Father’s Day Preschool Science – Fathers in the Animal Kingdom

Did you and your preschooler know that for many species, the father takes care of babies just as much or more than mothers do? For some in the animal kingdom, the father does all the caretaking while the mother does other things. For many animals, the father is the nurturer, not the mother. Find some great ideas for exploring this concept with your preschooler.

A wonderful book that talks about fathers in the animal kingdom is Hey, Daddy: Animal Fathers and Their Babies.

Penguins

Thanks to Happy Feet (Widescreen Edition) and March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition), many preschoolers know that after the mother penguin lays the egg, she transfers it to the father’s feet. And the father stays behind in the cold, protecting the eggs until they hatch. If you have any left-over Easter eggs, you and your preschooler can take turns trying to transfer the egg to each other’s feet. You can also try this with a medium-sized ball. If you and your preschooler are interested in this process, check out this book.

Seahorses

Mother seahorses actually lay their eggs in the special chest cavity of the father seahorses. The fathers care for them until they hatch. Check with your local aquarium to see if they have an exhibit of seahorses. Seahorses are extremely fragile and difficult to keep in cavity. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has some information about seahorses. You can also find out more about father seahorses from Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle.

Deer Mice

In most mice species, the father mouse leaves the nest before the young are even born. But father deer mice help guard the nest after babies are born so the mother can hunt. Father deer mice may also help wash the young, and actually tuck nesting and bedding materials around the young.

Sandpipers

In most bird species, the female sits on the eggs until they hatch. However, father sandpipers actually do most if not all of the egg sitting until the eggs hatch. They’ll even do all the care taking

until the young are ready to leave the nest. The mothers are usually long gone before the eggs hatch.

Darwin’s Frog

The father Darwin’s frog actually guards the eggs after the mother lays them for about two weeks. Then he actually puts them into his mouth, in a special sack. The eggs actually hatch inside his mouth and stay there for until they develop into tiny frogs. The father releases them and they swim away.

Red Foxes

Father red foxes bring food to the mothers as they care for the young. Some researchers have even observed father red foxes teaching their young how to hunt and how to defend themselves.

Giant Water Bugs

Mother water bugs actually lay their eggs onto the backs of father water bugs. The fathers carry the eggs on their backs for a month while the eggs grow larger and larger.

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