Yesterday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! It all started with a sore throat. I was on day two of a sore throat and day two was much worse than day one! After waking up to a sore throat I learned that it was going to be a very rainy day. Rainy days are my least favorite because there is no recess on rainy days! I was truly dreading going into work, but I decided that I'd just have to get through the day. As it turns out, I should have stayed home! This was by far the worst teaching day I've had to date!
I picked up my kids from breakfast at 7:30. About half of my students are zoned for another school and take a shuttle bus to my building. The shuttle bus always arrives late and therefore, I only had about half of my class when I picked them up. I brought the kids into my room and they began the normal routine of unpacking, signing in, getting on the computers, and looking at books. Well, the rain must have impacted the brains of my students because they appeared to have completely forgotten how to behave and look at books. I told them to pick up the books and put them away. I was upset at their behavior and told them to just sit quietly for a few minutes until the rest of our class got there. While they were sitting there doing absolutely nothing one of my evaluation team members came in to observe me! Since it's my second year teaching I have to go through evaluations in order to earn my permanent certification. So, I was feeling kinda nervous, and I was getting hot. I quickly began a rhythm activity and the rest of my students finally came into the classroom. As my kids came in, I noticed a child that I didn't recognize. As it turns out, it was my quintuplet's brother! He decided to take the shuttle bus from his zoned school and spend the morning at our school! I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation because I was being evaluated! So, I asked my assistant to please call his mother. While she went and called the child's mother I began my morning activities.
My students acted as if they had never been in school before! They were bouncing around, talking to each other, hitting one another, and crawling around. In the mean time my evaluator is sitting in the back of the room writing away! On top of that, I still didn't feel well! All that singing and dancing about killed me! One of my students had a tantrum and when my assistant came back to our activities she was less than helpful! Apparently she could not get in touch with the mother of the stow away! Finally we transitioned into small group time. The child having the tantrum continued to misbehave during small group, but everyone else did just fine.
Thank goodness the evaluator left immediately after small group time. I was able to call the school the stow away was zoned for and let them know the situation. They said they'd call me back. They never did call me back and I very shortly found out why. The extra kid was fine during morning activities, small group, and center time. When it was time to clean up, I learned that this child was less than charming! All of the sudden he became very difficult and disobedient! I asked him why he came on the bus to our school and he gave me one of those smiles kids give when they are about to lie. He said " My mom told me to". I said "No, she didn't". He replied by scowling and saying "BECAUSE MY TEACHER ALWAYS GIVES ME SAD FACES!" I decided it was time to take that child to the office. I have my own naughty children to deal with and I didn't need to deal with anymore!
Things calmed down a bit after lunch. We watched a few stories online and took an extended rest. During rest time I went to a meeting. I was telling my team members about these really cute crafts I ordered for my kids to do after our trip to the farm. I was so excited about them. I was even more excited after the meeting when I found out that my package had been delivered! I picked up the package and took it to my room. I couldn't wait to open it! After opening it I quickly realized that the adorable craft I had ordered was not in the box. I checked the paperwork and not only did it say that the craft was indeed in the box, I was also charged for it. I wasted no time contacting an unfriendly customer service representative. She informed me that they were out of stock and that's why the item was not in my box. I was really upset, but she credited my account (which shouldn't have been charged in the first place). I was so mad that I threatened to return the rest of my items. She replied by letting me know that I'd need a special permission code and that I'd have to pay for shipping! I was having a bad day.
My students continued to act as if they had never been to school and they drove me nuts for the rest of the day. Needless to say, my throat took a beating! Just as the clock was about to strike two one of my lovely students decided to scratch another student on the face! His face was bleeding! I had to take him to the nurse. I was so close to the end of the day, but they day found one more thing to throw at me!
Thankfully, when I got home my husband was fairly understanding with me and only upset me a couple of times! I really love that guy!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Biters, Quintuplets, and Stress, OH MY!
A lot has happened in the past month! I am still loving my students more and more every day! I am up to 18 students and will have my 19th on Monday. My kiddos are getting better and better at following the rules, and they basically know the daily routine. Going from kindergarten to pre-k has been a difficult adjustment, but it's getting easier.
