Cheerio Bird Feeders & Box Tops for Education!

All ages (preschoolers, toddlers, and older kids) love making these Cheerio Bird Feeders!  What makes them even better is how they can help your local schools too!

These bird feeders are super easy to make too!  All you need are CheeriosTM and pipe cleaners!  I considered using string, but decided to use the pipe cleaners instead so our 2-year old could participate.  And it worked out great!  She was able to manipulate them while my preschoolers and older kids focused on their designs.

To make your own Cheerio Bird Feeder, simply string Cheerios onto the pipe cleaner.  Leave a little extra room at each end of the pipe cleaner so you can twist together two or more.  For our youngest, I twisted one end of the pipe cleaner around a Cheerio so the other Cheerios did not all fall off.  Once you have strung two or more pipe cleaners with Cheerios, twist the ends together to make your own design.  Just make sure the Cheerios don't fall off!

Your children can create any design they want!



Our kiddos also wanted to make Cheerio bracelets!

Then take your bird feeder outside and hang it somewhere where you can watch for birds or other animals!

We might have been dressed like pirates when we made our Cheerio Bird Feeders!

Are you wondering how this fun little Cheerio Bird Feeder can help your local school?  It's easy!  See the Box Tops for Education label across the front of the Cheerios box?

The box top label at the top of the box represents 10 cents for your school--you just clip it and send it to school with your kiddos!  And the labels that say "5 box tops" like those Cheerio boxes above--they count as 5 box tops for your school!  (The Bonus Box Tops are only at Walmart.)  It's such a simple way to give back to your community.  And if you're homeschooling, you can still use the box tops!  A lot of homeschoolers are part of umbrella schools that use the Box Tops program.  We worked with one of these schools last year, and they used the Box Tops for Education money for scholarships!  If you're not affiliated with any of these schools, you can always put the clipped box tops in a zip lock baggie and give them to one of your neighborhood friends to take to school.  As a former teacher, I can tell you that every teacher I have ever known spends their own money to help their schools and students.  Any extra money you can help bring in to the school only blesses the school and community you live in!

And, it's a great way to make shopping more fun!  My kids had a blast hunting through Walmart for their favorite box top cereals in the cereal row, and kept acting like they'd won a prize whenever they found the "5 box tops" on a cereal we like!  They also love granola bars!

But the box tops program isn't just in the cereal row!  We also found box tops labels when we got taco supplies, tortillas, other snacks, and more!

You can even find box tops labels in the yogurt, zip-lock baggies, and toilet paper sections!  Here are the Box Top foods we picked up on our last trip to Walmart:

Learn more about the Box Tops for Education program at Walmart here!

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see another fun way we used our box top goodies!!

Are you a box tops collector?  Do you send them with your own kids, or someone else's?  And have you ever made a Cheerio Bird Feeder?  I'd love to see a picture of it!!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills®. The opinions and text are all mine.

I may share at any of these parties!



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