Hi Everyone
We have to thank anonymous
parents’ who sponsored the 2013 living egg experience for the setting, without
their support we wouldn’t have been able to afford the scheme this year.
At the end of February
the eggs arrived. How eagerly the
children kept watch! Over the next few
days one by one nearly all the eggs hatched.
We had 12 baby chicks this year in total. 7 girls (hens) and 5 boys (cockerels)....we
could tell because girls were brown and boys were yellow.
Only one of the chicks
hatched out during the daytime this year.
All the children present eagerly kept watch as little by little the baby
chick chipped its way out of its shell and fell out onto the tray in the
incubator.
It’s truly miraculous
that such a scruffy, scrawny thing becomes a fluffy chick an hour later. Most of the children looked on in awe with
lots of “it’s so cute” each time we transferred a chick from the incubator into
the brooder
We often spotted
children watching the chicks through the viewing window, commenting on what the
chicks were doing. In the first day or
two, the chicks were often sleepy...and bundled together like a heap of cotton
wool balls, with legs and wings stuck out here there and everywhere. After a day or two, they were much more
active and inquisitive and made us laugh at some of their antics.
It’s amazing how quickly
chicks grow! Two days and we could see
some of their flight feathers on their wings start to develop. The chicks became much more robust and just a
few days after they were born the children were able to hold them in their
hands.
What a surprise the
children had when the chicks launched themselves in their first attempts to fly
on Day 6. How disgusted we were at the
mess they soon made of their bedding...we had to clean them out every day!
Although the weather was
VERY COLD this year, we did take the chicks outside to enjoy some winter
sunshine. The children enjoyed using our
big blocks to make a pen for them. We
had lots of giggles when the chicks started walking through the hollow blocks
and hopping over the top and needed catching and returning.
The “living egg”
experience is such an amazing starting point for children’s learning.
-
talk about other animals
that start life in an egg...insects; dinosaurs; lizards; snakes and more.
-
egg math – matching pairs;
patterned eggs; number lines; sizing etc
-
Easter
PSE: The children showed their interest in the items that
arrived.
PSE: The children were
polite and well –behaved, responding to adults asking them to stand back whilst
they watched.
CL: The children are
learning new words.
CL: The children asked lots
of questions
L: – ascribe meaning to the
marks that they see – this time the sign saying “DO NOT TOUCH”
Math The children counted
the eggs in the incubator – 17 eggs in total
UW: - The children had to wait
patiently for the eggs to hatch
UW: The children learnt
about an incubator
• UW: The children learnt
about other animals that came out of eggs, including: snakes; lizards;
crocodiles; swans; owls; ducks; spiders; butterflies; snails; fish etc. They drew
an animal in an egg
PSE: the children didn’t touch the controls of the incubator.
They were careful not to knock it or touch. They showed awareness of the rules
and followed them.
• CL: The children recalled
what was said the day before in their language use.
• CL The children were quiet
for a period whilst we all listened to see if we could hear chicks peeping
inside their shells.
• LL: We tried to think of
other words that rhymed with chick: tick: Mick: Dick: lick: flick. We thought
of some alliteration strings – Charlie’s Chicks Cheep Cheerily
• Math: The children
estimated the number of chicks that might hatch overnight
• UW: Showing interest in
the world in which we live.
• EAD: The children painted
pictures of what they thought that their chicks might look like
Even parents snuck into
the setting to sneak a peak....one or two commenting that they hadn’t ever seen
a chick hatch from an egg either.
It is a truly amazing
opportunity for children to partake in – thank you everyone for making it achievable
once again this year.
PS – The 2013 chicks
went home to Michele’s farm. As they grew up, Michele took pictures to show the
children. There are 9 little red hens
(There were 10, but one may have been caught by a fox!)
The pullets (young hens) laid their first small
eggs at the end of June.
Michele
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Today we were invited to decorate the Christmas tree outside Howard's shop. We brought along some handmade decorations. Everyone took turns to hang some on the tree. Howard went up very high and decorated the very tall branches.