In pre-k there is a lot of tattling, pushing, hitting, kicking, spitting, talking, and all around selfishness. I hear a lot of "I'm not your friend anymore," and "He's being mean," and "I'm telling on you!" All of these things are pretty normal for a typical 4 year old. At least once a day somebody knocks over someone else's block structure, or struggles over a desired toy. I can handle all of those problems with ease. What I cannot wrap my head around is biting! YES BITING! At 4 years old I figured most kids are out of the biting phase but as luck would have it, I have been blessed with a child who is not! This child I am speaking about, MB, is my most challenging student. He is usually the culprit when someone is pushed, kicked, hit, or any other number of naughty things. One day out of the blue, MB walked up to another student and without warning BIT HIM ON THE SHOULDER! Thank god he bit the child through the clothes because this boy had a nice quarter sized bite mark on him! I was unsure of how I was supposed to handle this situation, but I knew I had to remove him from my classroom. Not only was I really angry that he did that, but I also needed to get him away from my other kids. My dilemma was that MB didn't appear to be angry or upset when he bit him and therefore I had no idea why he bit the child. Also, I wasn't entirely sure what a developmentally appropriate punishment would be. So, unfortunately I took him to the main office where I ran into someone in charge. I will not disclose this person because who knows who's reading this! The person in charge looked at me as if I was crazy and as if to say "What do you want me to do about it?" This person didn't even think it was necessary to take the bitten child to the nurse for documentation. I was beyond angry and took the child to the nurse anyways. The nurse agreed that the situation was serious enough to warrant being looked at and documented. I decided that day that I would no longer take MB to the office for behavior.
Even though I had made the decision not to take MB to the office again, my decision was not kept. About a week after the biting incident MB was tantruming because he didn't want to go to time out. He had been particularly naughty that day and I had had enough. While he was tantruming and refusing to go to time out he wrapped his little legs and arms around my right leg. I proceeded to walk towards the time out chair when all of the sudden I felt a pain right below my butt. I stopped and looked at him with my eyes wide and my mouth hanging opened and said " Did you just bite me?" I could not believe he had done that! I picked him up SO fast and marched right back down to the office. Thankfully there was another person of authority in the office this time who takes biting very seriously and the child was removed from my room for the remainder of the school day. Unfortunately the child was suspended which I didn't think was appropriate at all!
I could go on and on about the biting, but to wrap it up, he had one more incident with biting a few days after the leg/butt bite and was suspended once again. We had a meeting about his behavior and hopefully we will find a way to help him.
This post is getting longer than I anticipated, but I must write about my newest student. He is adorable, and very active, and very sweet, and he is a quintuplet! All five quints are boys, they have an older brother who is only 8 months older than them, and another brother several years older than them! He has been a bit of a handful, but he is very bright and I think once he settles in, he'll be alright.
Finally, this job has been very stressful. I have done paperwork, and trainings, and meetings and learned a new program, and I am tired! Not to mention I don't always have the help I need. I cannot go into more details on the last part because again, I have no idea who is reading this. I feel like I never get through everything I have to do because I do not get a break, and I'm always being pulled for meetings, although the meetings have calmed down in the last two weeks or so. I am also going through my evaluation this year and that is also very stressful!
On the positive side, I won a contest through Sonic (thanks to several people who spent hours typing in codes and voting for me) and I have an incubator and will be getting fertile duck eggs for my classroom! WOOHOO! Also thanks to the people who donated to my project before I won the contest.
I love my job and I hope I never burn out! I have to always remember why I am there and how many children I am impacting by staying positive.
In pre-k there is a lot of tattling, pushing, hitting, kicking, spitting, talking, and all around selfishness. I hear a lot of "I'm not your friend anymore," and "He's being mean," and "I'm telling on you!" All of these things are pretty normal for a typical 4 year old. At least once a day somebody knocks over someone else's block structure, or struggles over a desired toy. I can handle all of those problems with ease. What I cannot wrap my head around is biting! YES BITING! At 4 years old I figured most kids are out of the biting phase but as luck would have it, I have been blessed with a child who is not! This child I am speaking about, MB, is my most challenging student. He is usually the culprit when someone is pushed, kicked, hit, or any other number of naughty things. One day out of the blue, MB walked up to another student and without warning BIT HIM ON THE SHOULDER! Thank god he bit the child through the clothes because this boy had a nice quarter sized bite mark on him! I was unsure of how I was supposed to handle this situation, but I knew I had to remove him from my classroom. Not only was I really angry that he did that, but I also needed to get him away from my other kids. My dilemma was that MB didn't appear to be angry or upset when he bit him and therefore I had no idea why he bit the child. Also, I wasn't entirely sure what a developmentally appropriate punishment would be. So, unfortunately I took him to the main office where I ran into someone in charge. I will not disclose this person because who knows who's reading this! The person in charge looked at me as if I was crazy and as if to say "What do you want me to do about it?" This person didn't even think it was necessary to take the bitten child to the nurse for documentation. I was beyond angry and took the child to the nurse anyways. The nurse agreed that the situation was serious enough to warrant being looked at and documented. I decided that day that I would no longer take MB to the office for behavior.
