Free Backyard Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Backyard Bird Activities

Backyard birds make a fun theme for both kids and adults. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, be sure to come back to this post in February for links to the Great Backyard Bird Count. You’ll find lots of backyard bird resources to get you started. And they have an app to help you count backyard birds at any time of year.

Today, I’m sharing both backyard bird activities and free backyard bird printables, including my new Montessori-inspired backyard bird pack (subscriber freebie)!

The links are for free backyard printables for preschoolers through 1st graders. To keep my list manageable, I don’t share coloring pages unless a page has a specific educational purpose related to birds.

Free Printables + Materials Used in the Pictured Backyard Bird Activities for Preschoolers-First Graders

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Shelves with Backyard Bird Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired backyard bird numbers, letters, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

I always have related books available throughout a unit. On my top shelf, I have About Birds and The Random House Children’s Encyclopedia (wooden cookbook holder). The children’s encyclopedia is one we had from when I homeschooled my now-adult children. It’s available used very inexpensively, although not everything will obviously be current.

On the middle shelf, I have Backyard Birds (Peterson’s Field Guides for Young Naturalists). These books are all Montessori friendly. I have a book basket beside the shelf with more Montessori-friendly nonfiction books. My fiction books about birds (in another part of the room) are a variety of Montessori-friendly books and books that aren’t Montessori-style books but are simply fun.

You could mix your backyard bird-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special backyard bird-themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves this month have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.

To add interest this month, I’m featuring the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB.

About Birds Book with The Birds’ Bath Poetry and Robin from Egg to Bird Tray

Free Printable: The Birds’ Bath By Evaleen Stein (subscriber freebie) from Every Star Is Different (Go to Free Printables tab at the top of the Every Star Is Different blog, then to Thematic Activities, then to Animal Activities, and then to Bird Unit 2.)

The robin is from the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB.

Free Printable: Robin from Egg to Bird from Share and Remember. This is intended as a poster, but I cut it into sequencing cards.

The craft stick is for the child (or adult) to point at each word in the poem as it’s read. You can have objects for each part of the poem, but I just included the robin. As I often do, I placed everything on a Multicraft tray.

Backyard Bird Watching Tray

Free Printable: Bird Watching Record by Tanglewood Hollow at Teachers Pay Teachers

Free Printable: Bird Counting Sheet from Share it! Science

In addition to Backyard Birds (Peterson’s Field Guides for Young Naturalists), we’ll be using National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America. The lovely printable from Tanglewood Hollow will be perfect for my toddler grandkids. Below it, I have a free printable with a variety of types of bird pictures to tally.

Note: I’ll be adding child-size binoculars to this tray.

W is for Woodpecker Birdseed Writing Tray

Free Printables: Woodpecker Letters for Letter W Birdseed Writing Tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

I first saw the idea of using birdseed for a writing tray at School Time Snippets. I thought it would be fun to use a feather for the writing, but it didn’t work as well as a finger. Birdseed is lots of fun to write in, but it needs a fairly thick writing tool.

For the tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though. I still had the birdseed from my N is for Nest Birdseed Writing Tray. (I keep previous writing tray materials in bags stored in drawers in my garage so that I can reuse them.) The pileated woodpecker is from the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB.

If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.

IR, ER, and OW Phonogram Cards and Booklets

Bird and Warbler Phonogram Cards and Booklets

These are the materials you can see on the right side of my middle shelf. I’ll add the “ow” yellow warbler phonogram work to the shelf in a week or so. They all have the same photograph, showing that it can be called a bird, a warbler, or a yellow warbler. To limit the number of phonograms, I didn’t include ar, although you could still focus on it.

Free Printable: Ir Sounds Picture and Letter Cards from MontessoriSoul

Free Printable: Er Sounds Picture and Letter Cards from MontessoriSoul

Free Printable: Alternative Pronunciation of “ow” Word Building from MontessoriSoul

The yellow warbler is from the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB.

These activities are very simple to prepare. I just print out the materials and make them into little booklets. I have a post and video on how to introduce words starting with phonograms, even with very young children (although I don’t introduce phonograms to very young children except in a word like “shark” that can’t be explained as starting with /s/).

Hummingbird Tray for Backyard Birds Unit

I like to feature a bird that’s very common in our own backyard. For us, that’s the hummingbird. I even found two hummingbirds living in our vertical planter! They flew away during watering.

Free Printable: Printable Hummingbirds Poster from Project FeederWatch (Be sure to download their other beautiful feeder birds poster, too!)

