Kindergarten have been inquiring into the central idea, ‘Humans have a responsibility to care for the animals they share the world with through an understanding of their needs’. To gain a further understanding of how to care for farm animals we visited Calmsley Hill City Farm. The boys experienced handling some baby animals and milking a cow. They also enjoyed going on a tractor ride, watching sheep dogs round up sheep and seeing a sheep being shorn.

To further explore the concept of responsibility, Kindergarten was fortunate to have some baby chickens in the classroom for two weeks. The boys were able to see the baby chicks hatching from their eggs and they were then given the responsibility of caring for them on a daily basis. They loved observing the chicks and recording their daily observations.

The boys also learnt about caring for our native animals. We were fortunate to have a visit from a WIRES volunteer, who showed the boys some practical ways that they can care for their local wildlife. I have noticed some positive action following this visit, with the boys now very aware of the impact of their plastic rubbish on animals. 

In class the boys have worked hard to write informative texts about a range of animals, some of which are endangered. They have learnt about extracting ‘key words’ from texts to then use as the basis of sentence writing. They have also brainstormed practical ways in which they can personally help to care for animals.

Belinda Smallhorn – Kindergarten Teacher