Some of you may know that I live on a farm in rural, Arkansas. One of the "cool" things about living on a farm is being able to see different animals, and different stages of development. You can learn a lot from a farm, I like to think of it as a built-in classroom! For kids that live in the city or have never experienced life on a farm, studying about hatching chicks is a great way to bring the farm into the classroom!
The chickens are a hoot! My Mom raises Buff Orpington chickens, which are a pretty big chicken that lays large brown eggs. She also has a few Bantam chickens that are a smaller breed. Sometimes there are a few crosses in the mix, their eggs range in color from a darker cream to a brown color. All of the chickens mingle with the other animals. Sometimes even getting cozy with the barn cats!
I was inspired to create my Hatching Chicks Mini Unit a few years ago after seeing that there wasn't a lot of quality materials on the subject out there.
We've always enjoyed counting down the days until the hens came off the nest with their clutch of chicks, and seeing what color the chicks are. We don't need to incubate them as the hens do that for us. We have, on occasion, hatched chicks out in the open because of the warm consistent temperatures in the summer time. Sometimes the hens will leave the nest before hatching out all of her chicks, which leaves a couple unattended. You can hear the little chick peeping inside the eggs, and we usually hunt around to see if we can find the eggs and help them finish being hatched out and then they are placed under a hen at night.
My Hatching Chicks Unit was designed to be open-ended. The packet features a 21 day life cycle with original hand drawn illustrations.
The ring book depicts all 21 days from fertilization through hatching.
The chickens are a hoot! My Mom raises Buff Orpington chickens, which are a pretty big chicken that lays large brown eggs. She also has a few Bantam chickens that are a smaller breed. Sometimes there are a few crosses in the mix, their eggs range in color from a darker cream to a brown color. All of the chickens mingle with the other animals. Sometimes even getting cozy with the barn cats!
I was inspired to create my Hatching Chicks Mini Unit a few years ago after seeing that there wasn't a lot of quality materials on the subject out there.
Click the cover to view the Hatching Chicks Mini Unit
My Hatching Chicks Unit was designed to be open-ended. The packet features a 21 day life cycle with original hand drawn illustrations.
The ring book depicts all 21 days from fertilization through hatching.
Also included in this packet are 21 Life Cycle Posters to accompany the Unit.
This is just a sample image of what is included. Chicken Word Wall Cards, Chicken Journal Cover and observation sheets, and Parts of an Egg labeling worksheet. There are over 16 activities included in this packet. Pieces are designed to mix and match, or be used as part of a larger unit.
This cute egg/chick craftivity is also included (pattern, and instructions).
My vision for this Unit was to use it in conjunction with incubating and hatching chicks in the classroom. Although it is not a requirement to hatch out chicks, the materials can be used without that. The observation sheets could be used if you visited a farm with chickens.
Click the CHICK to download the chick writing papers freebie!
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI am wondering where you got the clipart for the 21-day life cycle? Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for asking. I drew the artwork.
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