A chicken's life cycle

The life cycle of a chicken...


This is a simple and fun little lesson to do. It involves sequencing and putting things in the correct order. What came first?? This is an important concept for children to understand.

You can use this lesson for all ages, and it can become more elaborate as the kids get older. Young toddlers can do it too, but they will most likely need a lot of help. Young toddlers may not quite understand the concept yet, but it's never too early to practice sequencing, life cycles, etc...

My son is 16 months old, and he enjoyed this lesson.. He knows what eggs are, and he knows what chicks and chickens are, so I taught him the life cycle about them.

Let's face it... Every kid knows the song "Old McDonald had a Farm..." You can incorporate the song, the farm, and eggs and chickens all together for this lesson.

Here's what you need:
Cotton balls
Pom pom balls
Googly eyes
Glue
Red and orange paint
Grass
Feathers



Here's how you make it:

1. First, glue the grass down on the horizontal paper. Then add a cotton ball to represent the egg.
Note: Have your child do these things while you explain what each piece means.



2. Draw two arrows while your child is gluing two yellow pom poms in between the arrows to represent a baby chicken.


3. Paint your child's hand red, and stamp their handprint on the paper after the second arrow. This represents the adult chicken. Then with orange paint, have your child use their fingerprints for the legs and beak. Add googly eyes to the baby and adult chickens.

Note: Have your child do these things! It's great for sensory play and development.



4. Have your child glue a feather onto the handprint chicken. Give your paper a title, and help your child (if needed) print their name on the bottom.


This was an excellent mini lesson about how chickens grow up!