Park Avenue students turn oranges into bird feeders for cultural project

Park Avenue students in Suesette White's kindergarten class and Shannon Kennedy's third grade class collaborated on a cultural lesson that combined world tradition, teamwork, and skill-building!

The older students visited their "kinder buddies" classroom to create Norwegian-inspired orange bird feeders. First, the students got a quick lesson on geogrpahy (They located Norway on a map and globe.) and some cultural facts about Norway (Did you know parts of Norway have polar bears, and that their police don't carry guns?). Then, they learned about the Norwegian tradition called "Julenek," where families place food out for birds during the holiday season to bring good luck and show care for nature during winter's darkest days. The students learned how farming communities historically shared their harvest with birds as an act of kindness, believing it would ensure a bountiful year ahead.

The tradition -- and the lesson -- teach a respect for nature, by caring for wildlife.

_{See a gallery of pictures from this activity below this story!}

Using a modern adaptation of this centuries-old practice, students made simple yet beautiful bird feeders from orange halves, dowel rods and twine. They will be filling them with birdseed at home and hanging them out for the birds. The lesson brought an ancient Scandinavian custom to life for the students, many of whom enjoyed talking about the birds they see around their houses while they worked.

For the kindergarteners, the activity provided an excellent opportunity to develop fine motor skills. Following along with their third grade buddies, the students scooped out orange pulp using spoons and forks, then carefully poked dowels through the peels in an X pattern, and then tying and looping twine around the dowels to create a hangar. Each step called for precise movements, and the students did a fantastic job. The third graders, while also learning new information, served as peer mentors, demonstrating each step and offering assistance and encouragement. This cross-grade collaboration is the kind of classroom activity that fosters leadership skills in the older students while giving the kindergarteners supportive role models to look up to, highlighting the value of peer learning, even at the elementary level!

To wrap up the lesson, the kindergartners went out in front of Park Avenue and hung one of their feeders in the bush near the school sign! They'll definitely be keeping an eye out to see what types of birds come to dine on their kindness.