We have been interested in getting chicks for a while now and having a broody hen in spring seemed like the perfect time to give it a try! Knowing we were getting chicks this week, I thought it was a great opportunity to teach Finn about the life cycle of a chicken. Below is a brief overview of our morning basket activities for this lesson:
Structure of an Egg
To begin, we went over the structure of an egg. I created a simple diagram (which you can download for free below) to show the various parts inside of an egg. I geared this lesson towards the 3-5 year old range however, if you are teaching older children, there are more advanced diagrams out there.
To complement this diagram, I also created a build-an-egg activity out of felt pieces for a hands-on learning experience. We were able to talk about each piece, what its purpose was, and then compare it to the Structure of an Egg diagram to put the pieces together in the correct order.
You can find instructions on how to make this activity below:
Felt Build-an-Egg Materials:
- Printed out Structure of an Egg diagram to use as a reference guide
- Printed out Build-an-Egg sheet to use as a template
- Scissors
- Light brown, white, yellow, and orange felt
How to:
Download, print, and cut out the pieces from the Build-an-Egg template, provided below. Trace the overall egg shape (the egg shell) on brown felt, the albumen and air sack on white felt, the yolk on yellow felt, and the embryo on orange felt and cut out each piece. For the chalaza, any ole squiggly line cut out on white felt will do or you can cut out and trace the chalaza piece on the template.
For older children who can read, I have also included name labels you can cut out and have them put on the appropriate pieces for part identification.
Once all your pieces are cut out, place them in a small box with the accompanying Structure of an Egg diagram to use as a reference guide.
Pom-Pom Chick Activity
Next, we created an adorable little chick out of yarn using the instructions found here. I wrapped and tied the yarn and then let Finn cut the loops and trim down to a fluffy ball size. Since I have an 18 month old who puts everything in her mouth at home, I skipped the googly eyes and legs/feet as they could pose as a potential choking hazard. Instead, we opted to color on eyes with a permanent marker and forgo feet all together. I also sewed the beak on rather than using glue.
We used this pom-pom chick to talk about the various parts of a chick and for some imaginative play, pretending to care for a baby chick.
Life Cycle of a Chicken
After we learned about the structure of an egg and made a little chick, we began learning about how a chick grows. Using some play eggs we had on hand, I cut out a felt egg yolk, albumen, and embryo and placed inside the first egg. Then I cut out the shape of a growing chick embryo to place in the second egg, and lastly, placed the pom-pom chick we made earlier into the third egg. I then placed all of the eggs into a small nesting box and put a toy hen on top to show the process of incubation.
We then read Chick Life Cycle by Elizabeth Bennett (which you can get here), a short story about the life cycle of a chick perfect for early readers, and opened each egg to compare and put them in the same order as the process shown in the book. If you are unable to find this book or one like this at your local library there are many online resources depicting this cycle which you can download and print.
Finn had a ball taking the pieces in and out of the eggs, mixing them up and then trying to figure out which order they went in and what each part was called. This activity is also great for imaginative play about hens taking care of chicks!
We really enjoyed this simple life cycle of a chicken lesson. Let us know what your kids think of it if you give it a try in the comments below!
