Citrus Bird Feeders

Citrus season brings taste tests, snacks, lemonade making & fresh oj in the garden. With 450 enthusiastic students, our dozen little citrus trees don't stay full very long, though. Here's a sweet project for the last of the citrus -- the bitter oro blanco grapefruit and super sour Eureka lemons that don't get a lot of taste bud love. 

First graders scooped out the citrus flesh from the halved fruits, then used the peel shells to make bird feeders for our garden. Some kids even munched on the scooped fruit! 

Using plastic needles, the students helped each other thread twine through the citrus shells to make hangers for their feeders. Then they helped each other hang the feeders from the branches of our apple and plum trees. This was a fun, sweet activity... and I loved seeing the teamwork and communication that emerged as students made sure everyone succeeded!