For the Birds

The children will have so much fun helping make these easy bird feeders and even more fun watching the birds come to the feeders!

Materials:

• 4 cups bird seed
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons Corn Syrup
• 1 envelope unflavored Gelatin
• Wax Paper
• Mixing bowl and spoon
• Cookie cutters
• Straw or toothpick
• Ribbon, yarn or string
• Optional: large paper clips

Directions:

All hands ready for measuring and molding!  In large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients with spoon and get out the cookie cutters.  Place the cookie cutter on wax paper, spoon in seed mixture. With your fingers push into the cookie cutter (add more seed mix if needed).  Use a straw or toothpick to make a hole in the seed for ribbon to hang feeder.

You should get about 12 feeders depending on the size of the cookie cutters.   Once the cookie cutter is filled  with seed and the hole is made, the cookie cutter can be pulled up and used again.

Let dry 6 to 8 hours.  Once they are dry, pull ribbon, yarn or string through hole, tie on tree branch and wait for the birds.  If you find a tree branch that is too hard to get ribbon around to tie,  try this: tie tails of ribbon together and make a hanger from a large paper clip.  Shape the paper clip into a “S” to make a hanger, this makes it easier to hang up into the tree.

It will not take long for the birds (and the squirrels!) to find the seed feeders.  Have fun bird watching!