Animal Eggs!

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 The Ladybugs are always so curious about animals. Last Friday, I asked the Ladybugs if they knew which animals lay eggs and which animals don’t lay eggs. A child exclaimed, “BIRDS LAY EGGS!”. but when I asked them if spiders lay eggs they were unsure. To further explore this topic, we had a discussion about six different animal groups and focused on if those animals lay eggs or do not lay eggs. This is what we discovered:
 
Most mammals (humans, dogs, whales) do not lay eggs
Most reptiles (turtles, snakes, crocodiles) do lay eggs
Most amphibians (frogs, salamanders, toads) do lay eggs
Most fish (salmon, seahorses, tuna) do lay eggs
Most arthropods (insects, spiders, crabs) do lay eggs
All birds (eagles, ostriches, penguins) do lay eggs 

After our discussion, I informed the Ladybugs that we were going to be making animal eggs out of cornstarch, baking soda and water! Each child chose an animal toy that they would be hiding inside their egg. Three children chose sea turtles (reptiles), two children chose dinosaurs (reptiles), one child chose a spider (arthropod), and one child chose an ostrich (bird). The Ladybugs combined each ingredient in a bowl and mixed them together with a stick. I also gave them an option to add green or yellow food colouring to their eggs. 

One child said, "Mine is too watery!", so they added more cornstarch to their bowl.
Another child said, "Mine is stuck to the bottom! I need more water!".
A third child said, "This looks like slime!". 
A fourth child said, "Mine looks like rotten eggs!" 

Once the Ladybugs were satisfied with their mixture, they placed their animal toy in the muffin mold and poured, scooped and pressed their mixture into it. When all of their eggs were pressed into the muffin mold, I explained that they needed to rest in the freezer for a couple days before we could “hatch” them.

On Tuesday, we retrieved the eggs from the freezer and went outside for the hatching event. I brought out cups, sticks, water and vinegar for the children to experiment with different hatching techniques. All of the children asked for a cup to hatch their eggs.

One child said, "I want water and vinegar in my cup!". 
Another child said, "I want just water in my cup."
A third child asked, "Can I add mud to my cup?"
When the vinegar and the egg started fizzing, a fourth child exclaimed, "LOOK AT THIS!"   

Once all of the children hatched their eggs, some decided to play with the toy animals in the forest, while others decided to make magic mud potions in their cups. This experience gave the children the freedom to experiment and explore a variety of sensory elements! 

​- Vita