The week before Spring Break, students in Mr. Walls’ AP Psychology class were tasked with a project centered around developmental psychology. To explore more on this topic, students had to keep an egg with them for the entirety of the week as if the egg were a growing child. Each day represented a stage of human development to mimic a child aging from a newborn to a high school-aged teenager. Throughout the week, students had to keep a journal of their egg’s development while also protecting their egg from cracking. While this seems daunting, there are a few tricks to help make this egg-periment a little less stressful.

One of the most obvious yet important tips is to have a protective carrier. On the day everyone received their eggs, they were handed out in a plastic bag. Although it is possible to prevent the egg from cracking while keeping it in a plastic bag, it is an extremely risky decision. Most people choose to make their own containers. For instance, I had two different containers instead of the plastic bag; my first container was the bottom half of a cereal container from the cafeteria. When my partner and I received my egg during first period, we instantly knew that we needed to switch its container to avoid it from cracking. During break, we rushed to the cafeteria to find something that would hold our egg. We chose to use an emptied-out cereal container, which we stuffed with paper towels for extra protection. However, after using this container for a day, we decided to give it an upgrade to help us win the Toddlers and Tiaras competition further during the week. This competition was to be judged by several faculty members, who would crown winners of the following categories: Best Dressed, Best Carrier, and Most Creative. The winners will receive extra credit for their accomplishment!

Since we named our egg Juliegg, we wanted to have a container that was themed toward her name. After finding some extra modeling bricks, we constructed a small castle with a garden surrounding the front of the castle. In addition to remodeling our carrier, we also chose to give Juliegg a makeover by drawing her a gorgeous face and dressing her to look like royalty. With our new and improved carrier and egg, we won the Most Creative category during the Toddlers and Tiaras competition. My partner, Piper Guyton (12), offers some advice saying, “​​If you are interested in winning the competition, I would suggest attempting to win all of the categories to increase your chances of succeeding.”

All students were required to complete a journal to document the egg’s stages of life. We were tasked to write about various activities the egg participated in throughout the week, but most of these activities can be made up to fit the various stages of development. For instance, my partner and I wrote about our egg’s experiences at school and how as the egg grew older, it learned more about what it sought to achieve in the future. Writing the journal is a somewhat tedious and enduring process, so my advice for this part of the project would be to start early, especially since in addition to all the writing, you have to take pictures of your egg participating in each of the activities you write about.

This project has taught me a lot about the struggles of parenting. Just as how parents must always protect their children from outside dangers, I also had to do everything I could to prevent my egg from cracking. Throughout the week with my egg, I not only learned about the process of development, but I also learned to appreciate parents’ efforts in raising their children.