Hello families of P3,
Julia and I wanted to let you know that today
one of the fish in our classroom died. We have a happy healthy aquarium that we
monitor regularly so we believe the fish (an orange platy) died of natural
causes. The fish died during the morning and only a few children noticed the
fish wasn't moving. After lunch, however, the afternoon children really noticed
and began asking questions. So we sat around the rug and talked about it.
The first thing the children wanted to know was
why the fish died. Our
working theory is that he had lived a full life and grew old and tired. He got
caught in the filter, which our healthy fish never do, so we think he was weak
and that it was simply his time to go. After some Q&A, we removed the fish
from the tank and each afternoon child got a good look at him with the
magnifying glass. We discussed decomposition and the cycle of life and then
decided to bury him the garden. We wrapped him in a tissue, placed him in a
band-aid box and took him outside. Each child took a turn digging the hole with
the hand trowel and then we carefully buried the fish. On the way inside we
took a look at the compost pile and observed plant life in various stages of
decomposition and new growth.
We wanted to let you know
about this in case your child brings it up and has further questions. We were
very proud of the children for their care and concern for the fish and their
interest in learning about the cycle of life.
Thanks! Have a great evening!
Ms. Tamara and Ms. Julia
0 comments:
Post a Comment