Even though I had made the decision not to take MB to the office again, my decision was not kept. About a week after the biting incident MB was tantruming because he didn't want to go to time out. He had been particularly naughty that day and I had had enough. While he was tantruming and refusing to go to time out he wrapped his little legs and arms around my right leg. I proceeded to walk towards the time out chair when all of the sudden I felt a pain right below my butt. I stopped and looked at him with my eyes wide and my mouth hanging opened and said " Did you just bite me?" I could not believe he had done that! I picked him up SO fast and marched right back down to the office. Thankfully there was another person of authority in the office this time who takes biting very seriously and the child was removed from my room for the remainder of the school day. Unfortunately the child was suspended which I didn't think was appropriate at all!
I could go on and on about the biting, but to wrap it up, he had one more incident with biting a few days after the leg/butt bite and was suspended once again. We had a meeting about his behavior and hopefully we will find a way to help him.
This post is getting longer than I anticipated, but I must write about my newest student. He is adorable, and very active, and very sweet, and he is a quintuplet! All five quints are boys, they have an older brother who is only 8 months older than them, and another brother several years older than them! He has been a bit of a handful, but he is very bright and I think once he settles in, he'll be alright.
Finally, this job has been very stressful. I have done paperwork, and trainings, and meetings and learned a new program, and I am tired! Not to mention I don't always have the help I need. I cannot go into more details on the last part because again, I have no idea who is reading this. I feel like I never get through everything I have to do because I do not get a break, and I'm always being pulled for meetings, although the meetings have calmed down in the last two weeks or so. I am also going through my evaluation this year and that is also very stressful!
On the positive side, I won a contest through Sonic (thanks to several people who spent hours typing in codes and voting for me) and I have an incubator and will be getting fertile duck eggs for my classroom! WOOHOO! Also thanks to the people who donated to my project before I won the contest.
I love my job and I hope I never burn out! I have to always remember why I am there and how many children I am impacting by staying positive.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Pre-K Here I Come!
Yesterday was my first day teaching four year old pre-k. It was exhausting! I have been back to work for about four weeks now but up until yesterday I had no students. People kept telling me how lucky I was not to have kids yet, and how lucky I am that I don't have to write my own lesson plans. I can tell you one thing. I am NOT as lucky as they think! People don't seem to understand the prep work and paperwork that pre-k requires. They also don't understand that we have to test children into the program and do home visits! I can promise you I was not sitting around eating chocolates for the past few weeks!
Well, yesterday went just like you might imagine. I had a few tears in the morning, but not nearly as many as I thought I'd have. I had some concerned parents. I had children who act as if they've never heard the words no, or stop before...and maybe they haven't. I also learned the names of a few students very quickly. Those of you who are teachers know that the kids whose names you learn first, are they ones that drive you nuts! I had one boy MS who had very little self control and talked a lot. I have already named a few of my gray hairs after him! Here's an example of MS. "Mrs. Hainey is it time to play? I want to play with the dinosaurs. When are we going to play? Can I get some water? I gotta pee. Is it time to play now? Can I eat the cookies? I want to eat the cookies. Mrs. Hainey is it time to play now?" Imagine all that coming out of a four year old in about the span of five minutes! He drove me nuts! But he is the cutest thing I've ever seen and I think that once I get him trained he will be just fine! Today he knocked over some one's block tower. I said "MS why did you knock down her tower?" He replied "because it's fun to knock stuff down!"
