C is for Chicken- January 5-9

This week, students had the opportunity to explore some feathery friends. On Monday, Ms. Laura brought in her friendly spotted Silkie for the students to hold and take pictures with. On Wednesday and Friday, children had the opportunity to practice teamwork by working together to catch one of the chickens here on the farm- no easy feat! Their efforts paid off, with many photos to follow. Students learned about the parts of a chicken, like the beak and comb. I introduced the kids to a play chicken coop I made out of cardboard, as well as some fake eggs, to encourage child led learning through play. We also talked about what a coop is and how chickens roost when they sleep. We read the book If I Built a House, which helped illustrate how coops are to chickens what houses are to humans. We also read the silly book Interrupting Chicken, which was a great attention grabber. We learned that chickens like to lay eggs where it’s dark and quiet. We also learned that the color of a chicken’s earlobe is most often a clue as to what color egg it will lay. As an example, we showed the children how Ms. Laura’s chicken had a blue earlobe, and how it laid beautiful light blue eggs. We learned that a girl chicken is called a hen and a boy chicken is a rooster. Many of the kids already knew that chicken starts with the letter C, and then we all practiced the C sound together. Students were invited to paint a chicken craft on their own stump, and had the chance to practice their sharing skills, as most stumps only had 1-2 paint colors. Friday students practiced stamping colorful chicken tracks using paint and wire in the shape of chicken feet. Some student took home a real egg, which (even as nerve wracking as it was), is a great exercise for children to practice care, patience, gentleness and caution. The week also included plenty of opportunities for animal interactions and farm chores- I think watering the animals is one of the students’ most favorite activities!

We also read a poem (with motions!) Try it at home!

The Silly Little Chicken

There once was a chicken named Chicka-Choo,
(point to self, then flap arms)
With purple striped socks and one red shoe.
(point to feet)

She danced in the yard and flapped her wings,
(wiggle body, flap arms)
“Bawk-bawk-bawk!” she loved to sing.
(clap hands and shout “bawk!”)

She pecked at the corn and scratched the ground,
(bend and pretend to peck, then scratch with foot)
Scritch-scratch-scritch, round and round.
(scratch again, walk in circle)

She laid an egg in her cozy nest,
(make a round shape with arms)
Then puffed her feathers and took a rest.
(hands on hips, then rest head on hands)

She wiggled and giggled, and let out a sigh
(take collective deep breath)
And then chased a beetle bug passing by (run in place)

Silly and happy the whole day through,
(big smile, arms wide)
Life on the farm is fun for Chicka-Choo!
(cheer and clap)