I found a snail in my back yard and decided to bring it in to the classroom and see what the children would do. He was placed on our "Wonder Table" where the children were free to explore. They were very excited about this little creature!
Throughout the day, the children would come to the table to take a look!
It was very exciting to watch the children draw pictures of the snail! One student sounded out snail on her page "S~I~L" all on her own. Another student asked for help spelling his name, " Can you help me write my name on my snail picture Miss? " There were even snail puppets being made for some dramatic play!
Some of the children were wondering:
- What we should name him?
- What do snails like to eat?
- Where does he live?
- Does he sleep?
We took a vote for the name and Turbo won!!
After a trip to the library, we read some books about snails and here is what we learned:
1) Snails like dark places.
2) Snails like to eat plants, fruits and vegetables.
The children had fun breaking the grapes in half to feed Turbo.
The children also loved collecting things outside for TURBO to eat!
3) Snails love to be outside.
We knew the weekend was coming and it was a good time to release Turbo back into the "wild" as one child said.
We looked for a safe spot to let him go. The children were concerned about his safety in the school yard with so many children around at recess.
They said their good byes and took one last good look.
They brought him flowers and built him a pine cone bridge to help him make his escape into the wilderness! On our walk back to class, one student said " I'm really going to miss Turbo, he was fun!"
Sounds like fun but what have the children learned from this experience?
Personal
and Social Development
2. demonstrate an ability to use
problem-solving skills in a variety of social contexts;
Language
1.
communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a
variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts;
2.
demonstrate understanding and critical awareness of a variety of
written materials that are read by and with the team;
Science
and Technology
1.
demonstrate an awareness of the natural and built environment through
hands-on investigations, observations, questions, and representations
of their
findings;
3.
demonstrate an understanding of the natural world and the need to
care for and respect the environment;