I think pre-k will be a great adventure and I am looking forward to falling in love with a new group of kids. I am going to try to stay positive and give my students opportunities that they would not otherwise have. I guess in a way all those teachers were right. I am really lucky. I have students that smile at me every morning even when they've nothing to smile about. They already love me and look up to me. I think it's an honor to be allowed to work with and get to know these precious children.
Well, yesterday went just like you might imagine. I had a few tears in the morning, but not nearly as many as I thought I'd have. I had some concerned parents. I had children who act as if they've never heard the words no, or stop before...and maybe they haven't. I also learned the names of a few students very quickly. Those of you who are teachers know that the kids whose names you learn first, are they ones that drive you nuts! I had one boy MS who had very little self control and talked a lot. I have already named a few of my gray hairs after him! Here's an example of MS. "Mrs. Hainey is it time to play? I want to play with the dinosaurs. When are we going to play? Can I get some water? I gotta pee. Is it time to play now? Can I eat the cookies? I want to eat the cookies. Mrs. Hainey is it time to play now?" Imagine all that coming out of a four year old in about the span of five minutes! He drove me nuts! But he is the cutest thing I've ever seen and I think that once I get him trained he will be just fine! Today he knocked over some one's block tower. I said "MS why did you knock down her tower?" He replied "because it's fun to knock stuff down!"
I think pre-k will be a great adventure and I am looking forward to falling in love with a new group of kids. I am going to try to stay positive and give my students opportunities that they would not otherwise have. I guess in a way all those teachers were right. I am really lucky. I have students that smile at me every morning even when they've nothing to smile about. They already love me and look up to me. I think it's an honor to be allowed to work with and get to know these precious children.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Now It's Time To Say Good-bye
Today was my very first, last day of school as a teacher. My day was fairly low key and unemotionial. I only had two students show up and therefore I was able to finish packing up my room. A more emotional day was last Tuesday when my students had their Kindergarten Celebration! We no longer call them graduations because....well...I don't know why. My students worked VERY hard to learn the song Happiniess from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. It is a very difficult song because there is really no refrain. We worked on that song at least three or five times a day for about three weeks. My kids were the JAM and they were really excited about performing for their parents. The big day came and all but two students showed up on time. They were dressed in their suits and dresses and looked simply adorable. The crowd was large and I was pretty nervous. I am not a very good public speaker, and I was expected to say a few words about my class and my assistant. When it came time for my students to perform we all stood nicely on stage and the music started. We started singing when I noticed that something was not quite right. We were supposed to be singing to a cd without vocals but as the song went on I realized the music teacher had put in the WRONG TRACK! This would be perfectly fine if the vocals on the track were singing the same lyrics as us!! I don't think anyone but me and the music teacher noticed. Throughout the program the parents were loud, inconsiderate, and rude. It made me a little angry because my students had worked so hard practicing and the parents acted as if they were at a party or something. After the program I had ten students stay at school and seven students go home. Each day following the celebration I had less and less students and today I was down to my final two. I was not emotional or sad when the day ended, but I did a lot of reflecting on how my year went and what I could have done better.
When I started teaching I was insecure and knew nothing about what I really needed to do in order to teach my students. As I got to know my students, administrators and co-workers I started to get better and better at teaching. By February or March I felt like I had a good handle on teaching. I realized that there were major changes that needed to be made in order to make my next group of students successful. I sorta felt like I let my current students down by not teaching as effectively as I knew I could do next year. I quickly realized that I did my best with what I had and that my students were given a lot of new experiences that they would not have had if they were in a different class. I believe that even if my students don't have the highest test scores, or the best writing and reading skills, they have a lot of confidence and experience and therefore they will thrive in first grade.
A few weeks ago I found out that my position was being eliminated, and then I found out that my principal is retiring. Neither of those things were very good news. I love my principal and I was afraid that if she left I would not get a position in my school next fall. She assured me that she is working on getting me a contract and I believe her. I really feel like that school is where I am meant to be. I recently found out about an opening at my school in the 4K program. I expect to hear in the next week or two whether I have the position or not.
All in all I have had a really fantastic year. I have met some wonderful teachers, made some awesome friends, and taught the most precious kindergartners I have ever worked with. I have fallen in love with teaching and can't wait to do it again next year.
Until then I say so long. I hope you will continue to follow me and support me as I venture into my second year of teaching.
