Bunnies and Chicks

In small group today, children were learning all about bunnies and chicks.  We have noticed that the children have been taking a keen interest in dramatic play and puzzles – our small group activity this week took these interests into consideration.  The small group activity allowed children to use their thinking skills, and vocabulary while connecting to the bunnies and chicks theme – what do we find inside the egg? 

While the activity is in progress, there may be interactions occurring between the children, their peers and the educator. Each child was given a carton of about 4 eggs, which has different objects inside. The children will be shaking and listening to the sounds that the objects make, by doing so they can make predictions as to what is inside. The objective of the activity is for the children to explore their imaginations and use their 5 senses.

As the children were shaking the eggs the educator would ask them questions such as; “What kind of sound do you hear?” or “What do you think is inside?” By asking these questions the educator is able to stimulate the children’s cognitive skills. They are able to make connections to everyday events or come up with their own conclusions. For example; during the activity a child was cracking the egg rather than squeezing the egg open. This shows that the child was able to bring his real life experiences into his play.   The children are able to practice using descriptive language, as they explain, explore and extend their thoughts.

For some of the children, the task of opening the eggs were fairly hard. However, they progress with the challenge, using trial and error they were then able to figure out how to open the egg. The children had a positive attitude towards their learning. Showing persistence, engagement and curiosity they engage the educator and peers in the activity in a positive way.

Michelle Le - Sheridan College ECE student