Studying God’s handiwork is such a fun thing to do with your kids. In our homeschooling co-op, we have recently been studying all the different flying creatures that God made, and while reading books about birds is educational, seeing the real thing in our backyard is even better.

This hummingbird feeder kit from Nature Watch is the perfect product to complement any study of birds. The kit comes with enough supplies to make 25 hummingbird feeders to put in your yard. The instructions are easy; my 6-year-old daughter was able to put it together. To assemble, each child will push two flower petals, made of soft foam, onto a plastic vial. They are secured to the vial with a red chenille pipe cleaner, and then a wire green stem is wound around the other end. The last step is to fill the vial with a mixture of sugar and water, and then the special cap goes on. Now your little feeder is ready to go out into the yard! It is easy to attach it to a tree branch, stick the stem into the ground or into a potted plant. Then, all you need to do is sit back and watch the hummingbirds come to drink. An instruction manual is included in this kit. There are instructions for assembly, some fun hummingbird facts, and a recipe to make sweet hummingbird nectar.

I decided to use this in our co-op. The students had a fun time making the feeders and then took them home to place in their yard. My four children each made one and decided where to put them in the yard. Once the vials were filled, I thought that it might make the flowers unstable and unable to stand, but the wire was sturdy enough to hold it. The cap was also flow resistant so there was no leaky mess on the ground, and the bright red and orange petals looked pretty in the yard. Did the hummingbirds come? Yes, they did! They would come up to the flowers, flying up and down to check them out, and then dip their long beaks into the vials. The vials only hold about a tablespoon of nectar, so my kids were going out to refill them often. I ended up making a jar of the nectar and storing it in the fridge.

Nature Watch has a variety of other products to help your children learn more about nature; their website is extensive and has fun products, books, and crafts to compliment your study of science. I know my children really enjoyed having the hummingbirds visit, and I am thankful for a fun, hands-on way to help me teach them.

Product Review by Charlotte Gochnauer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC October, 2012