When I started teaching I was insecure and knew nothing about what I really needed to do in order to teach my students. As I got to know my students, administrators and co-workers I started to get better and better at teaching. By February or March I felt like I had a good handle on teaching. I realized that there were major changes that needed to be made in order to make my next group of students successful. I sorta felt like I let my current students down by not teaching as effectively as I knew I could do next year. I quickly realized that I did my best with what I had and that my students were given a lot of new experiences that they would not have had if they were in a different class. I believe that even if my students don't have the highest test scores, or the best writing and reading skills, they have a lot of confidence and experience and therefore they will thrive in first grade.
A few weeks ago I found out that my position was being eliminated, and then I found out that my principal is retiring. Neither of those things were very good news. I love my principal and I was afraid that if she left I would not get a position in my school next fall. She assured me that she is working on getting me a contract and I believe her. I really feel like that school is where I am meant to be. I recently found out about an opening at my school in the 4K program. I expect to hear in the next week or two whether I have the position or not.
All in all I have had a really fantastic year. I have met some wonderful teachers, made some awesome friends, and taught the most precious kindergartners I have ever worked with. I have fallen in love with teaching and can't wait to do it again next year.
Until then I say so long. I hope you will continue to follow me and support me as I venture into my second year of teaching.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
An Uncertain Future
If you have read any of my posts, you know that I adore my students and absolutely LOVE my job. The school year is almost over and I have had some ups and downs during my first year. Initially I was overwhelmed. I felt as if I had no support system and I really had no idea what I was doing. I did my best and my efforts were definitely recognized. Eventually I found my support system and became very comfortable with the team of teachers I am working with. I know that I was not perfect and that I would change a few choices I made, but overall, I am proud of the work I did this year as a first year teacher. Over the past few months I have been reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher and I had big plans to create amazing lessons for my next class of students. I was truly excited about summer break not because I am burnt out, but because I wanted to get working on next years plans!
Yesterday I got some very upsetting news. My principal informed me that the projected numbers for next school year are not high enough to warrant a fourth kindergarten, therefore, I was placed on the surplus list. That means that if there are any openings in the district, I will be given an interview with the principals before any newbies. My principal is hoping the numbers will go up enough for the district to add my class back on, but she wants me to weigh my options if another opportunity comes along. I am not sure how I am feeling about this news. I have definitely been going through some phases in my feelings. When she first told me the news I was in shock and wasn't upset in the least. She had told me just last month not to worry about next year! Once the shock wore off and I told people the news I got a little nervous. Now is not the time to lose your job! Most people assured me that if I didn't get a job at my current school, I'd find one in the district elsewhere. That's all fine and good, but I have my dream job and am afraid I will have to take a job that I really don't want. After feeling nervous I became sad. I shed a few tears once I got home but quickly changed my feelings to being overwhelmed. I am currently packing up my house and cannot even fathom having to pack up my classroom. I have no place to put all my teacher stuff! I am not sure how I feel right now. I need to stay positive so that I can continue to serve the students that I love. I am trying not to let this news interfere with my teaching, but it is hard.
In this economy I am lucky to have found a job at all. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to teach these children this school year. I have learned so much, and no matter what my future brings, the memories and lessons I have learned this year will always be close to my heart. I am hoping to get my job back, or a job in my current school, but if God has other plans for me, I say "Bring it on!"
Yesterday I got some very upsetting news. My principal informed me that the projected numbers for next school year are not high enough to warrant a fourth kindergarten, therefore, I was placed on the surplus list. That means that if there are any openings in the district, I will be given an interview with the principals before any newbies. My principal is hoping the numbers will go up enough for the district to add my class back on, but she wants me to weigh my options if another opportunity comes along. I am not sure how I am feeling about this news. I have definitely been going through some phases in my feelings. When she first told me the news I was in shock and wasn't upset in the least. She had told me just last month not to worry about next year! Once the shock wore off and I told people the news I got a little nervous. Now is not the time to lose your job! Most people assured me that if I didn't get a job at my current school, I'd find one in the district elsewhere. That's all fine and good, but I have my dream job and am afraid I will have to take a job that I really don't want. After feeling nervous I became sad. I shed a few tears once I got home but quickly changed my feelings to being overwhelmed. I am currently packing up my house and cannot even fathom having to pack up my classroom. I have no place to put all my teacher stuff! I am not sure how I feel right now. I need to stay positive so that I can continue to serve the students that I love. I am trying not to let this news interfere with my teaching, but it is hard.
