Nature’s Life Cycle Teaches Kids Science, Math, Literacy and Vocabulary

All living things have a life cycle. The life cycle are the stages they go through in their lifetime. Logos kids have learned about the life cycles of frogs, butterflies and turkeys. When preschoolers learn about the life cycle, they connect to nature and learn how things change.

In addition to science, did you know that learning about animal life cycles can also improve your preschooler’s math, reading and ability to express herself?

The life cycle offers a perfect opportunity to practice and learn two math skills: counting and sequencing. Sequencing is arranging things in a particular order, which is an essential building block concept for preschoolers.

A natural complement to learning about the life cycle is reading fun stories like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We applied the concepts of sequencing to reading by differentiating beginning, middle and end. Reading also helped our kids acquire rich vocabulary words such as chrysalis and metamorphosis.

Spotlight: Turkey Eggs

During the month of May, Logos kids had the opportunity to observe the turkey life cycle over the course of four weeks. A Logos parent brought an incubator with seven turkey eggs. The incubator stayed in a classroom so the children could observe it daily. After 28 days, the turkey chicks hatched! A few kids got to witness the tiny turkey babies literally break out of their eggs. All the children were excited to see how the turkey eggs became turkey babies.

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Four Lessons from the Turkey Life Cycle 

How to Care for the Eggs

The children learned that it was essential to care for the eggs at this stage of the life cycle.

The incubator kept the eggs warm. But the kids helped to turn the eggs a few times per day just as the mother turkey would. They learned the importance of being gentle, making sure there was water in the incubator to keep the humidity at a certain level and what an incubator does.

The kids took the eggs out a few times during the cycle to see how the turkeys were developing. They took the eggs into a dark room and shined a flashlight under them to see what was happening inside. The kids saw a heart beating one time, then heard the chicks pecking at the egg at a later time.

Once the eggs hatched the children had an opportunity to care for the turkey babies by feeding and watering them.

Counting Backward and Forward

Counting started by learning how many stages are in the turkey life cycle. We discussed counting how many days it would take the eggs to hatch. We did this in two ways: one was counting down the days starting with 28 days, the other was counting the number of days from 1 to 28.

Sequencing

The children discussed the life cycles of butterflies, frogs and turkeys. They learned what stage came first, second, third and so on. This helped them understand life cycles have an order and process. The sequencing lessons also allowed the class to compare similarities and differences between different life cycles.

Learn about the first six stages of the turkey life cycle in this slideshow.

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The last stage the children got to see was the baby turkeys starting to flap their wings and hop. See them in action!

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Similarities and Differences

The children were able to compare their experience with the turkey eggs to what they previously learned about frogs and butterflies. They saw that the similarity between butterflies, frogs and turkeys is that they all start as eggs. The difference? Butterflies and frogs first feed on the egg but turkey chicks do not.

The children also applied similarities and differences to the attributes of the turkey chicks. They discussed whether they all had the same number of legs (they did), if they were the same color (there was some variation) and whether some were smaller or larger than others (they were).

Want to Learn More About Life Cycles?

Learning about the natural life cycle is a wonderful thing to do during this time of the year. Here are 3 things you can do with your child at home:

1. Watch videos or read books together learn about the life cycles. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic book to read and is available at most libraries. You can also check out this video to see how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Or watch this video to learn about the frog life cycle.
2. Do simple life cycle crafts and projects together. You can find multiple DIY life cycle ideas and projects here.
3. Make a real life connection by planting beans and watching them grow or making a butterfly garden.

The post Nature’s Life Cycle Teaches Kids More Than Just Science first appeared on Logos Academy.

This special guest, Snowflake Sunshine Shoelace III, is a toad. Snowflake has also become a celebrity. At least to the 30 preschoolers at Logos.

With the help of his friend and Logos science teacher, “Miss Colleen”, Snowflake has done three important things for these little boys and girls:

1. He made biology real to them.
2. He helped them think critically while having fun.
3. Perhaps most importantly, he awakened their curiosity.

Making Science Come Alive

Miss Colleen showed Logos’ young scientists how to observe. Preschoolers can observe similarities and differences between toads and frogs. For example, both have ears which are flat “like trampolines”, something most of the kids could relate to. But toads can crawl, while frogs can’t. Toads jump, but frogs jump further. The kids learned these and other fun facts about frogs and toads.

