Baby Chicks Born at Terence C. Reilly School No. 7

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Baby Chicks Born at Terence C. Reilly School No. 7

Terence C. Reilly students in pre-kindergarten and third grade celebrated the culminating result of their Egg Incubation Project: the birth of baby chicks!  News soon spread as Mrs. Cedeño announced the arrival of the special guests to the entire school along with the singing of “Happy Birthday” by students.

Pre-kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bastos and third grade teacher Mrs. Kaverick coordinated this special activity with Quiver Farm in Pennsylvania.  The incubated eggs and incubator were soon delivered and assisted students in following the life cycle of the chicken and to nurture their love of animals.  "The baby chicks were cute.  They were fun to play with and interesting to observe," exclaimed third grade student Alyssa Queen.                               

Here are the activities carried out throughout these exciting weeks:

Unit Launch and Introducing the Eggs in the incubator:

During our class meeting the students observed the placement of chicken eggs in an incubator. The teacher discussed the temperature at which the incubator had to be set, and how many days the eggs had to be in the incubator to hatch into chicks. The teacher also discussed classroom rules about having an incubator in the room.

How strong is an egg?

The students placed the next chick on the clip and discussed how many days the eggs have been in the incubator as well as how many more days until the eggs hatch.

Culminating Activity /  Hatch Day:

At the end of the unit, the eggs hatched in the incubator and the students were able to observe the completion of a life cycle of an egg. The chickens were on display until the time was up with our student teaching that the chicks would be taken to a farm for proper care. A snack of hidden Peeps was be provided to the students to celebrate the hatching of the classroom chicks. The student were be able to analyze data about sizes, colors, and number of chicks that hatched. Also there was a chick skit with several students, as well as reading of the letters the children wrote to the chicks.

Hatch day activities also involved wearing our chick hats as well as doing the chicken dance, and reading all songs and related poems about eggs and chickens. Both classes had the opportunity to name the chicks by submitting a name, which was voted on by the class as a democratic rule.

The mission of Quiver Farm is “to educate children and adults alike, about farm life and the animals that make that life possible.”  A representative from the farm came with a gray bunny named Bugs to meet the new chicks and bring them back to begin their lives on the farm.