Not just chickens hatch from eggs.  This is a riddle book of oviparous animals.

Materials

• Plastic Easter eggs
• Oviparous animal pictures to sort/ not oviparous/chicken, alligator, turtle, mosquito, frog, penguin, lizard, snake
• Life cycle cards of the above animals
• A box big enough for a child to hide inside
• Several shirt boxes or low open boxes
• Bag of chicken corn or bird seed

Vocabulary

• Oviparous (animals that hatch from eggs)
• Oval (the shape that looks like an egg)

Before reading the Story

            Play a shape game.  Introduce the oval shape to the children.

Mathematics/Geometry & Spatial Sense; begins to recognize, describe, compare, and name common shapes, their parts, and attributes.

Reading the Story

            Read this like a riddle book and let the children see if they can guess what each creature is before you turn the page.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

After Reading the Story

            Put an oviparous animal picture inside enough plastic eggs that everyone may pick one out of a basket.  The children pick an egg, try to guess what is inside their egg and then open it up and see and name what they have.

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.

Discovery

            Color and contact the life cycle cards and ask the children to try to put them into their correct orders of egg-adult. If you can not make seperated cards, put the pictures out for the children to discuss and compare. Have them note that ALL the oviparous animals hatched from an egg and then grew.

Mathematics/Patterns & Measurement; shows increasing abilities to match, sort, put in a series, and regroup objects according to one or two attributes such as shape or size. AND Mathematics/Number & Operations; begins to associate number concepts, vocabulary, quantities, and written numerals in meaningful ways. AND Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Music and Movement

            Bring in a box that is large enough for a child to scrunch inside.  Say the following poem, Peck, Peck, Peck.  Before the child gets into the box, ask them what kind of oviparous animal they are going to be.   Fill in the blank as you recite for each child.  Encourage them to make the animal sound as they come out of their shell.

Peck, peck, peck

On the warm hard egg

Out come a head, out comes a leg

How can a _________ that’s not been about

Discover the secret of how to get out?

(Now ask the child what kind of an oviparous animal they are, or have the child make the animal sound as they come out and see if the other children can guess.)

Language Development/Listening & Understanding; demonstrates increasing ability to attend to and understand conversations, stories, songs, and poems. AND Approaches to Learning/Initiative & Curiosity; chooses to participate in an increasing variety of tasks and activities.

Blocks

            Add several plastic eggs to the center.  Put a small cube inside of them to make them heavier and tape it shut.  Show the children how to roll these.  Encourage them to make a ramp that they can roll their eggs down. Can the children find other objects that will roll?

Science/Scientific Skills & Methods; develops increased ability to observe and discuss common properties, differences and comparisons among objects and materials.

Art

            Fill several plastic eggs with sand and tape them smoothly shut.  Bring in several shirt boxes.  Give the child an egg and let them dip it into a bowl of paint.  Put a piece of paper in the box and the egg on top.  Let the children roll the egg about making a rolling art picture.

Creative Arts/Art; gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Library and Writing

            Give each child a large egg shape and ask them to draw an oviparous animal on it.  Cover it with another egg shape and ask the child to tell you three things they know about the animal that they drew.  Write these on the front into riddle form (What has feathers and says cluck, cluck and lives on a farm?  A Chicken) Hang the riddles up and read them during a down time to the other children.

Science/Scientific Knowledge; expands knowledge of and abilities to observe, describe, and discuss the natural world, materials, living things, and natural processes.

Sand and water

            Add chicken corn or birdseed to the table to pour and scoop.

Social & Emotional Development/Self-Control; demonstrates increasing capacity to follow rules and routines and use materials purposefully, safely, and respectfully.

Dramatic Play

            Bring in several egg cartons that have been sanitized and plastic eggs.

Math and Manipulatives

            Play an animal match game by making two sets of the picture cards.  Glue them to index cards so that the children can not see through the backs. Turn the cards face down and have the children take turns picking up two cards. If they find a match they get to keep them. Play till all the matches have been found.

Approaches to Learning/Engagement & Persistence; grows in abilities to persist in and complete a variety of tasks, activites, projects, and experiences.

Outdoor Play

Bring your easel paint outside today and use it to paint any trees that might be on your playground.

Creative Arts/Art;gains ability in using different art media and materials in a variety of ways for creative expression and representation.

Look for living creatures on your playground. Can the children name them? Do they know if it is an oviparous animal? (ants, crickets, lizard, bird, cat next door, dog on leash)

Language Development/Speaking & Communicating; uses an increasingly complex and varied spoken vocabulary.

Transitions

            Hold up a picture of an oviparous animal, or open the book and show the children a picture.  As they go off to the next activity repeat the chant with each child.

It started as an egg then it hatched and grew

Now it’s a (hold up a card and point to a child)

______ so smart because ____knew.

Social & Emotional Development/Cooperation; develops increasing abilities to give and take in interactions; to take turns in games and using materials; and to interact without being overly directive or submissive.

Resources