Flowers, Eggs, Nests

 Everything is so inviting in our classroom space right now.  I came in this morning and was completely taken aback by the beauty of the Magnolia, Forsythia and Quince branches we have forced.  Please take a moment in your day to pause and notice the beauty on our shelves.  Let your child be your guide and show you what is new and exciting.

We are very fortunate to have a lovely collection of bird's nests and eggs from different birds.  I decided today to shift our song birds to another table and put out our nest and egg collection.  There were many questions and such excitement to see more new and interesting things.

 When I pull these new things out I get so excited to teach the about them.  I imagine you will hear lots about the Rhea, Emu, Ostrich and Duck eggs that we have on our shelves.  Last year, we were fortunate enough to have a tiny blue robins egg.  That little egg was just to much for one curious little friend and so it got broken.  What was very interesting in that moment was that the child who brought it in didn't get upset, but was fascinated by how tiny the yolk was (the size of your pinky finger nail).

I will be printing pictures of the birds that we have eggs for so that the children can see them and know how big they are.

I also took the opportunity to take out foot impressions for the birds that I have.  They are not real but excellent reproductions.  It is fun to hold it in your hand and imagine how that bird might use their foot.

Lastly, I wanted to mention to beautiful books that we are enjoying right now.  The first is Nests, by Sharon Beals.  It is a incredible collection of birds nests and eggs that you might not ever get a chance to see.  It is beautifully done and one of our new favourites.

The second book, is titles Birds, Nests and Eggs.  I am certain I bought my copy at the museum of Museum of Natural History.