Baby Chicks Rule

Dear Parents,

We made a list of four rules for our baby chicks. The children showed us how to be gentle by patting their own hands softly. On Monday, one chick had made a pip hole in the morning. Shortly after we arrived, another chick had made a hole. By the afternoon, one chick had mostly pecked his way out of the shell. It was the number four egg.

We continued our alphabet word list this week, adding N, O, P, and Q words. 

When we arrived Tuesday morning six wet chicks had hatched. We observed them all day as their feathers became fluffy and fluffier. A seventh chick hatched during circle when we weren’t looking! 

We read The Wolf’s Chicken Stew. The wolf had every intention of eating the chicken but the chickens won him over. You can ask the children how.

We spent Wednesday petting our baby chicks. A few children said they didn’t want to pet them, however, they all changed their minds. A couple of friends thought the chicken feet were too sharp but when we showed them how tiny and soft they were, they had less trepidation. 

By Thursday we had nine baby chicks. Numbers three, six, and eight did not hatch. Farmer Eric had instructed us to throw away the unhatched eggs. 

The children commented on the unhatched eggs: “They didn’t hatch because they didn’t need to hatch.” “Maybe they were cold.” “There’s a light that keeps them warm.” “They couldn’t be with them friends.” “They throwed them away because them wasn’t hatching.”

This week we acted out The Three Little Pigsand Henny Penny.  The first story, we had one person who wanted to be the audience, but the next day, we had four audience members. Acting out the stories causes much commotion and laughter. We used a real acorn to fall onto Henny’s head. Everyone wanted turns to hold the acorn. 

On Friday we made three little pig sculptures using gray clay, and added hay, sticks, and stones. Afterwards, we asked the children what their houses were made of; most said bricks, and a few said concrete. 

Have a sunny side up weekend,

Therese

The Three Little Pigs and The Baby Chick Eggs

Dear Parents,

We began our week reading two Three Little Pigs books. The children commented that the words were exactly alike; the illustrations however, were different. Someone noted that the wolf looked more like a real wolf in the second book. We asked if the pigs in the story were like real pigs. The children said in one book, the pigs had on clothes and were standing up on two feet making food. We noticed the wolf also was standing up on two feet cooking the second little pig at the stove. The children knew that real pigs and wolves would not behave this way. 

In preparation for our FaceTime with three real pigs we wrote a list of questions: Do real pigs ever stand on two feet? What do pigs look like when they are babies? Do pigs like being hot or cold? Do pigs really like mud? 

The next day we FaceTimed with my little brother Rique, who introduced us to his pigs Porky, Wilbur, and Bentley. They are six, five, and nine years old, and can live 30 to 35 years. Someone asked, “Do they love, love, love to be fed?” The answer was yes! Pigs will eat bark off trees, rocks, worms, grass, potato chips, bugs, mushrooms, and they eat all day long. We learned that they molt twice a year, and need sunscreen during that time so they don’t get sunburned. Pigs like to be cold and yes, they love to play in mud! Pigs cannot look up to the sky, but they can go up stairs. We also wanted to know if they can stand on two feet, like the pigs in our stories. No, they cannot.

On Wednesday, Farmer Eric came to drop (gently) our baby chick eggs. He placed twelve eggs into our incubator and explained to us the difference between instinct - something an animal already knows, and imprint - something we teach them.  He told us to turn the eggs three times a day. Some children wondered if the eggs would hatch that same day. They did not.

On Thursday we played in the big room. Children tricycled, climbed on the jungle gym, prepared elaborate meals in the kitchen, and built ships, buildings, cities, and ramps in the block area. 

Everyone got measured for the second time this year on our Mr. Bones height chart. Almost everyone has grown an inch or more.

On Friday, we read another version of the three little pigs called The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. The three little wolves' houses were very different from the three little pigs'. 

Have a calm weekend,

Therese