Rio 2 Movie Night & Recycled Bird Feeder Craft for Kids

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® Pop Secret and Fox Entertainment, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia  #PopForRio2 http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

If you’re a parent, you know this universal truth: your kids love animated movies.  It’s the same in pretty much every American household, right?  When I brought Rio 2 home last Tuesday, this was my daughter’s reaction:

Think somebody is excited?  Um, yes.  Picking up our movie night supplies on an early-morning Walmart run sort of spoiled the whole planned “movie night premiere” idea.  The snuggles.  The blankets.  The popcorn.  (Okay, the popcorn wasn’t ruined at all, we totally popped up some PopSecret at 10:00 am.  I mean, it’s the perfect movie snack, right?)  Good thing I used my $1 off coupon for PopSecret at Walmart if we were going to start early, haha! (You can print a $1 off coupon, too, just click that link to grab it for yourself while supplies last!)

So we watched Rio 2 in the morning before movie night, and in fact, it worked out better as a talking point for the little earth friendly project I had planned for the day: recycled bird feeders made from toilet paper tubes.

Don’t fret for our movie night.  We still had it!  But when we watched it for the first time (of many, many times) that morning, my daughter saw that it centers around Jewel and Blu making their way to the Amazon, where they find a whole tribe of blue macaws – whose trees are being cut down for lumber.   We talked about ways that we can re-use things around the house to make new things, so that not as many trees need to be cut down.  And for today’s project, it’s also something for the birds!

Here’s what you will need to make these Earth friendly feeders with your kids:

• Empty toilet paper rolls
• Hole punch
• Craft/Utility knife
• Spatula or knife
• Yarn or twine to hang your feeder
• A few tablespoons of honey
• Birdseed
• Large bowl
• Newspaper to protect your table from stray honey

The first part of this craft is for adults only.  You’ll need to punch two holes to hang your feeder, and also cut careful strips in the tube.  Don’t cut all the way to the ends; leave the top and bottom 1/2 inch or so intact.  Then, shape your feeder by pulling the strips outward and pinching them in the middle.  This will give it a more lantern-like shape. (Note: because this step is just for looks, you can also skip shaping it, and let the kids go crazy on uncut tubes.  Just punch holes first.)

You will have feeders that look something like this:

Next is the fun part!  Using a small spatula or butterknife, spread a thin layer of honey on your tube.  (You can also use peanut butter instead.)  I let my daughter have at it, working over her placemat, and I just filled in any missing spots.  Then, it can be dipped in a big bowl of birdseed to coat it.

Look at the concentration on this girl!  Hey – focus is a good thing, at her age.

Finally, thread a bit of twine through the holes in your feeder, and tie a knot at the top.  Set them aside on a protected surface until they’re ready to go outside.  While the honey is still sticky, it has a tendency to migrate a little bit with gravity. ;)

We took them out to our trees right away!  It was nice to get a good opportunity to talk to Raya about why recycling is important, and how all kinds of living things depend on the environment.  (Even if she did get her hopes up about Blu coming to eat from our bird feeders… sorry, honey.)

Now, again, if you have kids, you know full well that by the time it was time for movie night, the kids were ready for Rio 2 again.   But it’s a really cute movie and it has all the catchy music that the first one had, so I was fine with that! We popped up some popcorn, and I did get a few snuggles, even if it wasn’t the first time watching.  This time when we watched, I pointed out that we wouldn’t need as many trees to be cut down, if we re-use or recycle things made from paper and cardboard.  I love when kids’ movies have socially responsible messages like Rio 2.

Do you talk to your kids about recycling and protecting the environment? What are some ways you’ve taught them to preserve our resources – like the Macaws’ rainforests?