Aside from aiding your child’s development, it also enables you to spend some quality time together, thus strengthening the bond between you two. 

Garden projects may be the most interesting of all the DIY activities. Moreover, teaching your children how to make DIY bird and bug feeders can be a great way to begin. Continue reading to see why and how you may teach these fantastic garden DIY projects to your kids.  

Why Garden DIYs?

If you have a spacious backyard or at least a garden, then you should know by now that your backyard or garden isn’t only homes for your plants, but also cute birds and creepy crawlies (insects or bugs). While many birds and bugs are considered to be pests, there is also a variety of them that are beneficial. 

Dragonflies can be a great example. Dragonflies are natural predators, which means they can be found eating insects that are either half their size or smaller. A few of their prey include mosquitoes, flies and moths. Mosquitoes are notorious for spreading deadly diseases like Dengue and Chikungunya - what’s worse, the water in your planters can serve as their breeding grounds. Flies too, spread diseases by contact, as they fly from one surface to the other. Luckily, dragonflies are there to devour them, and to keep you away from harm.

Teaching your child such activities will help them understand the importance of maintaining nature’s balance and therefore actively participate in preserving nature once they are older. Who knows? Dragonflies just might become their favorite insect - in which case you have to get dragonfly gifts for them or make dragonfly-themed décor! Now, without further talk, let’s look at some DIY projects that you and your child can try during leisure time.

Birdhouse

One of the most popular DIY garden projects is building a birdhouse. For this project, you don’t have to go out of your way to cut, and shape wood; not all of us have the skill, time or equipment to do this at home, let alone with kids. Save yourself the hassle and hazard, as you can easily find birdhouse kits in the market. 

These kits come with wood that has been cut and shaped - all you have to do is assemble it piece by piece and nail all the components together. Do keep in mind that different birds like to perch on different birdhouses. While purchasing your birdhouse kit, check out what kind of birds it tends to attract. 

After assembling the birdhouse, all that’s left to do is to decorate it! You can allow your child to add paint and other ornaments (such as fake flowers or shrubs) to add a personalized touch. Hang it on your porch or any trees in your backyard and wait for your feathery friends. 

Bird Feeder 

Another popular DIY project related to birds is a bird feeder. While you can always just go out and buy one, nothing beats making one yourself. It just makes everything more special, particularly for your child. An important point to note is that different birds are attracted to different foods. 

If you want to invite over some lovely songbirds to liven up your backyard, you will need to make a bird feeder that can hold either sunflower seeds or mealworms. However, you don’t always have to be so specific. You can keep things simple, and avoid the hassle of making a bird feeder with an elaborate design - just make some birdseed treats! For this DIY, you will need some cookie cutters, a pack of unflavored gelatin and an assortment of bird seeds. Mix the pack of gelatin in some warm water (as per the instructions on your gelatin package) and mix the bird seeds into it. Make sure you add in a little more bird seeds than your gelatin. 

Stuff this mixture using a spoon into some cookie cutters. Lay these out on a baking tray or a piece of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the surface beneath. Leave them to dry for a few hours. You should be able to take them out, and push a string through it (using a nail or needle) as the mixture isn’t rock hard. Now, you can just hang it in your backyard and wait for birds to come to peek at them. 

Using cookie cutters to make simple bird feeders is very easy for kids. What's more, cookie cutters come in varieties of shapes and sizes, so it’ll be an interesting crafting lesson for your child. 

Butterfly Feeder 

Insects can be a little intimidating to your child. Kids are mostly scared of garden bugs and are afraid to approach or attract any. Butterflies are an exception in this case. They are pretty and have vibrant colored wings - something your child might love to lure into your garden. 

To make a simple, and easy to make butterfly feeder, you will need a plastic bottle with a lid (preferably a ketchup bottle), large and small rubber bands, cotton balls, yarn and of course some flowers. To make food for the butterflies, you will need sugar and water. 

First, put a strong and large rubber band around the base of your bottle. Then, tie a piece of yarn on either side of the band. This will allow you to hang the bottle. Now put a bunch of smaller rubber bands around the bottle. These will hold the flowers in place. 

Lastly, make your butterfly food by mixing some sugar in water. Pour this mixture into the bottle, but do not fill it up. Ketchup bottles usually have lids with holes in them. Stick a cotton ball into the lid and close the bottle. The cotton ball will act as the liquid dispenser, slowly dispensing the sugary liquid and attracting the butterflies. 

In Conclusion

There are many DIY projects for garden birds and bugs that you can try with your children. However, some may not be appropriate for all ages. Once they get used to the easier projects, they will eventually feel comfortable with other projects that attract insects and animals other than butterflies or birds. Before long, they will develop a deeper understanding of how the balance of nature is maintained, and hopefully, it will make them want to learn more about their environment. 

Get creative, and have fun!