Free Printable: Hummingbird Dot to Dot from Super Coloring (This goes to 81, so it’s great math practice for older preschoolers and kindergarteners.)

Free Printable: Animal Adaptation: Birds and Beaks by Montessori Print Shop at Teachers Pay Teachers

While the Montessori Print Shop materials have a variety of birds and beaks, I just cut out the hummingbird as my featured bird.

Cardinal and Sunflower Seed Subtraction Activity

Free Printable: Cardinal Numbers 1-10 (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Printable: 1-10 Spinner (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

I used 10 Sunflower Seeds (taken from the birdseed for the writing tray), the cardinal from the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB. and a Montessori Services basket.

This is a simple but fun way to work on subtraction skills.

Cardinal and Sunflower Seed Subtraction Layout

The activity starts with 10 sunflower seeds. Then the child spins the spinner to see how many sunflower seeds the cardinal eats. After taking away that number of sunflower seeds, the child completes the equation.

Birdseed Sensory Bin with Backyard Bird Figures and Types of Backyard Bird Cards

Working with Birdseed Sensory Bin and Types of Backyard Birds

Free Printable: Safari TOOB Backyard Birds Matching Cards from The Pinay Homeschooler

Use whatever type of sensory bin you’d like. Because my toddler grandchildren can’t have access to small objects unless they’re watched continuously, I keep this sensory bin in a Glasslock container. It has all the birds from the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB.

It was so sweet to watch my 5-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, showing this activity to her 15-month-old sister, Sophia. Sophia would feel the birdseed and find a bird in the sensory bin. Then Zoey would place the bird on its matching card and tell Sophia the bird’s name.

There are a variety of free matching cards for the Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds TOOB, so just choose the one that works for you (see list below). I like this one for toddlers because it has an actual photograph of the Safari Ltd. bird figures. Normally, you wouldn’t use the written words for toddlers (just the picture), but I like having the words on them for Zoey. If you’re a homeschooler, just look for the level that’s right for your child or children.

Free Backyard Bird Printables for Preschoolers-First Graders

FREE Warbler and Yellow Warbler Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Phonics Instant Download)

Free Backyard Bird Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)

Montessori-Inspired Backyard Bird Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Nest Printables and Montessori-Inspired Nest Activities

Backyard Birds 3-Part Cards from 1+1+1=1
Counting Is for the Birds Kindergarten Literature Unit Printables from 1+1+1=1a
Bird Trace and Color Printables from 1+1+1=1
Bird Matching Cards from The Helpful Garden
Parts of the Bird Cards from The Helpful Garden
Backyard Birds 3-Part Cards (goes with Backyard Birds TOOB) from Life with My Kinetic Kids
Backyard Birds 3-Part Cards and Chart (goes with Backyard Birds TOOB) from Natural Beach Living
Bird Matching Cards (goes with Backyard Birds TOOB) from Midwest Montessori
Common Birds 3-Part Cards (subscriber freebie) from Trillium Montessori
Montessori Parts of a Bird Printable from Honey’s Life
Birds and Their Food Printable Pack (subscriber freebie) from Proverbial Homemaker
Bird Consonant Blends from No Stress Homeschooling
Hummingbird Stencil and All Bird Stencils from Free Stencil Gallery
Bird Log for The great Backyard Bird Count from Everyday Graces
Great Backyard Bird Count Tally Sheet from Still Playing School
Backyard Bird Cards and Mini Poster from Preschool Powol Packets
Printable Bird Book for Birding with Kids from Buggy and Buddy
Birds Notebooking Pages from The Notebooking Nook
Bird Book from Deceptively Educational
Bird Journal from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus
Bird Observation Notebook Pages from Walking By the Way
Bird of the Day Notebook Page from Spell Outloud
Nature Printables from Spell Outloud at Preschoolers and Peace (includes a hummingbird poem and printable for a paper bag nature journal)
Bird Theme Printables – Early Learning Printables from Homeschool Creations
Bird Nature Study Printables from Homeschool Creations
Backyard Birds Bingo from Free Homeschool Deals
Backyard Birds Lapbook (plus links to more bird printables) from Homeschool Share
Bird Printables (subscriber freebies) from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Backyard Birds of North Carolina Poster from 101 Handmade Gifts
Bird Theme Printables – Early Learning Printables (preschool and kindergarten packs) from Homeschool Creations
Printable Bird Book for Birding with Kids from Buggy and Buddy
Bird Printables from Teachers Pay Teachers

More Bird Activities and Resources

HELPFUL ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION POSTS

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