This project emerged while we were planting seeds in the outside area. The children were delighted to see the garden snails in the soil and a particular boy brought a snail from home the next day.

In our classroom, we started the web plan and as educators we were delighted to discover that some children had already some good knowledge about snails. In particular, a girl mentioned the antennae, the feelers, and the fact that the snails eat leaves; vegetables or fruit. We started the topic by collecting snails, analysing them under our magnifying glasses and also counting how many snails we found. As children collected the snails they observed that the little organisms had soft and slimy bodies. Also, we observed that the snails left a trial behind.  

During circle time, we sang some rhymes related to snails- Xita, xita and Il-Bebbuxu jhobb jixxarrab. We also did some crafts related to the topic like the rolled up snail where children had to decorate their own snail using their imagination. During our cooking sessions we did also spiral cinnamon buns which the children loved to taste and enjoy. We had our book area set up with books related to snails, rain and weather. Children also loved listening to stories such as ‘Il-Harga tal-Bebbuxu’ where after the story we used a number of open ended questions to generate more thought and understanding in our children. This projected lasted three weeks.