hatching

On Monday morning we had three chicks hatched in our incubator with the remainder following close behind. The children eagerly watched the incubator, waiting for the chicks to be dry enough to move to our bin. On Tuesday we began to take chicks out on our oval rug, placing them between two children for close observation.

We talked about the importance of calm bodies and quiet voices. Toby shared that the chicks don't have any "mothers" in our classroom - so we had to be careful and loving! Some of the most powerful moments were later in the week, when small groups of children would sit still with a chick and then pass the chick to a peer - the passing of a chick was a big responsibility and the gentle passes and small smiles made for a collection of beautiful moments.

By Friday our chicks were bopping around the bin, ready for more space and less interested in the warmth of a child's palm. It was a little more challenging to hold the fluffy chicks, so during morning meeting we held a couple of chicks for the last time, before saying goodbye at the end of the day!