do some paintings with collected leaves. Then, we'll go outside to explore and answer the question: who lives in the leaves?
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October 21: Owls (Watch the Video!)
The days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to fall, and there's a feeling of spookiness in the air. What a great time to talk about owls! For this month's story time, we will read a story about a little lost owl, learn about different owl species, and then create owls from toilet paper tubes. (Materials needed for project: TP tube, construction paper, glue, and coloring utensils.)
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September 16: Bird Beaks (Watch the video!)
Birds' beaks are one of their most important tool. They eat with them, build nests with them, and take care of their feathers with them. A bird's beak is as important to them as our hands are to us! This month, we'll take a closer look at this important tool by observing how different beaks are shaped, create a bird beak craft, and practice eating with different tools. Best for ages 2-5, but all are welcome!
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August 19: Spiders (Watch the video!)
It's spider season in the Pacific Northwest, so let's go outside and observe these super cool creatures. Did you know that different spiders build different types of webs? We'll go an a web hunt, observe some interesting spider behaviors, create our own spiders out of pipe cleaners and egg cartons, and read a story about a spider with some amazing weaving skills.
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July 15: Camouflage (watch the video!)
Camouflage is a secret power that a lot of animals have to help them survive in their habitat. This power allows animals like birds blend in with their surroundings so they aren't seen by predators, or so they can more easily hunt. For this month's story time, we will play a camouflage game, create some camouflage art and read a story about two little birds playing hide and seek. This book will be read in both Japanese and English!
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June 17: Colorful Flowers (Watch the video!)
There are so may colorful flowers to see outside so we're dedicating a story time to them! We'll read books about flowers, create a flower wreath to hang on your door, and create a flower rainbow!
Craft activity materials list: a couple of empty egg cartons, paint or markers, glue, a large piece of cardboard (sized at least 12in x12in,) and a piece of string.
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May 20: Bird Nests (Link to video here!)
Springtime at home means lots of people are noticing the bird activity in their yards and neighborhoods. Have you seen birds with nesting materials in their beak? Maybe you've even found a bird nest in your yard. We'll read stories about how different birds build their nests, build a bird nest of our own, and learn what each of us can do to protect birds during nesting season.
Craft Activity mterials list: Paper lunch bag and a collection of found nesting material from your yard or neighborhood. (That's it!)
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April 15: Fun at Home (It's gone virtual! Watch the video HERE.)
We have all found ourselves spending a lot of time at home with our families lately, but that doesn't mean we can't have story time! Fledglings and Friends is coming to you via a new video we made with two stories and two craft activties to help ignite your creativity at home. A link to the video will be posted here on April 15.
At-home craft activities materials list:
- Activity #1: Clear plastic food containers (like ones that berries come in), scissors, a collection of colorful Sharpies or other permanent markers, hole punch, and string/yarn.
- Activity #2: Standard-size paper grocery bags (with handles!), scissors, markers or paint, and a black Sharpie
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Fledglings and Friends On-Location
Want Fledglings and Friends at your preschool? Seattle Audubon is now offering Fledglings and Friends Story Times at local preschools! We are happy to come to your classroom with stories and activities in a variety of topics. Story times can also be combined with a one-week rental of our Fledglings education kit for a well-rounded bird themed unit for your students.
Fledglings and Friends Field Trips
Join Seattle Audubon in the Magnuson Children's Garden (at Magnuson Park next to the community p-patch) for some outdoor exploration! Education staff will lead activities exploring elements of the garden for up to an hour-long field trip. Possible activities may include observing critters in the worm bin, going on a detective hike to discover what animals can be found in the art installations in the garden, and of course, a bird scavenger hunt!
To request a Fledglings and Friends story time at your school or to schedule a field trip to the garden, download and fill out our request form. For questions and more info, please contact Hanae Bettencourt, Education Associate, at hanaeb@seattleaudubon.org.
We now have summer Nature Camp session for Fledglings! Click here for more info.