eggs

What do you notice about these two eggs?

In the classes this week, the children identified:

• That the eggs are different colours – one being white and the other one brown.
• They noted that they are similar in size – kinda medium was the standard answer. Not as big as an ostrich’s egg and not as small as a humming bird’s eggs.
• They are similar in shape – sort of oval, sort of pointy at the top, sort of like a circle.
• Some of the children noted some speckles on the brown egg whereas the white egg had no dots.

I then asked the children if they thought the white egg had a white yolk and the brown egg a brown yolk. This was the conversation that followed:
Kids: No, of course not!
Me: But are you sure? Surely, they must be different on the inside if they are different colours on the outside?
Kids: No, they both have a yellow yolk and slimy white around.
Me: But why would they be different colours on the outside if they are not different on the inside?
One kid: Mmmmm…. Well, maybe the white egg is chocolate on the inside.
Another kid: Maybe there are sweets on the inside?!
Rest of the kids: No, it’s the same on the inside. Yellow yolk and white slimy part.
Me: Should we crack them open and see?
Kids: (loudly) YES!

So, we did. And lo and behold, they were the same on the inside! Yellow yolk and white slimy around. So even though the eggs were different colours on the outside, they were exactly the same on the inside.

We discussed how people are like that too! There are many different colours on the outside but we are all the same on the inside. We all have a heart, lungs, muscles, brain, kidneys, etc. We discussed how the colour of a person’s skin is just that- the colour of their skin. We discussed how we can’t tell whether a person is friendly or honest or clever or fast or kind (etc) just from looking at the colour of their skin. All we can tell from the colour of their skin is…. the colour of their skin. 😊

We then moved into a simple sound awareness exercise, using bird sounds as the focus. I showed the children the beautiful SAPPI Callfinder book and we had lots of fun listening to and identifying different bird sounds.

We also practised some calming breathing exercises as well as sharing the mantra “I give you peace” with each other as we passed the Hoberman Sphere around the circle. Beautiful energy.

The younger children then listened to Fly Eagle Fly from the Mindful Moments for Minis album. The older children continued with their mosaic pictures while listening to the beautiful rain outside. We were having such a wonderful time in the cosy studio that I didn’t see the time and finished a bit later than usual – apologies for that!

So, some very special lessons this week, inspired by Mandela Day (18th July) last week and our former great leader’s vision to build a South Africa inclusive of all people, irrespective of their skin colour.

“We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without and fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.”
Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address, Pretoria 9 May 1994.