In the spirit of Easter, and having chicken eggs currently incubating in our classroom, we decided to investigate bird nests and eggs this week. We looked at some sample nests that Madame had in the class and then took a walk with our Big Buddies to the forest. The challenge: Could we make a nest as well as the birds? And the added challenge: Was our nest strong enough to hold a raw egg for the entire walk back to school, and then for the rest of the school day? We definitely emerged from the experience with a profound new respect for the birds who create incredible structures with just their beaks! We found it difficult and we even have opposable thumbs! Some of us discovered that we could rip cedar bark into strands and use it to bind pieces of our nest together. This lead to some great follow-up discussion about how Indigenous people used to use cedar bark for all kinds of things like weaving baskets, making hats, clothing, nets, mats, etc. In fact, they often refer to the cedar tree as "the tree of life" because it has so many uses. We had a few casualties on our walk back to the school, but most of the eggs survived and developed personalities throughout the day. Some brave parents even brought them home in their vehicles where the eggs eventually met their demise in a frying pan. In other Science-y news, we began an ongoing experiment this week to test mould growth. A few of us were given the task of making our hands REALLY dirty... rubbing them on the bottom of our shoes, all over the door knobs, on the floor, outside in the dirt, etc. One of us then rubbed our dirty hands all over a piece of bread and put it in a plastic bag. A 2nd volunteer washed their hands with soap, and THEN rubbed their hands all over a slice of bread. And still a 3rd volunteer used hand sanitizer before rubbing their hands over a slice of bread. Madame put a 4th "control" piece in a bag, touched only by tongs. We are excited to examine the bread and watch how the mould grows over the next several weeks. Madame says she's hoping it will be a good lesson in the importance of washing our hands really well! :-) But as with any experiment, we can't predict with certainty how this will play out. Spring is in the air and we've been noticing cherry blossom trees around the neighbourhood! We were inspired to do some art... We also had fun making some Easter chicks (des poussins), in keeping with our whole egg theme. And we had another ice skating day! Some of us are already noticing big improvements since the beginning of our first session. We are looking forward to our last trip next week!
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