Birds Nest Craft Preschool Book Activity

Inside: A birds nest craft preschool book activity for The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman. This craft also can be made independently by older kids.

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My voice warbled as I sang the words in the story, but my kids didn’t complain. We were reading the classic book The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman (affiliate), and we’d reached a refrain where Mr. Bird sings,

“I love my house.
I love my nest.
In all the world
My nest is best!”

Since the text says Mr. Bird sings the song, I’ve always felt obliged to do so as I read aloud. The only problem is that my chirps sound decidedly un-birdlike.

Lucky for me, my kids didn’t care, and the book was a hit. The story, as you can guess from the name, is about a pair of birds who go searching for a new nest. They find the perfect spot, only to learn that it is atop a large church bell.

P.D. Eastman’s gentle humor makes the story fun for grownup readers too, even on the tenth reading (ask me how I know this!)

Birds Nest Craft Preschool Book Activity

We love story inspired book activities (like this caterpillar button craft, and this activity for the book If You Plant a Seed). Extending stories with crafts or activities can help children understand them at a deeper level.

After reading The Best Nest, you can talk about how birds build nests, and make this adorable birds nest craft, courtesy of May at Creative Kidz Crafts. Then when you’re done, the kids can use the nest for some pretend play.

May runs an after-school craft program and has recently published an ebook of her favorite kids’ crafts. It’s called Seriously Fun DIY Kids Crafts (affiliate), and it won the 2018 National Parenting Product Awards and the 2018 Family Choice Awards.

The eBook has 34 crafts shown step-by-step with big colorful picture instructions for kids to follow. Similar to Lego building instruction manuals, the picture instructions are very large and numbered so elementary-aged kids will be able to make the crafts on their own from start to finish.

Many of the crafts can also easily be adapted for younger children. She has fully illustrated each step, so it’s easy to see what you’d want to prep ahead for preschoolers.

This birds’ nest craft is included in the book and is one of her favorites, I’ve condensed a couple of the step-by-step photos into collages for this blog post.

Birds Nest Craft – Materials

Assemble the following materials:

• Cardstock paper
• Pom Poms
• Tissue Paper
• Feathers
• Googly Eyes – 8mm
• M&M’s (or you can use jellybeans)
• Pipe Cleaners
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Pencil

Birds Nest Craft – Instructions

 

Step 1

NEST

• Take half of an 8”x11” sheet of brown cardstock paper, draw a circle that takes up most of the half, and cut it out.
• Take brown tissue paper, crumple them, and use the glue stick to stick them along the edge.

Step 2

TWIGS

• Take small pieces of cut brown pipe cleaner and glue them to the outside of the nest for twigs.

Step 3

 

WINGS

• Glue feathers to the large pom pom.

 

 HEAD

• Glue the eyes to the smaller pom pom, then glue pom poms together.

 

Step 4

BEAK
Make the beak by folding orange cardstock in half, and draw a triangle along the folded edge, then cut and glue to the head.

WORM

You can add a worm by drawing an S shape onto pink cardstock, cut and glue inside the beak.

 

 

Step 5

EGGS

Make the nest for the “eggs” by using half a pipe cleaner, shaping it into a circle, and twist to secure.

 

Step 6

Assemble the birds’ nest. Use the glue stick to secure the vines, the birds, and the eggs onto the nest.

 

There you have it – your very own “best nest”! If you’re working with younger kids, you may want to leave the birds and eggs loose, rather than glued down, to allow for pretend play.

All 34 crafts in May’s book are this thoroughly described and illustrated. Older kids will have a blast making these little projects independently, with friends at birthdays, and at slumber parties. It makes for a perfect gift for any little one with creative hands!