All living things grow, get old and then die.  All living things produce young ones like themselves so that life on Earth can continue.  Animals reproduce in different ways.  A lion or a human gives live birth. Birds and frogs lay eggs from which babies hatch.

Plants:

A plants life cycle starts with a seed. When it receives the right amount of sunlight, water, and air, it will begin to grow. The Seed sprouts, then grows into roots, a stem, then develops leaves, flowers and more seeds. The sprouted seed which grows down into the soil is called root. The part which grows to the surface of the soil is the stem. Later, leaves begin to form from the stem, and that seed is then called a ‘seedling’ as it can produce and prepare food. Slowly and steadily it develops as a plant, sheds seeds, and the cycle continues.

Animals:

Animals that give birth to babies:
Animals such as humans, lions, tigers, cows or bears give live birth.
The babies are formed inside the body of the mother.  They stay inside for several weeks and are then born.  When the babies are born they are weak and helpless.  Their mothers care for them and protect them till they learn to look after themselves.  They feed their babies with their own milk.  Such animals are called mammals.

Animals that lay eggs:
Birds make nests to lay eggs.  The female bird lays the eggs.
Think of the egg of a hen.  There is a hard outer shell that protects the egg.  If you carefully break the shell and collect the contents in a bowl.  You see that in the centre is a yellow portion called the yolk. It contains the developing baby called the embryo.  It also contains food for the embryo.  Surrounding the yolk is a white portion called the albumin.  It protects the embryo and provides water to it.

After the eggs are laid, one of the parent birds, usually the mother sits on them to keep them warm.  The baby birds start growing inside the eggs.  After a few weeks, when the baby birds are fully developed, they break open the shell and come out.  The parent birds feed and protect the young birds until they can look after themselves.

Insects:
All insects lay eggs.  Many of them go through several stages before changing into adults.  Cockroaches pass through three stages in their life cycle,  The baby cockroach that hatches out from a egg looks like the adult cockroach except that it does not have wings.  It is called a nymph.  It sheds its skin several times and changes into an adult. Shedding of old skin is called moulting.

Grasshoppers, locusts and termites also go through these three stages.  Butterflies and moths go through four stages in their life cycle before becoming adults.  The female butterfly lays eggs in clusters on the under part of a leaf.  The eggs hatch into young called larvae.  They look like worms.  The larva of a butterfly is called a caterpillar.  The caterpillar eats leaves and grows quickly.  It then forms a shell called cocoon around its body.  This stage is called pupa.  Inside the pupa the caterpillar slowly changes its shape.  An adult butterfly finally comes out of the pupa.

Aquatic animals that lay eggs:
A female frog lays hundreds of eggs at a time in a lake or a pond.  When the eggs hatch, tiny tadpoles come out.  They swim in the water and look like fish.  After a few weeks the tadpoles start to grow legs.  Their tails become shorter and shorter and finally disappear.  After some time they change into adult frogs.
Fish lay eggs in water.  They lay thousands of eggs at one time.  Baby fish hatch out of the eggs.  But many of the eggs and baby fish are eaten by other fish.
Crocodiles dig shallow pits in sandy river banks to lay their eggs.  The mother covers the eggs with sand and guards them.  When the babies hatch it digs away the sand and sets them free.  As they come out, the mother keeps them in a special pouch at the bottom of her mouth.
Turtles and tortoise dig holes in the sand and lay their eggs in it.  They cover them and leave them alone to hatch. The young find their way out and crawl to the nearest water.
The Australian duck-billed platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs.

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