Pinecone Bird Feeders

We are so ready for Spring in our house.  Being outside is a must for us but the boys hate being cold,  so that makes Winter excursions difficult.  With the upcoming weekend looking sunny and in the 60's we are impatiently waiting to go on a long overdue hike at Ijams.  I took a breather yesterday and escaped to the mall with my Sister and Dad decided to bundle up the kiddos and go for a short hike around our home, as they walked they gathered some pinecones.  I promised them we would make bird feeders out of them.  I was excited for the little ones to get to participate, although I way underestimated how messy this would get.........

 

You need pinecones, bird seed, peanut butter, and something to spread it with for this activity.  If you are doing it with a group of kiddos beware of peanut allergies.  For a peanut free version you can use Suet (animal fat), you can get this from the local butcher or in the bird seed aisle (just soften it a bit in the microwave).

 

The first step is to spread the peanut butter all over the pinecone.  Keaton decided he wanted a bite;-)

 

After that you roll them in the bird seed.  A optional step is to attach string to them so that you can hang them outside.  I would suggest doing this before the peanut butter unfortunately I forgot so I will be getting nice and sticky as I attach the string later.

 

And there you have it a nice fun activity for the kids and treat for the birds;-)