In this economy I am lucky to have found a job at all. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to teach these children this school year. I have learned so much, and no matter what my future brings, the memories and lessons I have learned this year will always be close to my heart. I am hoping to get my job back, or a job in my current school, but if God has other plans for me, I say "Bring it on!"
Friday, April 1, 2011
April Fools!
Today was a very fun (and kind of annoying) day! Since it was April Fools day, I thought I'd better think of some jokes to play on my kids. I was a little bit hesitant to do anything because I knew that if I started tricking them, they would continue with the jokes all day long! When my students walked into class telling me I had bugs on my head I knew that they already knew about the April Fools tradition! I decided to start out with a simple prank. I got the book "Arthur's April Fools" and had the students sit down on the carpet. I warned them not to say anything while I was reading. I also reminded them that talking during books would result in a color change. I picked up the book, turned it upside down and started reading it. Immediately I heard things like "Mrs. Hainey the book," and I quickly interrupted and said "Stop talking while I'm reading." I continued reading and had two or three other students try to tell me that the book was upside down. I quickly scolded them and threatened to change their colors. They didn't know what to do. Finally by about page two or three, they started raising their hands! They were looking at each other in disbelief! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. After a few pages reading upside down was making me nauseas so I called on a student who had his hand up, and he politely let me know that the book was upside down. After that, my kids wanted to trick me all day long! I decided that one prank just wasn't good enough so I thought up an even better one. I told my students that the cafeteria ran out of food, so we'd be eating fried worms. At first they didn't believe me, but after a few minutes I had several students questioning it, and some students who totally believed me. It was hard to get them into the cafeteria because they wouldn't stop chatting about the fried worms. When we finally got there I noticed on student in line crying. I said "J, what's wrong?" and he said "I don't want to eat worms!" I told him that when he got his tray just to let the lunch lady know that he didn't want any worms. It was HILARIOUS. Overall it was a pretty fun day. What made the day even better was that it was SPRING BREAK!!
This is off topic, but I found it funny. I was wearing my school sweatshirt today, and my assistant came in wearing the same sweatshirt. My students thought we looked like twins (my assistant is black). One girl said "Hey, you guys look like twins exept you (my assistant) are light skinned, and you (me) are white skinned. LOL!
This is off topic, but I found it funny. I was wearing my school sweatshirt today, and my assistant came in wearing the same sweatshirt. My students thought we looked like twins (my assistant is black). One girl said "Hey, you guys look like twins exept you (my assistant) are light skinned, and you (me) are white skinned. LOL!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
From Egg To Chick (Videos!)
About 22 days ago I began the hatching process with my kindergartners. I didn't know a thing about hatching chicks, but I did know that if it worked it would be an experience that my students would remember forever. I borrowed the incubator and egg turner from the Clemson Extension program. They also provided the eggs! The woman in charge brought me 14 fertilized eggs and kept on saying things like "You have to keep water in the pan for humidity. I know you probably already know this." The truth is...I knew NOTHING. I had no idea that eggs needed to be turned or that the eggs needed high humidity. The most memorable thing she told me was that I would have to "dispose of the chickens" (don't worry, I'm giving them to a farmer). I learned a lot really fast and just hoped that everything would turn out well.
My students kept a journal where they wrote about the development inside the eggs every five days. We looked at pictures of developing eggs and talked about what new body parts had developed. My FABULOUS father made me a brooder box complete with a heat lamp, a clear front, and chicken decor on the exterior. As the days went on my students (and the whole school) got very excited. I became really nervous that my chicks would not hatch. My classroom had become a hot topic in the building and I did not want to fail. After candling some of my eggs I could see that several were developing, but there were a few that had not. I did not look at all the eggs or discard the duds, so I really had no idea what to expect on hatching day.
By day 20 I began to panic. Eggs usually hatch in 21 days. I was not sure if the chicks would start pecking by day 20 but I really wanted to see some signs of hatching. I had convinced myself that my chicks were not going to hatch. That night I went out and bought supplies for a hatching day party (just in case my instincts were wrong). I bought chick/egg garland, peeps, and chick lollipops.
