Popular Chicken, Egg Unit Coming Soon to Area School

One local farmer will soon be playing an integral part in making a popular program at one area elementary school happen.

Farmer Ryan, a local farmer from Woodstock, will deliver 240 fertilized chicken eggs to 10 Mackeben Elementary School kindergarten classrooms on April 4 as part of a chicken egg development unit. He will also educated children on how to have a successful hatch rate and will give the chicks a home on his farm when the program is completed.

Each classroom will receive two dozen chicken eggs from Farmer Ryan, said Jennifer Wilkinson, a kindergarten teacher at Mackeben.

“It takes 21 days for the chicks to hatch,” Wilkinson said. “We generally keep the baby chicks five to seven days in the classroom. The total program lasts four weeks.”

The chicks should start hatching the afternoon of April 25. From that point, the sounds of chick chirping and kindergarteners giggling will emanate from Mackeben's classrooms.

Kids Stretch Math, Writing, Science Skills

The chicken egg development unit is not just a science course. The teachers incorporate the program into language arts, writing, technology, math and career education.

In math, students count the hatching days backwards, from 21 to 0. They also predict the number of eggs they think will hatch, compare that number to the actual number of hatchlings and graph their results, Wilkinson said.

For language arts, teachers read related non-fiction books so students can learn about chickens, the chicken life cycle, farms and farm animals. They also learn about other animals that lay eggs.

"We read fiction stories like 'Chicken Little' and the 'Little Red Hen' series," Wilkinson said. “With these stories we sequence events and compare like stories by the same author.”

Teachers also discuss careers – like farming and veterinarian jobs. For writing, the students journal about the growth occurring inside the egg each day. They also write creative stories about the chicks.

For science, the students learn how to provide the baby chicks with food, water, heat and shelter. They are taught how to properly handle the chickens so they don't hurt them, and the chickens don't hurt the kids.

Financial Support For Program

The chicken life cycle lab has been a part of the District 158 curriculum for years. But Wilkinson was able to bring the program to Mackeben after she wrote a grant proposal 13 years ago, she said.

Schroeder’s Asphalt, of Huntley, originally donated $1,200 ($100 per classroom) to get the program started. Schroeder’s Asphalt continues to contribute to the program every year, and this year Fruin Farms is also helping fund the program, Wilkinson said.

Now Wilkinson presents a maintenance grant, varying from $200 to $450 annually, to keep the unit going. The money pays for fertilized eggs, food, bedding, heat lamps and shop towel.