Kindergarten Hallways “Chirping” with Excitement at Mackeben Elementary School

Instead of hearing the usual sounds of children chattering and teachers leading students through a math or science lesson, the kindergarten hallways at Mackeben Elementary School were literally “chirping” with excitement these past few days thanks to a hands-on educational unit that gives students the opportunity to learn about the process of hatching chicks.

Each year after returning from spring break, kindergarten classrooms are transformed into mini chick hatching labs which allows teachers the opportunity to teach a multiple of subject areas including science, language arts, writing, technology, math, and career education.

The entire process for chicks to hatch takes 21 days and involves a great deal of care and patience. Mackeben teacher Jennifer Wilkinson brought the learning experience to her kindergarten classroom nearly 13 years ago after attending a chick hatching class at the McHenry County Farm Bureau in Woodstock where she learned the proper way to hatch chicks in a classroom environment – from incubating the chicken eggs to caring for the chicks once hatched. Wilkinson has shared her knowledge with fellow kindergarten teachers who now enjoy this experience with their students each spring.

The chick unit brings the entire school community together as students, teachers, parents, and other guests are invited into the classroom to take a peek at the little chirping chicks. It’s always a sad day when students must say good-bye to their little feathery friends, but they learn early on that the baby chicks must continue their life’s journey by returning to the farm.

Financial support for the chick unit is provided by the District 158 Education Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Fruin of Fruin Farms, and Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder of Schroeder Asphalt.  Special thanks to Farmer Ryan for his assistance each year and for providing a new home to the baby chicks.

Mackeben Elementary School is located at 800 Academic Drive, Algonquin, Illinois, 60102.  For more information, please contact Mrs. Wilkinson at (847) 659-3400.