(Easy!) Spring Craft For Preschoolers: Robin’s Nest

The warmer weather is on its way, and we have a fun spring craft for preschoolers that will encourage fine motor skills and early math skills.

I first came up with this craft for my (then) 4 year old a couple of years ago during lockdown. We were looking for ways to stay busy and get ready for kindergarten while he wasn’t able to attend preschool, and he had a lot of fun with it. Two years later, my 3 year old enjoyed this craft just as much.

This robin’s nest craft for preschoolers will help your child to strengthen their pincer grasp and get some practice using scissors. And once they’re done making it, it can be used for imaginative play and even working on early math skills like number recognition and counting. You can also use this craft as an opportunity to teach your child all about birds and where different animals live.

Plus, this craft is super easy and mostly requires scrap craft materials that you probably already have at home (or in your back yard).

Robin’s Nest Spring Craft for Preschoolers

What you’ll need:

• Cardboard
• Light blue construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Marker
• Pencil

This easy craft is flexible and you can use a mix of materials of your choosing to build the nest. You can use any crafting materials you have around the house or even get outside to collect items from nature!

Some options include:

• Cardboard scraps
• Construction paper
• Yarn
• String
• Felt
• Twigs
• Leaves

Instructions

1. Gather your materials.

If you’re using materials from around the house, it might be best for you to just have everything ready for your child. However, if you’re planning on using anything from nature—like twigs or leaves—you can make a game out of it.

Take your preschooler outside and ask them to help gather materials that a bird might actually use to build their nest. You’ll want to make sure you stick to very small items that will stick to your cardboard easily with a bit of glue.

2. Cut out your nest base.

Draw a circle onto your cardboard to use as the base of the bird’s nest. If you have an older preschooler, you could have them draw the circle for you. But it’s important to make sure this is cut to the right shape and size for the craft.

Aim for about 4-6 inches in diameter. Since cardboard is difficult to cut, hold off on having your child help with the cutting and just cut it out yourself. They’ll get some scissors practice later.

3. Build the nest.

Now, it’s time for your preschooler to work on their fine motor skills! Have your child spread glue around the edges of the nest. They can work with a small section at a time if that’s easier. Now have them glue down any of the materials you gathered earlier for your nest.

If you want your child to strengthen their fine motor skills, it’s important to step back here and let them do what they can on their own. As they squeeze the glue bottle and pick up and paste down each item, they’ll be strengthening their pincer grasp. When they’re done, set the nest aside to dry.

4. Cut out the eggs.

Draw some egg-shaped ovals onto a piece of blue construction paper. If you’re confident in your little ones ability to do this, they can give it a try too. Plan on making at least 10 eggs. You can even number the eggs 1-10 to help reinforce number recognition.

If your preschooler has been working on using scissors for awhile, let them cut out the eggs. Always supervise your preschooler when using scissors and consider using safety scissors while they are first learning. If you have a 3 year old that isn’t as skilled with using scissors yet, you may want to cut the eggs out yourself. 

5. Count, add, subtract, and play!

This is a great craft because once it’s done, you can play with it or work on early math skills with your preschooler. Use the eggs to practice counting, adding, or subtracting. It’s never too early to start teaching your child about numbers. Here are some ideas to try:

• Number identification. Have your child find and identify each number 1-10, adding each egg to the nest as they go.
• Counting. Add a few eggs to the nest and ask your child to count how many eggs there are. Try with different amounts of eggs as a game.
• Adding and subtracting. If you have a 4 or 5 year old, you can start talking about addition and subtraction. For example, put one egg in the nest and one egg outside of the nest, and ask them how many eggs there are total to teach them that 1+1=2.
• Imaginative play. If your preschooler has any bird stuffed animals or toys, they now have a new home. Have some fun playing pretend together!

Even if the weather hasn’t warmed up yet, we hope you enjoyed this fun and easy spring craft for preschoolers! Spring will be here before you know it.