1-2-3 Come Do Some Chick Hatching Activities With Me

Do you study chickens or hatch chicks as a life cycle science unit?
Our preschool does; they get their fertilized eggs from a local farmer.

With that in mind, I designed this jumbo chicken packet, which is chock full of a variety of activities that you can easily diversify, as you practice all sorts of math, science & language arts standards.

The packet includes:

* A collection of posters:

These can be used as anchor charts, decorations, countdowns, reminders & bulletin board displays. Several are also included in black and white so that you can use them as worksheets for your students.
 * crafts:

Such as the "When Will I Hatch?" slider craftivity, which helps practice counting backwards from 21-0, as well as counting forward from 0-21.  

Children can show you an AB-AB color pattern, as they trace the numbers with 2 different colored highlighters.

There are also several Life Cycle of a Chicken craftivities as well. 

Children can make a "flip the flap" chick life cycle, or show the various stages of the 21 days of an embryo inside an egg.

Another version is a "flip the flap" egg-shaped life cycle craft, which begs the question: "What came 1st, the chicken or the egg?"

There's an incubator, as well as an egg option.  All patterns come in color as well as black and white.

* puzzles:

So that you can easily diversify lessons, there are a variety of puzzle options available.

There are the simple 3-piece sequencing puzzles, as well as the 6-piece "Chicks on a Roll" puzzle dice game.

My 4-year-old grandson absolutely loves playing these puzzle dice games, as do my Y5 & kinders. 

The 3-piece egg-shaped puzzles are a bit more complex, as students put together the number, number word and group/set of that many together. 

To make this independent center activity self-correcting, number the pieces accordingly on the back. 

The number "strip puzzles" practice numbers 12-21, which are great for those toughie teen numbers, as well as help to reinforce the 21-day "chick hatching" concept.

The large, 11-piece egg-shaped puzzle does the same thing.  All puzzles come in full color so you can use them for a center, as well as black & white, so that kiddos can color, cut and make thier own to take home. 

* Venn diagrams & graphic organizers plus...

* a variety of games: which practice ordinal numbers, patterning, sequencing, counting & a variety of other standards. There are also numberous ...

* writing prompts:

Such as "A Chick Hatched Today!" craftivity, which can be a simple sentence for PK kiddos, or something more involved for older students. 

I've included my completed sample, that you can print off to share as an example.

Fold over a diamond scrap of paper to make the chick's beak 3D.

Completed projects look adorable as a spring bulletin board, or hung back-to-back and suspended from the ceiling. 

The "If I Had A Chick For A Pet..."  is also a super-fun writing prompt, as many of our preschoolers ask if they can take a chick home once they hatch.  We return them to the farmer, so this is a fun "what if" for them. 

If you also get your eggs from a nearby farm, then you'll enjoy the "Thank You; I Learned A Lot!"  writing prompt card.

Use the colorful one for all your little ones to sign, or the black & white option, for older students to complete on their own, then drop the card(s) off when you give the chicks back.  The packet also includes plenty of ...

* vocabulary building & word work, which include Elkonin boxes, pocket chart cards, a word find, a "How many words can you make?" game, an alphabetical order race & more. (Perfect for Daily 5.) Plus...

* observations, experiments, & data analysis along with ...

* calendar & countdown activities:

Which includes a real calendar page you can do as a whole-group, or have students keep track on their own, jotting down a daily note of "what's happening".  I've included "stickers" for extra special days. 

Because my kiddos were forever asking, "How many days 'til a chick hatches?" I decided to make a countdown paper chain. We tear a link off each day. I've included several options, as well as a black & white pattern if you want your students to make their own.  

Students can also color an egg on their "countdown worksheet". I have my students choose two colors to show me an ABAB pattern. 

The "A-MAZE-ing" life cycle of a chick, "itty bitty" countdown booklet, is also a fun way to reinforce counting.

There's also...
* graphing extensions &
* worksheets: which practice a variety of standards in quick, easy & fun ways.

Because many children have not seen a rooster, chicken or chick before, I've included 33 real photographs.

Studying chicks wouldn't be complete without an "eggs-citing" scientific look into what's happening, so I designed 3 booklets.

You can do these as a whole group with little ones, using the colorful template options, or have older students color their own booklet; or mix & match doing several together & one or 2 independently. 

I don't take anything for granted when teaching my Y5s, as many of them have very limited experiences. 

With that in mind I designed the "Eggs-amining" An Egg activities and booklet to record their findings. They especially enjoy cracking an egg on their own, seeing if an egg will sink or float, & having a "spin contest".

They do this with both a raw and hard boiled egg then compare their findings.

Students can work individually, with a partner or in a small group. You can also do this as a whole group activity with little ones.

Another one of the booklets is "Chick This Out" an observation egg-shaped booklet where the teacher or students can record what's going on with the eggs/chicks each day.  

The 3rd booklet is a "Peek Inside" flip booklet where students record what's going on inside the egg.

These can simply be a few pages for little ones, or more in-depth observation and analysis through "candling" or learning about what's taking place via the photographs, "fast facts" information or educational links that I've included. 

Finally, as a culminating activity, I designed some "visitor" activities.

Since we have all sorts of people parading through the preschool to take a look at the chicks when they hatch (the principal, staff, & lots of other classrooms), I thought it would be fun to create a guestbook.

I've included a page for visiting classrooms to fill out then sign prior to their arrival, which includes a place for questions they may have.

There's also an invitation to hang up in the teacher's lounge, as well as an individual note, which can be placed in their mailbox. Welcoming posters, and a sign to hang on your doorknob, are all included as well. 

Well that's a quick review of what's in this whopping 342-page Chick packet, which is currently on sale for 50% off. 

As always, I give away 2 jumbo packets each month, along with a $10 TpT gift card, so be sure and check out my Face Book page, and enter to win my monthly "Flash Fun" Giveaways.  

Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, today's featured FREEBIE is a Mother's Day Cupcake Writing Prompt Craftivity.  I hope you find it useful. 

Well that's it for today.  It's been a long week, so it's time to relax and take a much-needed break.

Here in Michigan, spring has FINALLY sprung and the flowering trees are absolutely gorgeous!  Wishing you a wonderful and stress-free weekend.

"Spring is a lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be." -Unknown