Thank you for purchasing our February Family Reading Crate – The World of Birds!
As stated in the enclosed booklet, the following page contains all of the extras that you could use to further enhance the experience of going through this month’s offering. You will find a PDF of activity printables, helpful links of other related topics, movies or documentaries you could watch, or additional books to purchase or borrow from the library.
Happy Reading!
National Audubon Society – This site has a plethora of resources and articles to expand your study of birds.
Bird Sounds – my kids have spent HOURS on this site listening to the different bird calls.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – This is my son’s (our resident ornithologist) favorites website for birding. This site has literally everything you could ever think of – lesson plans, videos, even a magazine you can subscribe to!
National Geographic Kids: Birds – This site is great for younger children – there are videos, games, even a whole section about state birds that makes a great supplement to United Tweets of America
Kid-Friendly movies:
Winged Migration – this documentary gives you a literal birds-eye-view as you follow a variety of bird migrations in several different countries.
Rio – This is one of my kids favorite movies. A blue macaw raised by a girl in Minnesota gets lost in the jungles of Brazil as he tries to befriend a female wild blue macaw. It’s a very sweet, and very beautiful movie.
Fly Away Home – A really heartwarming movie about a girl who finds abandoned ducklings and becomes their “mother.” She devises a way to teach them how to fly. This film is about family, perseverance, and determination. (side note – at the very beginning of the movie the protagonist’s mother dies in a car accident and she has to go and live with her estranged father – so this one might be better for ages 9+)
David Attenborough’s The Life of Birds – This series (there are 10 episodes) is a fantastic look into the world of birds. It’s stunning to look at and Attenborough’s narration is superb.
Teens and Adults:
The Big Year – Follow the adventures of three friends who decide to devote a year to their passion – birding. They compete (against themselves and each other) to see who can spot and document the most bird species.
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds – Killer birds and Hitchcock – what more could you want? This is considered a horror classic.
Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City – beautiful picture book about a real red-tailed hawk who built it’s nest at the top of a building in NYC.
An Egg is Quiet – Gorgeous picture book that explores eggs (birds, as well as other species that lay eggs) and everything your young child might want to know about them.
Feathers: Not Just for Flying – This beautifully illustrated book focuses specifically on feathers, and all the ways that birds use them. It explores bird species from all over the world with simple text – perfect for your very young child.
Birds, Nests, and Eggs (Take-Along Guides) – this is a great book to have on hand when you are exploring the birds in your own neighborhood. It includes simple activities as well as space in the back for your own notes.
How to Draw Birds – a fun little book for a budding artist – this book guides your child in drawing 30 different types of birds.
Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds – I highly recommend this bird guide. It’s a fantastic resource to have on hand for birdwatching.
Birdology – I adore Sy Montgomery’s writing. In this book she focuses on birds and bird behavior, specifically parrots, cassowaries, crows, pigeons, hens, hawks and hummingbirds. This book is best suited to teens and adults.
Have you been looking for a literature based homeschool curriculum that is secular? How about a way to incorporate narration, copywork, dictation and memory work into your child’s education? Or art study that ties into history?
