At St Hilda’s, our Junior Kindy and Kindy programs are designed to spark wonder, curiosity, and joy in early learners. This term, our youngest students have been exploring the concept of growth and change, a foundational idea in early learning. Through hands on experiences, lively discussions, and real life observations, the students have been discovering how living things transform over time.
Two very special experiences brought this learning to life: a bug incursion and egg incubators set up in the classroom.
Investigating the World of Bugs
The bug incursion was a highlight for many of our students. Early childhood learning becomes truly magical when children can see, touch, and explore the natural world up close.
During the session, students:
- Observed different insects
- Learned about their body parts and habitats
- Discovered how bugs grow, shed, and change
- Practised gentle handling and nurturing care
For many students, holding a wiggly creature in their hands or watching it crawl across a leaf was a moment of pure excitement.
These encounters encouraged children to develop respect for living things and to notice how creatures change throughout their life cycles.
Watching New Life Begin: Eggs in the Classroom
To extend the theme of growth and change, each classroom welcomed an egg incubator, allowing students to witness one of nature’s most remarkable transformations first hand.
Every day, the students proudly insepcted the eggs, looking for tiny cracks and eagerly waiting for the moment each egg would hatch. Their anticipation built early science skills such as predicting, observing, and recording changes.
Once the chicks emerged, students watched as:
- Wet, tired hatchlings transformed into fluffy, energetic chicks
- The chicks’ movements, sounds, and needs changed over the first days
- Their ecosystem adapted to care for new living things
The joy on the students’ faces as they held a chick for the first time was a beautiful reminder of how powerful hands on learning can be.
Learning Through Real Experiences
Both the bug incursion and the egg incubators allowed the students to explore big ideas in tangible, memorable ways. Through these experiences, they learned:
- That living things grow, change, and have needs
- How to care for and respect animals
- How to observe closely and ask meaningful questions
- The importance of patience and gentle handling
- That science is all around them, sometimes very small
These learning moments help shape confident, curious thinkers who are ready to explore the world with empathy and wonder.
A Foundation for Lifelong Discovery
Early childhood learning is more than facts, it’s about giving children opportunities to connect, question, and discover. By engaging with bugs and chicks, our Junior Kindy and Kindy students not only learned about growth and change; they experienced it firsthand.
These special memories will stay with them as stepping stones toward deeper understanding and an enduring love of learning.
