This was our big challenge for the month - construct a bird house. I didn't do any lesson this week because I figured that the project would take up enough of our time. In trying to find bird houses to assemble, I found that either you could get some really inexpensive ones, but they were small and I was dubious as to whether or not a bird would actually nest in them or get more expensive ones. For a group our size with families who often have multiple children, I try to keep projects around $5 per person. It was challenging, but I did manage to find unfinished DIY bird houses that were a decent size with all hardware included (just needed wood glue) for about $7 each including shipping from S&S Worldwide.
I had everyone bring a hammer and an extra if they could and the kids got to work. We put the wood glue out in little bowls with craft sticks and applicators and gave everyone a cupcake wrapper to put their hardware in. Overall, I think it went well, although I am learning that for some of the younger kids, a simpler project may have been better. I did like that everyone got to use real tools, even if some of the kids needed more assistance than others.
I had everyone bring a hammer and an extra if they could and the kids got to work. We put the wood glue out in little bowls with craft sticks and applicators and gave everyone a cupcake wrapper to put their hardware in. Overall, I think it went well, although I am learning that for some of the younger kids, a simpler project may have been better. I did like that everyone got to use real tools, even if some of the kids needed more assistance than others.