# No Frills Easy Birdhouse
> Turn an empty milk carton and a bath-tissue roll into a foil-wrapped birdhouse with an entrance hole and a little bench, then hang it outside and watch for visiting birds.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/no-frills-easy-birdhouse/
- Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: low
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: fine-motor, recycling, creativity, nature-observation, bird-identification
- Cautions: dairy, ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Empty milk carton (household)
- 1 piece Empty bath-tissue roll (household)
- Aluminium foil (household)
- 1 piece Scissors (household)
- 1 piece Pencil (household)
- Thread (household)
- Dried leaves (optional) (household)
- Small stones (optional) (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of aluminium foil: Colored wrappers (The author says any material works.)
- Instead of aluminium foil: Color the entire carton (From the author.)
- Instead of aluminium foil: Decorate with stickers (From the author.)

## Safety
- Adult punches out the holes. Cutting through a milk carton with scissors takes force and the blades can slip.
- Rinse and dry the milk carton well before crafting to remove milk residue, especially if a child has a dairy allergy.
- Small stones used to weigh down the house are a choking hazard. Supervise young children closely.
- An adult hangs the finished birdhouse outside.

## Before you start
- Rinse and dry an empty milk carton for each child.
- Save an empty bath-tissue roll for each child.

## Steps
1. Draw 2 circles on the carton, one below the other. The top circle is the birdhouse entrance.
2. For the bottom circle, trace around the outside of the tissue roll. This will hold the bench.
3. Adult: punch out both circles.
4. Wrap the tissue roll in foil.
5. Push the roll into the bottom hole to make a bench for the birds to sing on.
6. Cover the rest of the carton with foil.
7. Punch through the foil over the top hole to open up the entrance.
8. Thread a line through the top of the carton for hanging.
9. Fill the house with dried leaves and a few stones to make a soft bed and weigh it down.
10. Hang it outside and watch to see who moves in.

## Tips
- Instead of buying birdhouses and spending $30-$50, we re-used and re-purposed home goods to make a one of a kind home.
- Help your little helper trace around the outside of the tissue roll so the bench fits snugly in its hole.
- Remember to punch out the foil to open up the entrance.
- The stones weigh the house down so it doesn't fly around in the breeze.
- Let her imagination roll! Foil is just one choice. Color wrappers, markers or stickers all work.
- Wondering which birds will visit turns into bird watching. Is it a Cardinal, Robin, Chickadee, Blue Jay or a little sparrow? She now knows many different species.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

Here I show how to build a no frills easy birdhouse to home.Thanks to the storm that rolled through our area, "Fixing the damage" is now a big priority and talk in every house. While the adults talk about renovations and rebuilding, my little girl sprung a question. **Big S:** Where do the birds go mom? Don’t they need to fix their homes too? That was it, birdhouse it is! We decided to build a few “bird homes” and help the birds with their relocation. Instead of buying birdhouses and spending $30-$50 we decided to re-use/re- purpose home goods to make a one of a kind home.

1. A milk carton
2. Empty bath-tissue roll
3. Aluminium foil
4. Scissors
5. Pencil
6. Thread

Ask your little helper to make 2 circles , one below the other, on the carton. The first circle will be the bird house entrance and the second circle ( help her to trace on the outside of the tissue roll) will be for the bench. Punch out the circles. Wrap the roll in the foil and insert it to the second hole . It will be the bench for them to sing on ! Cover the rest of the carton with the foil. Remember to punch out the foil to make the entrance . I used foil , but you can use any material color-wrappers or color the entire carton or decorate with stickers. Let her imagination roll ! Thread a line through the carton and you are all set. My girl had fun filling it up with dried leaves and some stones and make a soft bed for her little birdie to sleep! The stones also weigh them down so they don’t fly around in the breeze. She is excited to see who will enjoy the new home she built… will it be the Cardinals, Robins, Chickadee, BlueJay or the little sparrows???? Well… she now knows many different species and loves bird watching ! A little imagination and creativity makes them want to explore an endless world of knowledge !