We’re doing a hands-on activity about animals that are born alive and hatched from egg. Also, you’ll love the activities on my post Free Homeschool Chicken Unit Study and Anatomy of an Egg Felt Activity & Worksheet.
A lot of this is learned through our natural conversations and through the myriad of questions your child might ask.
However, it never hurts to have some fun intentional activities to help answer them.
It is an amazing world we live in.
And while most children know very early on that birds lay eggs; they are not familiar with other animals that do.
For instance, the platypus, alligators, snakes, and common house lizards lay eggs.
Too, I have an easy-to-prep and complete activity that can be done in two parts and is a ton of fun.
Besides, if you have plastic animals on hand and a few basic pantry items, this is a no-extra-cost activity that will help your child learn about two types of animals.
The two types are oviparous animals which lay eggs and viviparous animals which have live births.
7 Facts about Viviparous and Oviparous Animals
- Animals that give birth to offspring are called viviparous.
- Animals that lay eggs are called oviparous.
- There are only two types of mammals that lay eggs, the duck-billed platypus, and the echidna.
- After laying the eggs, some animals sit on their eggs to keep them warm while others bury the eggs in the sand.
- The temperature of the egg is critical during development in reptiles as it determines the sex of the offspring.
- Viviparous animals can reproduce any time of the year as they feed the embryo with the fat reserves in the body.
- Birds are the only egg layers that have a hard-shelled egg, others are soft and leathery like turtles and lizards.
Next, add some books and fun resources to your learning day.
Resources to Learn About Egg Laying Animals & Animals that Have Live Births
Investigate how eggs are hatched and why some animals have live births with these fun books.
This stunningly beautiful and wonderfully informative book from award-winning artist Sylvia Long and author Dianna Hutts Aston makes for a fascinating introduction to the vast and amazing world of eggs.
Featuring poetic text and an elegant design, this acclaimed book teaches children countless interesting facts about eggs. Full of wit and charm, An Egg Is Quiet will at once spark the imagination and cultivate a love of science.
Ruth Heller's prose and pictures are the perfect means for discovering the variety of oviparous animals and their unique ways of laying eggs.
What kind of animals lay eggs?
A chicken?
An ostrich?
Maybe even . . . a dinosaur?!
Find out which animals lay eggs in this entertaining picture book for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers!
Who Laid the Egg is a simple, easy-to-read book that introduces children to some of the
wonderful egg-laying animals in our world. Kids will love guessing which animal laid each egg as you read this book together!
Featuring: a chicken, an ostrich, a frog, a turtle and others!
Here are a few great plastic animal collections that have at least a couple of live-bearing and egg-laying creatures in it.
Educational Resource: Perfect for teaching children about the diverse species that inhabit the Great Lakes ecosystem. Encourages curiosity and respect for nature and wildlife.
North American & Australian Animals has a few egg-laying animals, but I really love that it includes the platypus.
Also, add some of these hands-on activities.
Activities For Animals That Are Born Alive And Hatched From Egg
- Free Homeschool Chicken Unit Study and Anatomy of an Egg Felt Activity & Worksheet.
- Fun Kids Hands-on Egg Carton Sea Turtle Life Cycle Activity
- Fun Homeschool Unit Study Egg to Sea Turtle Lesson Plans & Lapbook
- Egg to Gosling Fascinating Journey | Is A Goose Hatched From Egg Or Born Alive
Before you begin your activity, you want to gather up a bunch of little plastic toys, Safari Toobs are my favorite and I linked a couple above but you can even raid the toy box to find some.
You want to collect a variety of both egg-laying and non-egg-laying animals.
Here are a few examples of each to get you started.
Egg Laying
- Birds
- Platypus
- Fish
- Turtles
- Lizards
Live Birth
- Bears
- Cats
- Dolphins
- Fox
- People
Finally, look at this fun hands-on activity about animals that are born alive and hatched from egg.
DIY Hatching Egg Activity
You will need:
- Construction paper
- Makers
- Baking soda
- Water
- Vinegar
- A shallow container
- Small container
- Pipette
First, place a cup or two of baking soda in a large bowl depending on how many creatures you want to put in your eggs.
Add water a little at a time while mixing with your hands until it is damp enough to hold together when you squeeze it.
It should look like this.
You can color some of the mixture if you like.
Hatching Egg Activity For Kids
Grab one of your animals hatched from an egg and add the damp baking soda mixture around it.
Keep adding and shaping until it is completely covered with the mixture and resembles an egg shape.
Next, let the eggs dry out for several hours or overnight until they harden up.
Place eggs in a shallow container with a small bowl of vinegar and a pipette.
Encourage your child to use the pipette to drizzle the eggs with vinegar, they will know what to do next!
They will enjoy watching the fizzing and bubbling acting.
When they are done, they will see and reinforce the teaching about animals that come from eggs.
Now, take two pieces of construction paper and write across the top on one Hatched from an Egg with an egg next to it.
Across the other write Born Alive with the no egg symbol.
Additionally, be sure to read these aloud to your child.
The symbols help the non-reader to know which paper to use but it is a very important connection that your child knows that the spoken word and the written word are linked by writing them it will begin to help them identify letters and make that connection.
Next, give them several of both live-bearing and egg-laying animals and instruct them how to sort between the two pages.
Help your child as they need help but give them independence as well.
Finally, talk about the animals and the differences between them.
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