Do You Like Chicks?

I do! And I am so egg-cited (sorry, couldn't resist) that my classroom is going to have some!


They'll start out as eggs, of course. They'll spend a few weeks in an incubator. After about 21 days they will hatch... and then... we'll actually be able to hold and pet them! As a total animal lover, I couldn't be happier about this. I am planning to get in lots of  "chick time" when the kids are not in the room.


 (At first I was concerned about what would happen with the chicks after they left us. A few years ago I found out something terrible about the chicks born in the petting zoo area of our local zoo. You probably don't want me to tell you about it. But it made me never want to visit that petting zoo again! However, Mrs. Eagle assured me that the company that sends us the eggs also takes back the chicks, and they produce more eggs for schools. Even the ones that are born with disabilities get to be "rehabilitated" by a local 4-H boy!)


I am going to be taking over "Units," which is basically just a classroom time in which we do anything that doesn't fit into reading, Language Arts, math or handwriting. So, crafts, creative writing, games, etc. Since I've been there, Unit has almost always been some sort of writing activity, such as making a list of spring words or writing a story about what you'd do if you met a leprechaun. But other activities are acceptable too.


So... guess what I am about to ask!


I wondered if anyone out there has ideas for egg and chick themed activities! I thought the Internet would be filled with lesson plans, but there are barely any. The ones I've been able to find are sorting pictures of animals that lay eggs versus animals that don't, making a countdown poster to count the days until they hatch, and a craft that involves being able to open and close a clothespin so it looks like a chick is hatching from an egg. I'd love to hear any other ideas you may have! Bring 'em on!


And now for a funny moment... a conversation I had with Triller. One of the school nurses is retiring, and the kids were supposed to be writing about the things they remember about her. Triller cannot write, and needed one-to-one assistance. Usually a teacher will coax some words out of him, put them into sentences, and write them out on the paper in light colored marker. Then, Triller can trace them. So here is what Triller came up with.
Me: "What does the nurse do for you?"
Triller: "Hammer!"
Me: "No, I don't think she uses a hammer! Lets see. She puts a thermometer in your ear to check your..."
Triller: "Lights!"
Towhee (evesdropping): "She doesn't work for the electric company, Triller!"
Me: "Hmmm. How about, if you fall and hurt your knee and you're bleeding, what does the nurse put on it?"
Triller: "Knife!"
I never met the nurse who is retiring, but she must be a very violent nurse, to be treating children with hammers and knives!


Thanks for reading, everyone! Please let me know about your egg and chick ideas!