Building a Reading Nest

The month of April we are studying Birds and Eggs. 

I have to admit, when I first heard the name of the unit, I thought it wouldn't be that much fun, but boy was I wrong.

It's only Day 1 and Sweet Pea is LOVING IT!  

Maybe it's the fact that her vocabulary is blowing up,
 or that she's been much better playing by herself,
 but whatever it is, she is absolutely loving this theme!

The first thing we did was build our nest.

I hung up a dead stem part from our hydrangeas from outside above the window. It'll be a great way to display all our bird learning... and even a nest we make later on today. 

Thanks Stacy for the great idea!

The nest idea was not mine, but Jennie's at Wonders Early Learning Center.

Once I saw her nest, I knew Sweet Pea and I would have to make one!

First dig out that kiddie pool from the shed and wash it out. (yuck)

Grab your kiddos and play pretend. 

Be birds and bring pillows to your new nest.  

Smile at the adorableness of your kid flapping his or her wings.

Put a sheet on it- flat or fitted.  We used a full size fitted, but a twin would definitely work.

After all those pillows were stuffed into that nest, Sweet Pea still asked for more.  

Girl takes after her momma about these pillows.

Now I am pretty crafty, but since Sweet Pea has been giving up her naps lately, I just haven't had the time to make her some wings.  I really want to though!  Seriously, check out Jennie's blog for the how to on making beautiful, easy felt wings for several types of birds! 

I had these angel wings stored (and never used) so Sweet Pea can now become a white dove.  

Once she put on those wings, she ran all through the house with her hands in the air "flapping."  I had to chase her to get a picture! She finally flew back to her nest.

The nest ready with her bird wings, and this spot is the perfect place for Sweet Pea to do one of her favorite things, READ.

She's obsessed with books.

As part of the Member Resources, each month Mother Goose Time sends a list of 20 books that go along with the theme and the daily learning activity. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.  It allows me to find books that normally we would never read!  In fact we have found some of Sweet Pea's most favorite books because of these lists each month.  (Fiddle-I-Fee is one I had to keep checking out).

I used my same method of planning that I did last month using our Planning Journal.  Once I knew what days we were definitely doing, I highlighted the above list of what books I wanted to try to find at my local library.  I went to their website and was able to use the card catalog to find what books they had available that I could add to our reading nest this month.  

Today is Library Wednesday where we  head to the local library for Story Time and crafts.  Because I did all the prep work at home, I could quickly and easily find the books we needed to complete our Reading Nest.

These books will stay in our home until the end of the month, where we will return them and get the next batch for the next unit we study.  

If you have not taken advantage of your local library, I encourage you to do so! 

I have been completely amazed and blessed by what all our local library has to offer.  

I'd love to hear about your library adventures in the comments below, or your favorite book to read with your kiddos!

Happy Nesting and Reading!