Adding natural elements to a make-believe bird’s nest makes it all the more special – both as a project and to play with! We used air-dry clay to shape our nest, but if you really want to be authentic, try using mud after a rainy day, or make mud by mixing dirt and water at home. Just be sure to place a piece of poster board under your creation to contain the mess!

To start, I helped Travis shape clay into a nest shape, and then we pressed on finds from a recent nature walk – pine needles, grasses, and leaves – for a realistic look.

Travis loved selecting the items to use!

As a finishing touch, we made clay eggs. Travis enjoyed rolling the clay between his palms to make egg shapes, but then also loved smooshing them, so I ultimately shaped the final eggs we used!

I thought it would be fun to speckle the eggs blue, but the mechanics of this were a bit advanced for Travis. Instead, he smeared blue paint on some while I speckled a few others, and then rolled them between my hands for a more realistic look.

Once everything dried, he loved playing with a clay bird inside the nest!

We drew a tree on our poster board base to give his playtime a background as well.

Overall, a very fun way to use our clay!