Is it an oviparous animal or viviparous animal? Ask your child they know! The past few weeks the PreK has been hatching chicks, collecting frog and toad eggs, and studying insects. We have been encouraging the children to question which is a natural way to nourish their curious minds. In student-centered learning students discover for themselves by hypothesizing, opening their minds to possibilities, and observing and analyzing outcomes.

We received our chicken eggs one cold dreary day (Thank you David and Natalie for the incubator and adopting the chickens when they get bigger!). They were gently placed in the incubator. The children hypothesized how long it would take for the chickens to hatch. There were a range of guesses from one day to one hundred days. In the end, it took twenty one days (twenty two for some). During that time we candled the eggs daily to check how big the chicks were getting. in the beginning we say a small mass with a large black eye. As time went on we started seeing beaks and feet. Finally the day arrived and we saw a tiny hole being made in one egg. The next morning there were TWO chicks. In the end we hatched 9 adorable chicks. Four buff orpingtons, one Americana, and four Black laced wyandottes. Our chicks are growing daily!

There has also been an interest in insects and arachnids and frogs and toads. We found frog and toad eggs at the BCD pond and collected them. We watched them hatch and turn into tadpoles. We have been venturing to the pond each day to get them fresh water. We recently received a gift of nets from Grace’s family (Thank You!!) and with them have gone out trying to catch frogs and insects. The students have also been interested in insects and arachnids. We have learned that spiders have eight legs while insects have six, spiders have two body parts and insects three, these are just a few examples. PreK has even created their own insects out of things we have found in nature! The class has also worked with filling out venn diagrams showing the similarities and differences of the living things we are studying.

The PreK is alive with creatures to explore!

 

Love,

Vicky and Kate

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