Learning with Safari Ltd Backyard Birds

Do you love birds as much as we do? Learn about backyard birds by using realistic looking replicas from Safari Ltd. Quick – how many birds can you identify in the picture below?

Learning and Play with Backyard Birds from Safari Ltd and a Giveaway

Meet the Backyard Birds

I was excited when Safari Ltd sent me a Backyard Bird TOOB to review. I have seen lots of great activities with the little replicas but had yet to get any for Aiden {probably because there are just so many choices}. The Backyard Bird TOOB immediately caught my eye. My husband, Patrick, is an avid birder and used to research birds before becoming a teacher. His passion for birds has spread to Aiden and me. We love searching out birds, listening to their calls, and identifying them. The replicas provided a lovely opportunity for Aiden to see the birds up close.

I looked at the replica birds and tried to identify them. Then, I checked my identification skills with Patrick. I was curious to see how accurate the replicas were. The bottom of the replicas have the name of the bird. I accurately identified the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, and American Robin. I knew the Pileated Woodpecker was some kind of woodpecker and assumed the oriole was a Baltimore Oriole. I thought the Indigo Bunting might be an Eastern Bluebird. {Patrick pointed out there was no orange on the front.} I also guessed that the Yellow Warbler was an American Goldfinch. Patrick got all seven right. This goes to show you how accurate the replicas are {and that I need to work on my identification skills}.

Aiden can identify the same three birds as I. Robins have been frequenting our apple tree all winter because there’s a berry bush growing within it. Aiden watches the robins from the window and tries to walk up to them when we’re outside. We often see cardinals and Blue Jays as well.

Aiden’s Favorite Way to Play with the Backyard Birds

Aiden loves to engage in pretend play with the birds. Most often he has the birds playing in play dough talking to one another. I’ve heard the birds talking about cousins lately.

Cardinal in Play Dough

He also wanted to make a nest for the birds. We looked up what a cardinal’s nest looks like and tried to replicate it. The female cardinal uses her feet to bend twigs for her nest. The sticks we had were too dry to bend, so we just placed them about.

Pretend Play Cardinal Nest

Aiden wanted all of the birds to join the nest {some were the male cardinal’s babies – not sure where he ran off to}. Even the Little Hoot’s owl friend joined the fun.

Pretend play - birds in a nest

A Giveaway from Safari Ltd **Giveaway Closed**

The winner is Sara R. (comment #8).

Would you like to win your own TOOB? To enter to win, just leave a comment below! {Make sure you enter your e-mail address so I can contact you.}

Safari Ltd is offering an extra special bonus prize to the giveaway winner. If the winner is following Safari Ltd through social media, the winner will receive an extra surprise giveaway prize. You can follow Safari Ltd via  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. Let me know in your comment how you follow Safari Ltd! {Leave only one comment total. Extra comments will be deleted.}

The Rules:

No purchase necessary. Odds of winning are based on number of entries. Sweepstakes starts on 3/7/13 and ends at 11:59pm CDT on 3/14/13. One entry allowed per person. Eligible to U.S. residents, 18 and older. I use the plugin And the Winner is to randomly select a winner from the comments. When the giveaway ends, I will contact the winner by e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before I randomly select a new winner.

Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll share more of how we learn with the birds in the future.

 
Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by Safari Ltd. I was given product in exchange for the review. See disclosure policy for more info.

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