birdhouse

I got my Easter present today, I think! We decided to take the boys to Lowes this morning for the kids clinic project. They were going to build birdhouses, and we thought that'd actually be a cool project to have both the (bigger) boys do. Of course we never expected Jman to actually do it THERE.

And yet, he did. Wow. Seriously, Wow. Habeeb and I think that our building the jewelry box just a few days ago in the peace and quiet of our home probably was the biggest help for his success today. I think another piece that supported his participation was that they had the clinic in a small room with tables and chairs all set up in an organized way, rather than passing out mats to sit on in the back storeroom like at another Lowes he could never quite handle. Truly, scaffolding the environment like that can make a huge difference (better lighting, better acoustic even though it was still loud, tables and chairs for ergonomic comfort). And 'previewing' the event successfully is priceless (successfully making the box at home a few days prior, recent enough for the memory to be fresh, but far enough away for it not to be TOO fresh!).

Habeeb and Sly worked on Sly's birdhouse (with SB3 snoozing on Habeeb's back). Here's Sly with his finished birdhouse. Sly got a glimpse of the next project (a toy hang glider) and already put in his request to go back for that one (in two weeks).

Jman sat himself down at a seat at the table with all the supplies set out ready to go. I joined him and helped him open up and build his birdhouse. He was all over it! At one point I asked him if he was using a 'long' or 'short' nail. He didn't answer (no big surprise there!), so I hinted "sh-sh-sh-" and he looked up and finished, "Short." Very nice! I asked him that question a few more times, not to practice the words but because I really didn't know which nail he had grabbed and wanted to make sure he was using the right one. He always was. He never 'answered' again verbally, but he'd move his hand to show me what he had and that it was the right one.

The very last piece we had to put on was the bottom, and that required turning the birdhouse upside down. I didn't think anything of it, but as soon as I had it flipped and Jman grabbed the bottom place to put it in place, he said, "Up." Jman has an issue with "down" or "upside down." Things have to be "up" and they have to be right side up. You can drive the poor boy crazy by trying to drain the last of the ketchup out of a bottle! I acknowledged his "up" comment, and then he went ahead and nailed the bottom in place.

And as soon as he was done, he freaked out. I don't know if the success was too much for him, or if his noise capacity had finally reached tilt mode, or if the upside down was just too much, but in any case, he freaked out. Yes, we got some strange looks, but that's okay. It was a strange sight, after all. He'd been GREAT up until that point. But here's the good news: He DID finally calm done, after just a few minutes. It really wasn't THAT long, nor THAT bad. He calmed down, not quite enough to carry his birdhouse and certificate out of the store, but enough to walk out nicely with us while dad carried Jman's stuff. Once in the truck, Jman willingly and contentedly held his birdhouse while we drove off. Honestly, that recovery was a wonderful success as well, but not as fantastic as his building the birdhouse at the clinic in the first place! Way to go, Jman!

And here is Jman checking out his finished birdhouse, all ready for some feathered inhabitants to move in!

the little birdies

In honor of the Great Backyard Bird Count, we got a birdfeeder this year and set it up outside the back window. Actually we have 3+ birdfeeders out there: one of those hanging tubes with four perches, a bigger cedar feeder (which also has places for suet on either end), and a hummingbird feeder. We were also equipped with a bird book to help us figure out what we might be seeing. The nice thing about this book is that you identify birds by color--nice and simple for beginner bird watchers like us!

We've gotten pretty good at identifying our regular birdies--mostly a flock of chipping sparrows. Yesterday I started snapping a few pictures through the window. Not the best pictures, but they'll do for a total amateur like me. Here's one of our Gold Finches. There's a little chippie on the other side. Later in the day we had a gold finch on one side of the cedar feeder and a red cardinal on the other, but I missed that shot
This little fella is a chickadee. Unlike the chippies, who come and hang out, the chickadees fly in, grab a seed, and fly off with it. So, this isn't much of a picture, but hey, at least I got the shot before he left again
And this fella we think is a baby mockingbird. He and his brother (or she and her sister?) showed up for the first time yesterday, and were back again this morning. They are still fuzzy but can fly okay, though they are the LAST ones to fly off when the cats jump at the window. They'll either learn, or become one of the neighborhood kitties' lunch!
When we first put the feeders up, we all had a hard time identifying the birds, especially the 'little brown blobs.' But like I said, we're starting to be able to do it. What thrilled me was when a couple days ago Sly said he saw a different kind of bird at the feeder, one we hadn't seen before. A couple days later I saw something different and asked Sly if that was his bird. He said yes, and we studied its markings together a bit, then sat down and tried to find it in the bird book after it flew off. We decided it might be a House Sparrow, and look forward to its return to check again and see if we were right. It fits the description and the picture in the book pretty well.

Anyway, I've been pleased at how quickly we're noticing patterns and changes in our birdie visitors. Not only is it great for science and nature study, but it's also great for simple enhancing and developing observation skills, communication, and cognitive thinking, and the birdies are just simply fun to watch too. Who knew a couple a cheapo bird feeders would do so much, not to mention that it's driving the wanna-be-outdoor-kitties insane (which is very entertaining for us too!)