Art Project #11: Bird Crafts and Snacks
Today's art project might be a bit of a stretch since it's really just a Lego set my boys put together. I know not everyone thinks of Lego's as art (and I usually don't either unless my boys are using their imaginations to put together their own creations).
However today's Lego set inspired my boys to want to use their Lego pieces to think up other birds and animals that they could make. We even ordered a book of ideas to help them out! To me, this 100 day of Art Challenge is all about inspiring my boys to use their imaginations and not be afraid to create using whatever inspires them so today's craft definitely fits.
I found this set of birds and thought that they would be perfect to go along with our birding unit and a fun surprise for the boys to enjoy since Lego sets are always a huge hit!
They each chose a bird to put together without arguing and set to work making their unique birds.
Each of the books had a little write up about the creator of the set, how he came upon the idea, and some general information about the birds they were building.
They worked so hard and were so proud of their birds when they finished! They sure have some great details for being made out of plastic bricks!
We also added to today's craft with a fun snack/ craft. My boys prefer crafts that they get to eat!
We found several recipes on the web for making these edible bird nests but they all called for peanut butter (which one boy will not eat) and butterscotch chips; which I did not have! So we made up our own recipe!
We melted 1 cups of chocolate chips in a glass 2 cup measure until it was completely smooth. We then mixed in a good cup of chow mein noodles. I didn't worry about breaking the noodles since sticks come in all shapes and sizes but I did want to make sure I could completely cover the noodles in the chocolate so I added just a bit at a time.
Once we had all our noodles covered in chocolate we used about a 1/4 cup of noodles to make each nest. I eyeballed the measurement and dropped heaping spoonfuls of the chocolate/ noodle mixture onto a cookie sheet (I was also out of wax paper-- can you tell grocery day is this week!?).
Since each boy was making his own snack I had them use their (washed) fingers to sculpt their own nest.
Once they had a size and shape they liked they added a few Cadbury mini eggs to the center of the nest for the bird's eggs. (I had planned ahead and bought a couple of snack size bags around Easter and froze them).
Once they had their nests all set we placed them in the fridge to harden up the chocolate and then they gobbled them up for afternoon snack.
These projects went along perfectly with our science unit; you can check out our list of 10 bird books.
Our other art projects:
Project 1: Painting with Hexbugs
Project 2: Tissue paper flowers
Project 3: Star Wars Crafts
Project 4: Watercolor compass circles
Project 5: Floral pens
Project 6: Watercolor outlines
Project 7: Scratch art jellyfish
However today's Lego set inspired my boys to want to use their Lego pieces to think up other birds and animals that they could make. We even ordered a book of ideas to help them out! To me, this 100 day of Art Challenge is all about inspiring my boys to use their imaginations and not be afraid to create using whatever inspires them so today's craft definitely fits.
I found this set of birds and thought that they would be perfect to go along with our birding unit and a fun surprise for the boys to enjoy since Lego sets are always a huge hit!
They each chose a bird to put together without arguing and set to work making their unique birds.
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Each of the books had a little write up about the creator of the set, how he came upon the idea, and some general information about the birds they were building.
They worked so hard and were so proud of their birds when they finished! They sure have some great details for being made out of plastic bricks!
 |
We also added to today's craft with a fun snack/ craft. My boys prefer crafts that they get to eat!
We found several recipes on the web for making these edible bird nests but they all called for peanut butter (which one boy will not eat) and butterscotch chips; which I did not have! So we made up our own recipe!
We melted 1 cups of chocolate chips in a glass 2 cup measure until it was completely smooth. We then mixed in a good cup of chow mein noodles. I didn't worry about breaking the noodles since sticks come in all shapes and sizes but I did want to make sure I could completely cover the noodles in the chocolate so I added just a bit at a time.
Once we had all our noodles covered in chocolate we used about a 1/4 cup of noodles to make each nest. I eyeballed the measurement and dropped heaping spoonfuls of the chocolate/ noodle mixture onto a cookie sheet (I was also out of wax paper-- can you tell grocery day is this week!?).
Since each boy was making his own snack I had them use their (washed) fingers to sculpt their own nest.
Once they had a size and shape they liked they added a few Cadbury mini eggs to the center of the nest for the bird's eggs. (I had planned ahead and bought a couple of snack size bags around Easter and froze them).
Once they had their nests all set we placed them in the fridge to harden up the chocolate and then they gobbled them up for afternoon snack.
These projects went along perfectly with our science unit; you can check out our list of 10 bird books.
Our other art projects:
Project 1: Painting with Hexbugs
Project 2: Tissue paper flowers
Project 3: Star Wars Crafts
Project 4: Watercolor compass circles
Project 5: Floral pens
Project 6: Watercolor outlines
Project 7: Scratch art jellyfish
Project 8: Oil pastel flowers
Project 9: Fingerprint dandelions
Project 10: Beaded Sun Catchers
Linking Up With: Wednesday Blog Hop
Project 9: Fingerprint dandelions
Project 10: Beaded Sun Catchers
Linking Up With: Wednesday Blog Hop
My guys love Lego! And you can't go wrong with a birds nest made of chocolate, containing chocolate eggs :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteMy guys love Lego! And you can't go wrong with a birds nest made of chocolate, containing chocolate eggs :)
ReplyDeleteSuch fun to see those pictures of your boys building!
ReplyDeleteIf Lego sets weren't so darn expensive they would happily spend a few hours each day making new things.... unfortunately they are loathe to take much of anything apart once they are put together to create something new.
DeleteHow cool! This is definitely a great idea for creativity - not to mention the mechanics of getting those birds built. Looks like they did a fabulous job - and were rewarded with a fun treat :)
ReplyDeleteI remarked a few times on how neat it was to see birds emerging from Lego bricks.
Deletelove what was created out of the legos very creative and those bird nests oh how yummy
ReplyDeletecome see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Unfortunately no one wanted to share their nests with me (luckily I bought extra Cadbury eggs for myself!).. but I bet those nests were yummy!
DeleteWe love Lego! What an awesome idea to use for a bird unit, and I love the delicious snacks you all made!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a lot of fun.
DeleteWow!! What fabulous ideas that I know my boys will love. Thanks for sharing😊
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked them! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteMy guys love Lego! And you can't go wrong with a birds nest made of chocolate, containing chocolate eggs :)
ReplyDeleteMonica
myartscrafts
So very true!
DeleteYour activities are so creative whether using Legos and making edible nest.
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you!
Delete