Bird Meeting Summary

We sure have lucked out with beautiful days for our meetings so far this year...this was an excellent day for a little bird watching. We started off by splitting the group by age into older (7 and up) and younger (under 7) which seemed to really help manage the chaos a bit and help the kids to focus during "class" time. While with Robin the kids took a hike around the property to check out the local birds (including the chickens) and learn a little about how to be a good bird watcher. Then the they had time to sit with Robin and learn all about birds: their relation to dinosaurs (and reptiles in general), bird anatomy, bird reproduction, habitats, diets and tons of interesting facts that were new to us all. They also had some hands on time with eggs and feathers. Staci took a turn with teaching this time and taught them all about how birds fly, thanks Staci. Inside the classroom Jennifer taught the basics about barn owls to the kids and then everyone got to dissect an owl pellet and identify the bones that were found. And of course we shared a snack- this time it was "Pigeon Poop" (thank you Cassandra) and it was very tasty! Several families were able to stick around and share lunch after the meeting, and watch the kids happily run around outside. A very nice morning all around.

Bird Meeting Comments/Suggestions

Thanks again to everyone for another great Adventure Club meeting! We hope you all enjoyed it and would love to hear from you about it (hopefully this comment thing is working now). If you have comments on how the meeting went or suggestions for things you would like us to add/change to the classes or the environment to make it a more enjoyable and educational experience for your family please let us know by commenting to this post. Kids comments/suggestions are welcome too!

Helpful Bird Links

National Geographic Birds- pictures, videos and facts about all types of birds
Texas Junior Naturalists Birds- some really great printable books about Texas birds as well as projects and links
Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection- check out this video of an owl pellet dissection, we'll be trying this at our meeting
Bird Sleuth- Cornell Lab's site for bird education, some more great printable lessons and homeschool specific bird watching links
Hornsby Bend- a good birding spot in Austin
Science Projects- a site with science fair type projects on birds
Enchanted Learning Birds- bird information, crafts and printables for younger children
What Bird- a national bird identification site
Travis Audubon- learn about ongoing projects, local sanctuaries and how to join the Travis Audubon group

Adventure Club: Birds 11/4/2009

Wednesday, November 4th 10:00

I AM I Learning Center at Weaver's Bottom: This is located on Robin's property in Kingsland. Directions can be found by clicking on the link that says "Directions To Adventure Club Meetings".

Activities: Join us as we learn about various bird species, their anatomy and behaviors with a special focus on the local birds found on Robin's property. We will also learn what it takes to become a bird watcher, dissect an owl pellet to learn about how and what they eat and make a bird feeder. Please be aware that our discussion will involve the evolution of birds from dinosaurs, as it relates to our previous lesson about reptiles.

Bring: We will be outside for much of this meeting so bring along hats or sunscreen if needed, and wear closed shoes. If you suffer from outdoor allergies please be aware that Robin's property is full of beautiful plants and trees- a good day to take any preventative allergy medicines that you use. Wear your LAHAC shirts if you have them. Bring $2 per participating child to cover the cost of meeting supplies. A small snack and water will be provided, but if you would like to pack a lunch for your family Robin welcomes you to picnic at her place after the meeting is over. If you have any great bird books, projects, pictures, etc. to share with us bring them along.

Share With Us: Our children will be working on bird projects over the next month to share with the group or display in the classroom. Please feel free to work on your own bird projects to share/display at the meeting- we would love to see a wide variety of projects! They can be simple collages, crafts, drawings, bird stories or poetry, reports, experiments, photos of birds or anything else you can think of. There are some helpful bird links on the blog, if you have others to recommend please add them to the comments section of that blog post.

RSVP: Please RSVP or send questions to Robin & Jennifer at lahac1@gmail.com by October 21st. Include your name, contact information and the names and ages of children who will be attending. **If this is your first time attending an Adventure Club meeting at I AM I Learning Center you will be asked to sign a release upon arrival for each person attending. If you would like a copy of the release sent to you ahead of time please let us know in your RSVP.