Let’s spend some time sitting outdoors in our garden this week listening to and watching birds together. For those who don’t have a garden, try to find a window for your little one to be able to watch out and listen for birds from.

Take this moment as a contraction/breathing out and going inward together. Learning to pause and be still is a wonderful tool for self-regulation and focus that takes time to develop.

Being fully present outdoors/in nature is also a wonderful way to regulate the body and mind.

You can start off by explaining that birds can be hard to see, but are much easier to hear. Close your eyes together and listen. Where is the sound coming from? …and what different kinds of birds can you hear?

By teaching children to listen to and differentiate between different bird songs you will help to develop their hearing and focused listening skills.

Can we imitate the songs of different birds? This is wonderful for language development and expressive communication skills.

Now let’s count how many different kinds of birds we can see; we can also look for birds’ nests in our trees and even look out for bird poop!

We have been seeing so many birds in our garden since lock-down, including an eagle flying overhead!… And Go-Away birds eating our granadilla leaves! I am amazed how much the children have been enjoying learning about birds and their ability to differentiate between different birds and bird sounds.

Now, every day we spend time in the garden we are listening to bird song and spotting different birds around us.

If your child gets really invested in birdwatching you may consider purchasing a poster like the one featured below and learn the names of all of the different birds too:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/poster-birds-southern-africa/9781775843795

We can learn all about birds with this fun video too: