Hermit Crab Habitats

            This spring we are continuing the habitat exploration while focusing on the hermit crabs. The children have been very interested in observing the hermit crabs in and out of their tank. They have discussed the different materials that are in the hermit crab tank and different things they need. We have brought the hermit crabs out onto the green moss and placed them in sand to provoke thinking about hermit crab habitats.

          This week we brought out natural materials such as rocks, pine cones, tree cookies and tiles onto the discovery table. The children used the various materials to construct homes for the hermit crabs. After the homes were created, the hermit crabs were then brought out to explore the homes. The children were very excited to watch the crabs move around the materials that they placed for them.

Other materials were brought out by the children to use for the hermit crab homes as well. They used the magna tiles to construct box like structures where the hermit crab was placed in the center.

After exploring materials and using them to create hermit crab homes, we now would like the children to illustrate their ideas on paper. They have the ideas of what they want the home to look like, now even deeper thinking and planning can occur through the use of pencil and paper.