Materials:
Scraps of yarn about 2” to 4” (5 cm to 10 cm) long
Lint from clothes dryer
Instructions:
1. In early spring, read about birds building nests, then plan this activity to assist them.2. Let the children count ten pieces of yarn, then tie a longer piece of yarn around the bundle in the middle.
3. Tie a piece of yarn around a ball of lint.
4. Tie all these materials to bushes on the playground and watch them disappear as birds look for materials to build nests.
More to do
More science: Examine the yarn and the lint with a magnifying glass. Introduce the term "fiber."
Discuss how washing and drying clothes removes some of the fibers from the material. Relate this to clothing wearing out. What else removes fibers? (friction) Which parts of clothing wear out first? (knees, elbows) Why?
