- 1). Research the types of birds native to your area. This will help you to determine the size of the doorway on the birdhouse. Although the birdhouse is meant to be ornamental, having the correct size door will allow your child to decide if he wants to place the birdhouse outside. If the birdhouse remains inside as a decoration, you can get an ornamental bird to place in the door of the birdhouse if you like.
- 2). Draw the door opening on one side of the oatmeal canister approximately two-thirds of the way down the canister. The shape of the door opening is typically a circle, but the child can choose to do an arch instead. For ornamental birdhouses, the details do not need to be as specific as with actual birdhouses.
- 3). Use the scissors to poke a small hole on either side of the top of the oatmeal canister, and one directly below where you plan to cut the door. You will be using a pencil as the perch, so be sure not to make the hole larger than the width of your pencil. This step should be done by the parents or adult supervisor.
- 4). Use the scissors again to cut along the lines for the door and discard the piece of cardboard.
- 5). Paint the entire oatmeal canister white to cover up the print that is already on the canister. Depending on the color of the original canister and the thickness of the white paint, you may need two coats of paint.
- 6). After the white paint is completely dry, use the colored paint to decorate the birdhouse. Kids Korner recommends using non-toxic paint, particularly if you plan to place the birdhouse outside. Michaels craft stores carry a variety of non-toxic kids paints.
- 7). Pull off the eraser from the old pencil and stick the pencil into the hole directly below the door. This will be the perch for the birdhouse.
- 8). Cut a piece of yarn or twine approximately 12 inches long.
- 9). Loop one end of the string into each hole at the top of the oatmeal canister and secure the yarn by knotting it. This may be a task for the parent or adult supervisor if the child is not able to tie knots yet.