Ducklings & Butterflies!

The last two weeks in preschool have been full of excitement with the arrival of the ducklings. The children have spent lots of time observing the ducklings, watching them hatch from their eggs in their incubator in small group visits to their cage. Isla said “They are so cute!” Isabelle added “That duck is very wet!” It wasn’t long before the ducks were all hatched, dry and big enough to be able to leave their incubator and play in their cage. Once the ducks were big enough; the children absolutely loved watching the them in the paddling pool, spending long periods of time watching them paddle and splash in the water. Charlotte said with a laugh “Look! They are playing!” Finley said “They are brothers and sisters!” It has been great to watch the ducks grow quickly, and the children were amazed to see how big the ducks had got over the weekend. Zac said “The ducks are huge!” Sammy replied “Yeah, they are really big!”. Everyone has all had a great time caring for the ducks and we are sure the children will miss them once they are gone but it has been a great opportunity to learn about them as they hatched and grew.

The excitement for the ducks was also matched by the releasing of our butterflies. The children have been so interested in watching them grow from tiny little caterpillars, and watching them be released was the perfect end to their time with us. Before they flew away the children had the chance to observe them in the garden. Sophie said “They have lots of colours!” Immy said “Look, they are flying away! Goodbye butterflies!” The children watched for a while as the last of the butterflies flew out of their net, saying goodbye as they flew off into the sky.