On day 21 I nervously walked down the hallway to my classroom. I unlocked my door, put my purse down, and then...I heard it. I heard noise coming from the incubator. I peeked inside and there was a hatched chick! I screamed a loud scream and ran down the hallway. I had to find SOMEONE, ANYONE to tell the good news to. It was only 6:30, so there weren't a whole lot of people at work yet! After delivering the good news, I made a Happy Hatch Day poster, and put it on my door. I was a very proud chick mama. When my students got to school they were beyond excited. The rest of the school was also excited! I think I had half of my school walk through my classroom that day. By the end of the day I had two hatched chicks and two eggs that had begun to crack!
Day 22 was very exciting. I knew some more chicks had probably hatched. I was thinking I would have a total of three to five chicks all together. You can't even imagine how surprised I was when I saw FIVE chicks in my incubator that morning! That brought my total to SEVEN! I was told that a 50% hatch rate was really impressive and I had gotten there. My students were eager to look at the chicks and they asked to hold them several times. I was still pretty nervous about those babies, so I told them no. I think I will let them hold them tomorrow if they still want to. The reason I say that is because in order to get my students to stop asking to hold the chicks, I had to tell them that there was poop on the chick's feet and therefore, they shouldn't hold them. They stopped asking pretty quick, but proceeded to tell EVERYONE that there was poop on the chick's feet. We had several more visitors.
There was one egg that had been struggling to escape all day long. I watched it for a good two hours, but it made very slow progress. I am really looking forward to seeing if he made it! I will be pretty sad if he doesn't!
I believe that kindergartners need meaningful, first hand experiences. That is what I am trying hard to give them. If they only remember one thing about kindergarten, I hope this experience is it! I know that I will remember it for a lifetime!
My students kept a journal where they wrote about the development inside the eggs every five days. We looked at pictures of developing eggs and talked about what new body parts had developed. My FABULOUS father made me a brooder box complete with a heat lamp, a clear front, and chicken decor on the exterior. As the days went on my students (and the whole school) got very excited. I became really nervous that my chicks would not hatch. My classroom had become a hot topic in the building and I did not want to fail. After candling some of my eggs I could see that several were developing, but there were a few that had not. I did not look at all the eggs or discard the duds, so I really had no idea what to expect on hatching day.
By day 20 I began to panic. Eggs usually hatch in 21 days. I was not sure if the chicks would start pecking by day 20 but I really wanted to see some signs of hatching. I had convinced myself that my chicks were not going to hatch. That night I went out and bought supplies for a hatching day party (just in case my instincts were wrong). I bought chick/egg garland, peeps, and chick lollipops.
On day 21 I nervously walked down the hallway to my classroom. I unlocked my door, put my purse down, and then...I heard it. I heard noise coming from the incubator. I peeked inside and there was a hatched chick! I screamed a loud scream and ran down the hallway. I had to find SOMEONE, ANYONE to tell the good news to. It was only 6:30, so there weren't a whole lot of people at work yet! After delivering the good news, I made a Happy Hatch Day poster, and put it on my door. I was a very proud chick mama. When my students got to school they were beyond excited. The rest of the school was also excited! I think I had half of my school walk through my classroom that day. By the end of the day I had two hatched chicks and two eggs that had begun to crack!
Day 22 was very exciting. I knew some more chicks had probably hatched. I was thinking I would have a total of three to five chicks all together. You can't even imagine how surprised I was when I saw FIVE chicks in my incubator that morning! That brought my total to SEVEN! I was told that a 50% hatch rate was really impressive and I had gotten there. My students were eager to look at the chicks and they asked to hold them several times. I was still pretty nervous about those babies, so I told them no. I think I will let them hold them tomorrow if they still want to. The reason I say that is because in order to get my students to stop asking to hold the chicks, I had to tell them that there was poop on the chick's feet and therefore, they shouldn't hold them. They stopped asking pretty quick, but proceeded to tell EVERYONE that there was poop on the chick's feet. We had several more visitors.
There was one egg that had been struggling to escape all day long. I watched it for a good two hours, but it made very slow progress. I am really looking forward to seeing if he made it! I will be pretty sad if he doesn't!
I believe that kindergartners need meaningful, first hand experiences. That is what I am trying hard to give them. If they only remember one thing about kindergarten, I hope this experience is it! I know that I will remember it for a lifetime!
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