The play leader’s reflections
The hen’s visit really
brought the concept of spring to life and gave the
children a tangible indicator that spring had arrived
because as one child said everyone knows that
baby animals are born in spring!
Learning Experience:
Mother Hen comes to
playschool
Setting: Bluebells Playschool, Ayle, Co
Tipperary
Setting type: Sessional
Age group: Young children
Theme: Exploring and Thinking
This learning experience is an example
of how one service supports one of
the learning goals in Aistear’s theme of
Exploring and Thinking.
The visit to the infant
classroom went really well. The teacher was very
welcoming and the children were thrilled with the
unexpected guests.
As we are based in a rural setting anything
that is connected to animals and farming
really grabs the children’s attention
especially if it involves lots of action! As
we were talking about Spring and reading
books about what happens in Spring, we
decided to bring a hen and her chicks to
playschool to let the children see what they
looked like up-close.
This experience really
engaged the children and some of them
asked if they could bring in their own pets
and animals from home including lambs,
calves, dogs, cats and hamsters!
Early Childhood Ireland
Hainault House
Belgard Square
Tallaght
Dublin 24
Tel: +353 1 405 7100
Fax:+353 1 405 7109
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.earlychildhoodireland.ie
National Council
for Curriculum and
Assessment
35 Fitzwilliam Square
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 661 7177
Fax:+353 1 661 7180
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ncca.ie
Learning goal 4: In partnership with the
adult, children will learn about the natural
environment and its features, materials,
animals and plants and their own
responsibility as carers.
Meeting Mother Hen
So after some organising, Mother Hen
arrived with her two chicks! We brought
them in in a cat-box. Immediately, the
children were able to see how the hen
protects her chicks by sitting on them. The
children held the chicks and got to feel how
small, warm and light they were.
This resource was developed through the Aistear in Action initiative.
www.ncca.ie/aisteartoolkit
Aim 1: Children will learn about and make
sense of the world around them.
This resource was developed through the Aistear in Action initiative.
www.ncca.ie/aisteartoolkit
They’re so light...
Hello little chick
The hen wasn’t too happy to have her
chicks taken from her and so we reunited
mother and babies fairly quickly. This
experience gave us an opportunity to talk
about how she was protecting her babies
and wanted them back. The children really
seemed to understand this concept of a
mother protecting her young. One little
boy said that his Mummy misses him
when he goes to playschool!
Ideas to extend
the children’s learning
One of the practitioners then lifted the
hen out of the cat-box and the children
stroked her gently and looked at her
feathers and her feet. We talked about
where hens live and what they eat.
Petting Mother Hen
■■
Get factual books from the library
on caring for hens. Learn about
different types of eggs and hens.
■■
Provide junk art materials for
children to make hens, chicks and
homes for them.
■■
Make omelettes or pancakes to
show how hens provide us with
food.
When we had finished, we decided to
bring the hen on a visit to the junior and
senior infant classroom beside us so
the children there could have a look too.
The playschool children were very proud
to have something to show the older
children and delighted in telling them
everything they knew about hens and
chicks!
This experience also links to:
Well-being, Aim 1, Learning goal 5
Identity and Belonging, Aim 2, Learning goal 5
This resource was developed through the Aistear in Action initiative.
www.ncca.ie/aisteartoolkit
...and fluffy!
This resource was developed through the Aistear in Action initiative.
www.ncca.ie/aisteartoolkit