Every once in a while, I come across a book that I just have to buy and give to someone. Early Childhood Activities for a Greener Earth is the book I’ve discovered recently. It’s by Patty Born Selly, a mom and educator from Minnesota. It is filled with project, ideas and activities for kids 3 to 8. While this book is a good resource for parents in general, I think it’s even better for educators…teachers, Sunday school classes, home schoolers, etc. It’s like this fantastic hands-on workbook. Each activity has a recommended age, a materials and supply list, activity goals and how the activity relates to the National Science Education Standards.

If you have an educator in  your life, I encourage you to have them check out this book. It’s an amazing resource, and everything is organized into lovely chapters like indoor environments, air, weather, food, etc. It doesn’t necessarily have flashy colorful pictures or a crazy design, but you’ll find activities in here that will keep kids busy for hours and will help them reconnect with the world around them.

Thanks to Patty for writing such a great book. Let’s start these kids as young as possible!

Watch the video, and then help us spread the word!

When it comes to duplicating this project, there really is no right or wrong way. We used large Legos that my kids had when they were around 2. We held them together with a strong glue, adding it to each piece and then let it sit overnight so it was good and dry. If you do this project yourself, be sure to give it it a good test…just gently wiggle the pieces to make sure they are all secured.

Once your feeder is complete, you can attach a hook or screws to hang it! Don’t forget to add your bird food at the end. Here, we added oranges for the orioles, but if you create the right kind of design, you could put seed or suet for the birds, too.

Just a note about usling Legos in the backyard…have fun with them. Half the fun is building your design and trying different things. You could create a tray feeder or even a garden planter, too. So don’ be afraid to try a few things before you settle in on one style. And then make your last step the gluing.

We’re still giddy with excitement to be judges for this year’s games. Do you already follow CLIF Kid on Facebook? You should. They offer great tips and advice. Plus, we’ll be sharing ideas for getting kids outside on their page during the next couple of months while they accept entires for the Backyard Game of the Year contest.

If you have a kid between 6 and 12, you really should encourage them to enter this contest. Even if they don’t win (the prizes are pretty awesome, though), it’s still a great experience to get kids outside and thinking about playing in their own backyards.

Also, if you’re a part of a non-profit group with kids 6-12, you should check out the Group category they have. It’s new this year, and the group with the top game could win $15,000 for their non-profit.

Seriously, encourage your kid or kids to get outside and give this whole “invent a backyard game” a try. They (and you) might be surprised at just how innovative, fun and easy it really is.

This free event will feature activities from their book that celebrate nature. Kids and families will be able to start their own flower or veggie seeds, make their own trail mix, test out unique bubble wands, go on a scavenger hunt and get their faces painted.

The event will be held from 1 pm to 4 pm. Books will be available for purchase, and Stacy and Ken will be available for a signing beginning at 2 pm. The Urban Ecology Center Riverside Park is located at 1500 E. Park Place.

Explore Vintage Nature moments like this around you. Happy Earth Month everyone!

Also check out Ken’s video tutorial on skipping rocks.

They will be posting reviews, guest posts, and samples from our book throughout the month of April. We can’t thank them enough, but we can encourage you to check out their blogs. (We’ll be posting links to their sites all month via our Facebook page.) These writers are fantastic. We encourage you to follow them and read them regularly. Without further ado, here’s the list of our rockstar bloggers featuring us this month.

April 2: Little House in the Suburbs 

April 3: Go Explore Nature

April 5: Birding with Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman

April 8: Slow Family Online

April 9: 10,000 Birds

April 10: Bring the Kids

April 11: Small Wonders

April 12: Garden Therapy

April 15: Outside Mom

April 17: Birdfreak

April 18: Exploring Portland

April 19: Cragmama

April 21: Prairie Birder

April 22: Colorado Mountain Mom

April 23: Birdchick

April 24: Tales of a Mountain Mama

April 26: Adventure Tykes

A Big Year gives you 12 months to see as many species of birds as possible. On the one hand it is like a marathon. You’ve got plenty of time to find birds. While some species are abundant residents all year long, others are just here for a season or even just passing through on migration. This creates a bit of urgency to spot some species, making it more like a 12 monthly sprints.

In the first three months of 2013 I’ve seen 49 species of birds. In addition to the backyard feeder birds,  I’ve mostly found winter gulls and waterfowl. As the temperatures rise, there has been a decrease in some of these species. Some birds that overwinter in Milwaukee are headed back north for a short nesting seasons. I saw a pair of Snow Bunting yesterday at Lakeshore State Park, and I swear they were melting before my eyes as the temperatures reached 50 degrees for the first time this year. Earlier this week I saw Common Redpoll another visitor that won’t be lingering around much longer.

Here we are on the 1st of April. I’m starting to see an increase in sparrows. These seedeaters often winter in the southern United States and are some of the earliest migrants to show back up in the northern tier states. No joke a stunning rufous red Fox Sparrow was a delight to see this morning. It was the 50th species of bird I’ve seen in Milwaukee County this year!

As the sprint of spring migration picks up, I hope it doesn’t take 3 months to see my next 50 species of birds. Either way, I’m in it for the long haul. I missed out on some winter visitors, so I’m already looking forward to November and December.