Pate Elementary School hatches chicks through 4-H program
“This is amazing!” exclaimed 6-year old Madison Lindsey as she watched baby chicks pip out of their shells in Mrs. Ashleigh Chaplin’s kindergarten class at Pate Elementary School. Just in time for spring, Mrs. Chaplin invited the 4-H Embryology Project into her classroom. Her students observed first hand the beginning of the life cycle and were able to care for these “babies” during their first few days of life.
This project was a wonderful hands-on learning experience for my students, said Mrs. Chaplin. They were able to learn about the life cycle of a chicken in such a meaningful way that they will remember long after they leave kindergarten. Seeing the excitement in their eyes as the chicks hatched and then reading and writing about the chicks and their life cycle was amazing!
As part of their learning experience, Mrs. Chaplin had her students write sentences about chickens, color a life-cycle wheel, and make sure the chicks were safe and had food and clean water daily.
Carrie Munn, one of Mrs. Chaplin’s students, reported that a girl chicken is called a hen and a boy chicken is called a rooster and that she just wanted to play with them so bad.
The 4-H Embryology Project is sponsored by the Darlington County Soil and Water Conservation District and 4-H and is offered free of charge to Darlington County teachers. Fertile eggs, an incubator, technical support, and all supplies are provided and brought into the classroom for this 25-day project. For more information about 4-H and 4-H Embryology, contact Darlington County 4-H at 803-393-0484.
4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension Service, a nationwide partnership of federal, state and county governments, and the private sector. The Clemson Extension offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.