To see if Snowflake would move, the children were encouraged to be patient and quiet (a challenge for them!). “He becomes more real if he moves,” Miss Colleen explains. When Snowflake felt comfortable enough to explore, the children saw him hop and eat mealworms. They discussed how he moved and behaved when he was frightened or relaxed.

Thinking Critically, Connecting Dots

Hopping and eating opened up so much fun conversation for the kids! If Snowflake eats, does he have to wash his hands? Wait! Snowflake doesn’t have hands! So does he need to wash his tongue? Seeing Snowflake’s daily life and talking about it helped the children think about his needs and compare them to what they do.

The children learned how Snowflake lives and constructed toad houses. They applied their observations of Snowflake’s habits and behavior to decide what kind of houses to build. They took their job seriously, carefully considered what Snowflake would need in an appropriate home. One 4-year old even insisted he bring the toad house back to school in case “Snowflake needed it”.

Feeling connected to Snowflake also engaged the children with the classic short story, Frog and Toad Are Friends, which they read in another class. The friendship between Frog and Toad highlights life-examples, feelings and interpersonal connections. The kids surprised Miss Colleen and the other teachers by how much they took to the story.

Awakening Curiosity

After science, it’s time for recess. One Thursday after the kids watched Snowflake to see if he would eat, little Joe approached Miss Colleen on the playground.““Miss Colleen,” he said, “I have a few more questions about the toad.” “It was loud in there before. I wonder if Snowflake is hungry now.”  So Miss Colleen took Joe back in the building to find out. Miss Colleen believes it’s important to follow a child’s conversation where it leads because

“You know they’re learning if they are still digesting after you’ve stopped teaching.”

Sparking curiosity is perhaps the most important thing Snowflake gave the little scientists at Logos. They told their parents about him at home, wondered if he was ok after a recent wind storm and look at their own worlds a little differently now.

Logos loves cultivating curiosity because it is a thread that can lead to life changing places when pulled correctly. One of the world’s greatest scientists said it this way:

“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.”  – Albert Einstein

Get to Know Miss Colleen and Snowflake

Snowflake found Miss Colleen on a cold February night after several unseasonably warm days. Earlier that day she and the Logos kids had been wondering what happens to amphibians who hibernate when weather changes drastically. They noted that frogs and toads cannot quickly switch back and forth into heat-saver mode.

In this respect, Snowflake has proven to be a toad of exquisite timing. He hopped into Miss Colleen’s life as she held the door open to a school science fair.  Since then he has settled nicely in a warm 10 gallon aquarium while he awaits more toad-friendly weather.

Snowflake is an American Toad who likes to sing back to the oven timer and YouTube videos of other toads singing. He was named by kindergartners in one of Miss Colleen’s after school science programs.

Miss Colleen, aka Colleen Danner,  is an architect by training but a teacher at heart. Originally from Michigan, she taught ice skating in college. Miss Colleen fell into science because of her eldest son, who is autistic. Helping him explore and navigate the world made her his teacher by default. And science was something he loved. Miss Colleen later worked as an aide to Karleen Boyle, a marine biologist who led an afterschool science program for many years and now runs The Science Place.

Miss Colleen says the special experience with her son helps her to think “sideways”. This ability to flow with the direction of a child’s thinking and mood is invaluable in teaching preschoolers. Miss Colleen loves to experiment and learn, make 2 and 3-D art  from everyday objects, and make chalk art on her driveway with her own kids. She likes working at Logos “because it’s so unique”.

Make Science Come Alive Where You Are

Kids learn when they’re having fun and things become real to them. Would you like to bring science to life in your home? Check out these science tips for busy parents. Miss Colleen also suggests seven ways you can engage your kids in science:

1. Ask them questions, then value their answers.
2. Explore and wonder together.
3. Congratulate curiosity.
4. Color happily outside the lines.
5. Don’t be afraid to spill the glue when doing projects.
6. Remember to have fun!
7. If something can’t be fun, find a way to make it satisfying.

Do you have any tips or great experiences for bringing science to life? We’d love to hear them!

The post How a Tiny Guest Is Making Science Come Alive in Preschool first appeared on Logos Academy.