Birdsong is the sound of springtime, ringing out into the clear air to herald a day full of growth and (hopefully) sunshine! To mark World Wildlife Day, we suggest having a singalong to Songbird, a new number from our brand-new Songs For EVERY Spring Assembly with a cheerful melody that children will love to sing. Inspired by the song of a blackbird, the verses explore the answer to the question ‘What could the message be to his song?’
In the UK, birds start singing in February, with their uplifting chorus swelling throughout March and building to a glorious crescendo in April and May. They start to quieten down in the summer, as their eggs hatch and they concentrate on raising their young. The morning melodies are different week after week, as new species migrating from far-off places come and join the song. The RSPB have a great blog about which birds make this springtime journey and when we can expect them to arrive. One species flies all the way from the Antarctic for a British summertime!
The topic of bird migration is a great one for World Wildlife Day, on 3rd March 2023, with scope for lots of activities that can span a range of different subjects:
- Make a flight-path world map tracking the journeys of different birds
- Make an airport-style ‘Arrivals and Departures’ board with pictures or facts about the birds as they come to the UK
- Write imaginative stories about a bird coming for a summer holiday to the UK
- Compare and contrast the habitats of where the birds spend their winters and their summers across the world
- Make a bird-watching bingo chart to use in forest school
- Choreograph a dance that builds as different ‘birds’ arrive and join in the song together
The best way to hear birds singing is to attract them to you with plenty of food! This video shows how to make ice-cream-cone bird feeders that you can hang in the school grounds, or at home. The video below uses peanut butter, but good alternatives for nut-free schools would be vegetable fat or lard.
Songbird is the perfect soundtrack for your classroom or home on World Wildlife Day, lifting spirits and creating an opportunity to join in with all the beautiful birds around you!
Find out more about Songs For EVERY Spring Assembly here.
