Snails in the Classroom

Alongside exploring the live snails found outside, we've also been doing some different snail activities to learn more about them.

We'll see if and how this interest continues to evolve, but here are a few of our favorites so far:

Shells and Playdough

I set out some sea snail shells for them to explore with playdough. One thing we've learned about snails is that there are different kinds- sea, freshwater, and land snails. Some students tried to make snails using the dough, while others just created using the shells.

Rolled Paper Snails

One misconception the children had about snails was the fact that they cannot leave their shells. Several students thought that snails left their shells to become slugs and look for new shells. We explored this idea in a few ways with questions like, "Why are some shells bigger than other shells? Do shells grow?" and thought about other animals that have shells. With some conversations and research we learned that the shells grow with the snails, and that snails need to stay in their shells to survive. We created these rolled-up paper shells as one hands-on way to visualize that the shell is part of the snail's body.

 We also learned that snails have 4 tentacles, and some students chose to show that in the snails they made.

Collecting "Snail Eggs"

We had water beads out in the sensory table, and several children pointed out that they looked like snail eggs! This was not intentional on my part, and I loved watching them make that connection on their own. After that a couple children started collecting only the white water beads because they looked like snail eggs.

Snail Slime Painting

This was a super messy, but favorite activity. Some kids who never come to the art table couldn't resist trying out the snail slime paint! We mixed up a batch of slime to a consistency that would work for painting and added some food coloring. 

The batch in the morning class was extra stretchy, and by the afternoon class it was more gooey. The students were free to use pipe cleaner snails, sticks, or their fingers to explore the slime. It was a great sensory art process, and dried into smooth, colorful blobs. :) 

Writing Journals

I always love to see how students express their interests and learning in their writing journals. Many students have chosen snails or snail habitats as a topic for the journals recently.