Last week, Pre-Primary began a traditional Montessori study of the five classes of vertebrates (animals with backbones): fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. During these first two weeks, we will be studying fish. We read about the characteristics that define fish, such as living in water and breathing with gills, and learned to make the sign for “fish” in ASL.
Zebra fish and guppies are visiting our classroom! We observed two kinds of zebra fish: typical zebra fish with stripes, and zebra fish called “Casper fish”, which are transparent so that you can see their internal structure. We talked about the anatomy of these fish, and compared and contrasted them with humans. We also talked about why fish school, and did a short demonstration to show how schooling helps keep fish safe from predators. Children will be able to watch these fish for the next few weeks, and we’ve provided magnifying glasses so they can take a closer look.
In our STEM kindergarten studio, kindergarteners set up small aquariums in pairs. Each aquarium contains guppies, live plants, and pond snails. Over the next few weeks, kindergarteners will feed their fish, care for the aquariums by changing the water, and observe the animals’ behavior.
This unit of learning is supported by many materials in the classroom which allow children to explore multiple aspect of fish.