The Chicks Have Hatched!
As part of their study of birds, the second grade children hatched chicks. This hands-on activity provides a real live lesson about the various stages of development both inside the egg and after hatching. Both classes received the incubator and had time to adjust the temperature before the eggs were delivered the next day. The children needed to turn the eggs three times a day and keep enough water in the incubator to ensure that the chicks would not stick to the shell. It was critical that the temperature in the incubator remained between 99 and 100.8 degrees. Each child kept a vigilant watch over the incubators to be sure that the hatch was successful.
The chicks remained in the incubators for 24 hours. Then the fun began. The children had several opportunities to play with the chicks, and they even invited the kindergarten students to join them. This allowed them to see the characteristics of birds and their habits on a very personal level. As you can tell from the slideshows below, it was a delightful learning experience for all involved.
