This morning, my youngest, who is nearing three, curled up on my lap as I sipped tea and sweetly asked, “Mommy? Can we do something with just you and me?”
After my heart finished melting and I scooped it up from its now puddled state , I put this together when the time was right.
I chose it because:
1) it was the suggested “homework” from Forest School so I already had everything
2) Poking, cutting, lacing, transferring and birds are some of her very favorite things and this bundles them all!
3) Her oldest siblings had no interest in going outside in the 40°weather after they had just come in, so I knew they’d be content with library books while my little and I stole away, back outside for some “special time”
In case you have a little bird lover yourself here’s how I made this project toddler friendly.
First thing I notice about this tray is that it isn’t lined up from left to right in order of the steps. So, make sure you don’t do as I did here in my hastiness!
Supplies:
• Navel Orange – cut width wise and scooped out like a grapefruit. I washed the inside so that it didn’t attract ants
• Jumbo Push Pin
• Large eyed plastic needle
• Tightly woven cotton twine (easier to cut)
• Toddler friendly scissors
• Bird Seed with a scoop – try it yourself first. I was surprised how many of my normal transferring scoops weren’t ideal for the fine seed
Start by cleaning out your orange shell. We ate the fruit with snack so there wasn’t any waist. I then dried it and marked the sides that were to be punched with a sharpie to provide further independence and accuracy. 
I was amazed at how this captured her focus! She thoroughly enjoyed lining the push pin up with the dot as closely as possible. 
Next we measured the string to the same length as the tray and made the cut before she threaded her needle. 
Next came threading the string through the orange. I helped to tie the sides since we haven’t introduced any form of tying yet. 
And finally came the scooping! This project is probably best suited for young primary children and older toddlers because of the multi step process. But I was really surprised at how easily she completed it, especially on the second go around. My favorite part of this project, besides how it incorporates so many skills, is that it uses all natural materials and can be accomplished with household items. 
She enjoyed this so much that she made two (one from each half of the orange) and was so incredibly proud of her work! She helped choose where to hang them. I suggested we put them near windows so we can watch; she loved this idea and danced around the yard looking for the perfect spot.
Kindling Kids Montessori Home School 