Playing Preschool - Unit 13: Eggs

A Companion Guide to Busy Toddler's Playing Preschool Curriculum

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The Incredible, Edible Egg!

When I think of eggs, I immediately think of baby chicks or maybe baby birds, but this unit reminded me that eggs are so much more! I marveled along with my toddler at all the different animals that hatch from eggs from tiny fish and tadpoles to the the largest bird, the ostrich, to perhaps the strangest creature known to man, the platypus. One of the books, Hattie Peck, took me by surprise (you can read about that here.) Beyond our reading, we had so much fun doing activities and crafts with real and plastic eggs from last year's Easter Hunt. Who knew there was so much to learn and do when it came to eggs?

Building Background Knowledge

Video Links

• Baby Chick Hatching

• Baby Chickens Chick’s-Eye View

• What Comes From an Egg?

Suggested Books

*Books with an asterisk are my Top 5 Picks to Add to Your Home Library for this unit

• Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones - Heller, Ruth

• Guess What’s Growing Inside This Egg - Posado, Mia

• An Egg is Quiet* - Aston, Dianna, Hutts

• Hattie Peck* - Levey, Emma

• The Odd Egg - Gravett, Emily

• The Golden Egg - Brown, Margaret Wise

Additional Book List

Books in bold are also suggested books in another unit.

Non-Fiction

• The Egg (First Discovery Series) - Mettler, René

• First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book) - Seeger, Laura Vaccaro

• What Will Hatch?* - Ward, Jennifer

• What's in the Egg? - Biederstadt, Maike

• Egg to Chicken (Follow the Life Cycle) - Tonkin, Rachel

• Chicks & Chickens - Gibbons, Gail

• What’s in That Egg? - Baines, Becky

• Who Hatches the Egg?: All About Eggs (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library) - Rabe, Tish

Fiction

• Nesting - Cole, Henry

• Ten Eggs in a Nest* - Sadler, Marilyn

• The Good Egg* - Jory, John and Oswald, Pete (promotes mindfulness)

• The Great Eggscape - Jory, John and Oswald, Pete

• My Chickens Lay Eggs - Crelin, Sherry

• Eggs are Everywhere - Chronicle Books

• Are You My Mother? - Eastman, P.D.

• Good Egg and Bad Apple - Schwartz, Betty Ann

• Blue Chicken - Freedman, Deborah

• Little Chick - Thompson, Lauren

• A Little Chick - Wren, Rosalee

• Click, Clack, Peep! - Cronin, Doreen

• Egg - Henkes, Kevin

• Duck & Goose - Hills, Tad

Additional Resources/Activities

Puzzles, Games and Toys

• Prextex Matching Eggs Shapes and Colors

• Melissa & Doug Slice and Sort Wooden Eggs

• Dig a Dozen Dino Eggs Kit

• Crayola Egg Sidewalk Chalk

• Egg and Spoon Race Game

• Hasbro Egged On Game

Activities

• Developing Life Skills: Make scrambled eggs! Narrate your actions as you crack the eggs, beat them, pour them in a saute pan (with oil), let them set up, then stir, stir, stir and eat!

• Field Trip: Visit a friend or neighbor with a backyard chicken coop and ask if you can help collect fresh eggs!

• Read Along Play Along Activity: Use washable markers to make The Good Egg and his carton companions, then retell the story.

• Sensory Activity: Let your child squeeze and try to break an egg (it can’t be done). Talk about how strong it is, then crack and explore a raw egg. Under extreme supervision and only if your child can be trusted to follow instructions not to put it in their mouth, let them feel the egg and yolk, poking and squishing it in their fingers. Wash hands immediately after what is probably the ultimate sensory experience!

• Water Play: Happy Toddler Playtime’s Easter Egg Bath

• STEM Activity: Happy Toddler Playtime’s Sink the Egg Challenge

• Art Activity: Paper Towel Egg Watercolor Art from Little Ones Learn

• Number Practice: Egg Counting Cards from Little Ones Learn

• Visual Discrimination: Egg Color Matching from Powerful Mothering

• Gross Motor Skills: Egg and Spoon Game from Gift of Curiosity

• Balancing Activity: Egg and Tube Towers from Happy Toddler Playtime

• Sensory Bin: Magnetic Egg Hunt from Happy Toddler Playtime

• Easy Craft: Striped Egg Decorating from My Bored Toddler

• Letter Review: Upper and Lowercase Egg Matching Game from Mom Wife Busy Life

Scaffolding/Extension

• For the activity where the figurines "hatch" from the play dough eggs, I wasn't sure my toddler would be able to mold the dough around the animals so I went ahead and hid them while my toddler napped and he enjoyed the surprise of revealing what was inside. Then I let him try to hide them again and sure enough, he needed my help. I encouraged him to do it to build his grip strength, then finished molding them into the shape of an egg so he could "hatch" them again.

• When doing the counting and grouping activity in Ten Eggs in a Nest, I added a visual element by color-coding the egg groups (1 pink, 2 orange, 3 purple, 4 yellow). We read the book several times and counted along. Grouping by color allowed him to the "see" the groups of eggs being joined.

What was your favorite part of this unit? What other books did you read? What other activities did you do? Please share your photos and feedback in the Playing Preschool with Busy Toddler Curriculum Facebook Group in Photos/Albums/Year 1 Themes → Eggs

Until next time, may your coffee be warm and your toddler be busy!

Up Next: Playing Preschool: Unit 14 - Plants

See Also: Introduction to Playing Preschool with Busy Toddler, A Companion Guide to Busy Toddler's Playing Preschool Curriculum, Unit 1: Apples, Unit 2: Colors, Unit 3: Nursery Rhymes, Unit 4: Clothing, Unit 5: Food, Unit 6: Five Senses, Unit 7: Teddy Bears, Unit 8: Things That Go Together, Unit 9: Community Helpers, Unit 10: Transportation, Unit 11: On the Farm, Unit 12: Weather