The Learning Umbrella

We are spreading the gifts out this year, so as not to overwhelm the little guy. This way he can enjoy them a lot more than he could if he openned them all in one big crazy whirlwind. We just exchanged presents with my mother and siblings, and Carbon got some cool stuff for his birdwatching. He got some binoculars that are supposed to be "wide angle, no need to focus", made by National Geographic. They aren't great binoculars, but they are pretty easy to use and he can see through them. He also got a kit to build a wooden birdfeeder and a pre-made bird feeder. Those are great, because yesterday the squirrels finally discovered our little bird feeder. He watched from the house, fascinated by their acrobatics, but he was not happy when they finally broke the whole thing and sent it falling to the ground. I've had to promise him that this coming weekend we'll get another feeder up in the tree.
I found a good birding book for little kids, too. It's called What's That Bird by Joseph Choinierre, and it only covers the most common birds. Because it's simplified, Carbon can find birds in it, and the information it gives about each bird is fine for him. I'm thinking I'll scan the pictures of the birds into the computer and we can start a little birding journal, and paste the pictures in when we see the bird somewhere.