Eggs: Part 2 We have baby chicks!

About 25 days after Hannah purchased an incubator we now have baby chicks. They are snuggled up next to each other under the heat lamp.  They are healthy, eating and drinking well.  We are waiting on the turkeys next so STAY TUNED!  This is just another extension of our home education plan. Some may ask, what does raising chicks teach children? 

Raising chicks help the kids realize that they can learn a lot about chickens—and animals in general—through close observation. They also learned about the special needs of eggs/chicks in order to take care of them on a farm. 

Hannah and Jacob began first by telling me what they knew about chickens in general and then were encouraged to think and talk about how eggs hatch into chicks and the kinds of special things that are needed to care for eggs/chicks. We then watched videos and photos of the development of a chick from fertilization to hatching from an egg. They discuss what they observed to help reinforce and broaden what they are learning. Lastly, they learned diligence, as it took them 21 days of turning eggs 3 times per day. It helps them appreciate hard work in the end.