The Circle of Life
In 1994 the Lion King was released, and my children became avid fans. They probably watched the movie a dozen times, and never tired of the script, music or characters. During my own childhood, Bambi was one of my favorite movies. Interesting that both Disney blockbusters have similar themes; the circle of life!
In just a few short weeks, our eggs and chicks will arrive from a farm in Maryland and our LANK children will be able to observe part of the life cycle process unfold in real time. For the past several years, we have enjoyed naming our chicks, and delighted in the small eggshell cracks that appear as the newborns in the incubator start the arduous task of chipping their way out. It is fascinating to watch, and for the past few years we have been lucky enough to be at school when the BIG moment occurred. We have also been fortunate that in past years all of our eggs hatched. Over the course of several weeks, the children were able to see the transformation that takes place with all living things. In this case, the cute fuzzy chicks grew bigger, and became scrawny adult chickens! In other classroom areas, teachers will be facilitating the growth of plants, insects, and other animals so that children may participate in hands on science all around LANK.
While so much of what we do at LANK is wonderful, this project is particularly worthwhile. In a few short weeks’ time we will be able to teach concepts of respect and care for living things, connect current learning to previous concepts (apple and pumpkin growth), sequence steps, and experience pure joy. There is nothing like the sound of laughter and excitement on day 21 in the egg process.
The circle of life continues and never ceases to amaze!
Joan
