Make a birdhouse

Let kids design and build a birdhouse using found materials. This kind of problem-solution thinking builds engineering skills and gives kids experience with how things work. And the finished product gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride.

First brainstorm a few minimum requirements, for example: the house should have a golfball-sized hole large enough for birds to fit through but not large enough for predators; it should have a strong perch inside and outside; it should hang somewhere where squirrels can't reach it.

Look around your house and yard for materials that you might use. Here are just a few suggestions, but let your child be creative and come up with other solutions, too.

House: a cardboard or plastic milk carton

Perch: a chopstick, a stick, a dowel

Something to hang it: a bent wire hanger, twine

Roof: dollhouse shingles, bamboo plate, cut-down craft sticks