We were joined this week by 10 Hen’s eggs. They were delivered by Farmer Jenny who asked the children to take special care of her eggs and to let her know when they hatch. She gave us all special instructions on how to care for her chicks; Keep them warm, keep their pen clean, keep their water bottle full of fresh water and their food tray full of clean food. The eggs were numbered 1-10 and the children observed the eggs. Would the smallest eggs hatch first as the chicks ran out of room? Would the big eggs hatch first? Each child chose a numbered egg and explained their reasoning behind their choice. Many of the children chose to write their name on a slip of paper and then fix it under the numeral corresponding to their egg. This made up a new display on our survey board!
By Wednesday, all the eggs had hatched and the Nursery had 10 new members. The children are fascinated by the chicks antics. Quietly and patiently the children watched as the chicks hopped around each other, dosed peacefully and ate and drank to their hearts content. We have been careful to follow Farmer Jenny’s instructions by giving the chicks all they need to live and be happy. Next week, the chicks will be strong enough for us handle and to have little walk around the Nursery reading room!
As always, the Thornton Heath Children were the busiest in London with chick paintings, collages and playdough figures being made…some of which became very realistic Minion replicas!
Outside, things got muddier and muddier in the digging area as the damp weather continued, but with the right equipment the children continued rain and shine!
Our natural materials collection has expanded thanks to a bag of beautiful white marble pebbles and some logs donated by one of our community’s families. This means more creating, more counting, sorting, knocking down…and rebuilding!
Friday saw St Patrick’s Day. The children learnt that St Patrick was a teacher who travelled to Ireland to teach the people. He taught people to live peacefully and love one another…there is even a story that he chased away all the snakes from Ireland…but the children were not sure if this was true or not! Jackie, who was born in Ireland, told the children the legend of the Leprechauns and their pots of gold, this led to a treasure hunt created and undertaken by the children using pebbles and silver foil. Happy St Patricks day!
