My Science Project Homework

Here's an update to yesterday's post about the science project. I overreacted. Being creatively challenged, I could only imagine a wooden bird feeder like you buy in a garden centre. After posting my open letter to the science teacher a number of sensible friends pointed out that it's not a carpentry project. They put me in the direction of a much simpler affair involving egg boxes, milk cartons, empty toilet rolls, etc... Oh. Well this is my first child.

So I quickly finished a whole packet of crackers with copious amounts of butter and Marmite. I rescued the plastic tray which is the perfect size for a bird bath for the little tiny gray/brown birds that we have no idea what they're called. I found a shoe box and took the lid. I stuck the bath to the box tray with sellotape. I attached gift-wrapping ribbon and hung it from one of those back of the door hooks. Sorted.

DD wasn't remotely interested in helping me. I did it all by myself. However, I could hear the relief in her voice as she shrugged her shoulders and remained silent.

So Dear 4th Grade Science Teacher, 

I completed my homework assignment. No effort went into making it at all. I did not enjoy making the bird feeder. It was an exercise in making my child feel comfortable to go to school and face you. 

Having completed the assignment, I would like to point out a few features incorporated into the design. I tried to consider all aspects of the birds' lives - social, physical, and emotional welfare as well as their cognitive development. 

1. The plastic tray in the centre is a bath as well as a drinking well. Playing in water not only cleans the birds so that they are less likely to leave footprints on your clean laundry hanging out to dry, but it also gives them confidence in water. This is especially important if they have to land over the English Channel on their way back to the UK for the summer.

2. Place seeds and nuts on either side of the water bath. Please don't give them any sugary treats as this is not good for their beaks. In time the birds will learn that if one of them sits on one side of the tray, the whole thing tips over. They will use this knowledge to devise a system of pair-work, whereby two birds of similar mass balance each other on either side of the bath. Maths is the basis of all science you know.  

3. The ribbon and hook allow the feeding tray to sway in the breeze. This helps to develop the birds' sense of balance. The brighter birds might even learn to use it as a swing thereby strengthening their little muscles and improving co-ordination.

4. I didn't decorate the tray in bright colours on purpose. Rather we want the birds to rely on word of mouth in order to find it. Social skills are essential for little birds about to embark on a long journey. Learning to be part of the flock - giving as well as receiving help from each other - could be the very thing to keep them away from the TVs in the electrical shop windows. You know how too much screen time is destroying communication. 

Please could you give my grade to DD to pass on to me when she gets home. 

Thank you
Rachel (DD's Mother)