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Feathers for Lunch Story-related Math Pack for Preschoolers

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Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert is the story of an indoor cat who sneaks out the door and tries to hunt different birds for lunch, but the bell on his collar lets the birds know he’s coming, so he cannot catch any and ends up with just feathers for lunch.

Every storybook allows you to create activities for most, if not all, domains, and Math is no different.  That is why I made a FREE 29-page pack for Feathers for Lunch Story-related Math Pack with ten different activity sets.  You can download it at the end of this post.

Feathers for Lunch Math Pack

Feathers for Lunch features several American bird species with bright colors and clear shapes, offering a great opportunity to introduce early math concepts like counting, sorting, shapes, and measurement. 

This pack will help preschoolers develop different important skills such as:

• Creative and Critical Thinking
• Problem-solving
• Communication
• Sizes and Shapes Recognition
• One-to-One Correspondence
• Addition
• Spatial Awareness

There are many math activities you can do using this storybook.  Here are a few ideas you can use with your preschoolers in your classroom or at home for fun, educational math activities related to this beautiful story.

Measurement & Data

The images in the Feathers for Lunch story show the real-world size of each bird, providing a perfect opportunity for preschoolers to compare each bird’s dimensions.

Photocopy each bird directly from the book.  Have the children measure each bird’s length using connecting cubes, and use the graph provided in the pack to represent the number of cubes used for each bird by coloring one square above each bird.

Visual Discrimination

Preschoolers must develop visual discrimination to identify and recognize similarities and differences in size, shape, letters, numbers, colors, and position. This essential skill will help them complete everyday activities.

This pack contains two size discrimination activities titled: Order by Size and Which Is Different?

Order by Size

Invite them to use the bird picture cards provided to arrange the birds from shortest to longest and vice versa, using the information provided on the graph.

Use the pictures provided for the tally graph and the information on the Measurement and Data Graph, and invite the children to organize the pictures into three piles labeled Small, Medium, and Large.

Which is Different?

This pack comes with three pages with four strips each. You can either keep the sheet together or divide the strips.

Have the children use a marker to draw a circle around the different picture in each strip.

Sort Birds by Their House Color        

This activity will help preschoolers build their sorting and data representation skills.  To do the activity:

• Cut out the bird cards.
• Have children sort the birds by color into their house mats.
• Then trace the numeral representing the number of birds in each mat inside the square on the right.
• Then have them observe the numbers or count birds to find out which color has fewer, which color has the most, and which colors have the same amount.

Tally Graphing

Graphing can help preschoolers develop skills in various ways, including counting, visual organization, classification, one-to-one correspondence, logical thinking, problem-solving, and data analysis.

This pack includes one sheet with pictures of the birds in the story.  Place them on the board or chart paper, and use them to have the children vote using different concepts, for example: 

• Which bird do they like best?
• Which of the birds is prettier?
• Which is smaller?
• Which is bigger?
• Which one has the prettier song?
• Which birds seem to have a similar size?

Graph their answers using tally marks, and discuss the results.

Patterns

Working with patterns is another important mathematical activity that helps preschoolers recognize sequences and build the foundation for learning advanced operations like geometry and algebra in the future. 

This pack comes with two pattern activities, which are:

• Complete the Pattern:  includes one sheet with six different patterns to complete.

• Copy the Pattern: includes two sheets with three strips each, with different patterns to copy.

Children can also use the pattern tiles to create their own patterns.

Mini Puzzles

Puzzles benefit preschoolers because they help children develop multiple skills, such as fine motor skills, spatial awareness, problem-solving, logical thinking, concentration, visual perception, self-esteem, and social skills.

This pack includes three sheets with four mini puzzles each, one for each animal in the story. Print the sheets on white cardstock, cut them along the dotted lines, and laminate them for durability. You can place them together in a small basket for children to work on or divide them. Use your judgment according to your children’s developmental stages. 

Bird Weight & Length Comparisons

If your children are developmentally ready, use the opportunity to introduce early measurement and data concepts using the information provided below.

• Length Ordering: Ask the children to line up the bird pictures side by side from shortest to longest, and vice versa, according to the measurements on the graph.

• Weight Balance: Ask the children to line up the bird pictures side by side from heaviest to lightest, and vice versa, according to the measurements on the graph. 

Other Ideas

You don’t have to limit yourself to using only these printables.  You can also do many other activities related to this story.  Some other activities I can suggest are:

• Have the children use mini plastic animals, like those in the story, to count and take away, make sets, and divide them by size, color, and pattern.

• Cut out paper birds and write numbers on them.  Have preschoolers choose a bird, identify the number written on it, place it on the table, count out the same amount of small manipulatives, and place them on top of the paper bird.

• Teach ordinal numbers (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, etc.).  As you read the book a first or second time, do a recap of the order of the types of birds in the order of appearance, without reading the story. 

• Play a variation of known games such as “Duck, Duck, Goose”, but turn it into “Bird, Bird, Cat”: Children sit in a circle. One child walks around tapping heads and saying “bird,” then taps someone to be the “cat”. The cat must get up and chase the tagger around the circle to catch him/her before the tagger gets to the empty spot.

Related Books

Add related books to your library and to different centers to give children a comprehensive learning experience and variety.  Below are some I like.

You can find these books at your local library, used bookstore, or on Amazon. To add them to your collection, you can use my affiliate links embedded in the titles for immediate access.

• The Five Birds and the Cat Queen by Jeff Cortazo.  This beautifully illustrated picture book features 29 imaginative full-color illustrations, is written in 4-line rhymes, and includes an original musical score composed by the author and performed by a professional wind quintet.

• Sammy and the Lost Cat by V. Moua.  It is the story of a little bird who sees a flyer for a lost cat while walking along the sidewalk and wants to find the cat.

• The Cat and the Bird by Geraldine Elschner.  This whimsical tale follows a cat and a bird and explores themes of freedom and friendship, unfolding in a series of playful, brilliantly colored illustrations based on the work of artist Paul Klee. 

• Max and Bird by Ed Vere.  This story is full of playful humor, punchy text, and illustrations that command attention.

• The Cat with the Bird Nest Hat by B N Pulido is a whimsical tale of shy wishes, gentle magic, and finding your place in the world.

• Cat and Bird by Jo Empson.  A beautifully illustrated story that features two opposing characters who observe each other’s strengths as they face different challenges on a journey together. By mimicking the other, they learn that two is better than one.

Pin It For Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it, pin this to your Math board on Pinterest for later.

You can use this pack alone or combine it with the activities I offer in the Feathers for Lunch Literacy Pack, which is also free, to tie these domains together for a complete educational process. They intermingle and complement each other.

To download the Feathers for Lunch Math Pack, click on the link below and type your email.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,

P.S. Let me know if these activities work for you. If you want an article or printable on how to make something specific, please let me know, and I will do my best to create it for you.

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