1/27/02
Question 145
Dear Preschool
Teacher,
My high school science student has been given
the task of explaining reproduction to a group of 2-3 year olds, any
ideas? By the way, this is a group project in biology.
Help us please.
Birds & the Bees at age Three
Dear Birds & the Bees at
age Three,
1.I would start with the life cycle of a
plant. Start with the sunflower because you can see the seeds so
clearly then get into planting, examine the roots and stems, discuss
the essentials of life i.e. water, sun, soil!
2.Then you might, and this is a big might, get into the idea that
plants start from seeds, animals and people also start from seeds.
There are some good preschool books available which address pregnancy
and how babies grow! Check out the big bookstore chains for
appropriate titles! Invite a pregnant mom and let the children touch
and listen to her tummy! I did this
last year and had another mom, who was a doctor bring in her
stethoscope. The kids loved it and didn't ask any awkward questions!
Provide the basic info. and answer questions briefly, honestly and
clearly!
3.You could also discuss the types of animals which come from eggs and
how those animals care for their eggs. I.e. snakes, turtles, chickens,
fish. Go to your local library for large picture books.
Hope this helps!
Laura
"Ask The Preschool
Teacher Staff"
Dear Birds & the
Bees at age Three,
I hope
the idea of this project is to simplify the explanation so anyone will
understand it! Two and three year olds will not understand any
of it. I would say a mommy and a daddy love each other so they
have a baby. That's all they care about anyway. Of course this
is not always the case but it is not the fault of the child. For
biology purposes, I suppose I could stretch it to say their is an egg
in a mommy and a sperm in a daddy (which I'm not sure how to explain
the word sperm!). They meet and get married and a baby grows.
But two and three year olds will literally think a chicken egg is in
their mommy. And the word sperm will probably become a
worm, (which is kind of similar) and then you have children who will
always be afraid of eggs and worms! Sorry I cannot be of any
more help but it is not developmentally appropriate to teach 2-3 year
olds about reproduction!
Jackie
"Ask The Preschool Teacher
Staff"
