We've HaTcHeD!!!

We've hatched y'all! And woo wee, were these kiddos excited! Our hatch actually started 2 days before we were expecting and by the time it was all said and done, we had 13 out of 14 eggs hatch. Not too bad! Some years almost all of the eggs hatch during the night, but not this time! Oh no! Only one chick had hatched by the time the kids arrived in the classroom in the morning and we spent the rest of the day watching 12 more lil chickies work their way into the world. Watching the kids' faces as the chicks worked {for sometimes hours} to break out of those shells, was priceless!

Well it's time to get my own lil "chickies" to bed-Monday morning will be here before we know it. And I just heard that Monday's forecast includes a lil sleet & snow! Aughhhh! Hasn't anyone told winter that spring is here!?!? Gotta love that Missouri weather! :)

What's Hatchin' Chick?

OMIword! The excitement that a few eggs in an incubator can create in the classroom!!! I like to keep my firsties in suspense....What could possibly hatch from eggs? I just love the responses...lizards, eagles, alligators, chickens, dinosaurs....{hmmm...might have to work on that one a lil bit! lol} While we are busy learning all about many different oviparous creatures, we also are taking on the duties of "Mama Chicken" {aka: egg-sitting}. Egg-sitting?? Yep! Each kiddo gets his/her own egg to care for, along with an egg care log. They just love this and it also reinforces telling time!

 

If you would like to check out more math & literacy activities, click the pic below!

 

....as I was typing this post, I got a text from another teacher that was just checking on the eggs....I think we might be "gettin' our hatch on" tomorrow!!! Woo hoo! I will keep you posted!

 

 

An EGG-citing Day in First Grade!

I kinda thought that I might find 1 or 2 fluffy chicks in the incubator this morning since there were a couple of eggs with small cracks last night when I left school. Well, check out what I found.....

Can y'all believe that we had 9 cute lil fluffy chicks hatch during the night!?! Needless to say, my firsties were just a little unsettled WILD today! After seeing that sooo many of our eggs hatched during the night, I was kinda worried that the hatching was over & the kiddos weren't going to see any of them actually break out of the eggshells. But after I moved these 9 fluffies to another box, I discovered small cracks on 3 more eggs. Over the next couple hours, well...to say the least, we were a bit distracted.....Check out what we watched...

I always worry that the chicks aren't going to live! You have to agree, they just look yucky right after they hatch! All that flopping around just looks to sad...BUT it doesn't take long for those feathers to start to fluff up and they start peeping & hopping all around! Well, if you've been counting, we now have 12 out of 13 eggs that have hatched. Just one lonely egg left unhatched in our incubator tonight...

Poor lil thing....no cracks or anything. :(  Will morning bring us up to a 100% hatch???

We've got CRACKS! {Peep! Peep!}

Just look what we found at the very end of the day!!!

OMIWORD! My firsties were chirpin' with excitement! Our actual "hatch day" is tomorrow but we already found cracks on 3 of the eggs! Woo Hoo! My kiddos have been writing in their "Egg Hatching Journals" each day & predicted how many of  the eggs would hatch. They are very anxious to see if their predictions are right. {Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how many fluffy babies we have!}

What's Hatchin' in First Grade?

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! I'm trying to enjoy the last few hours of our "spring break" {which is actually 3 days...but at this point in the school year, I really appreciate a few days off!}Tomorrow our class will be welcoming some new visitors....1 dozen bright shiny eggs! Our incubator is all ready and the kiddos are soooo anxious to see what hatches. {Ssshhhh....don't tell them that we will be hatching chicks! I've pretended that I'm really not sure what kind of eggs they will be sending us this year....I want them to think about all of the different animals that hatch from eggs. And...OH MY! does it have some of them thinking! I've heard, "Lizards! Snakes!" and yes, even "Dinosaurs!" Dinosaurs?!? Hmmm....we might have to talk about that a little more! :) 

We are going to be starting our day off by filling the first few pages of our Egg-Hatching Observation Journal. Then each morning I will give my firsties a chance to observe any changes in the incubator & complete another journal page. This journal is part of my "What's Hatchin' Chick?" unit. This is one of my favorite units of the entire year! The kiddos really get into all of the activities.....soooo much excitement in the classroom! If you would like to check it out, just head on over to my lil shop at Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook
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And...being the FREEBIE lover that I am, I want to share one of our fun little centers that my firsties will be working at this week. Just click the pic to grab a copy!

I will keep you posted on our hatch status! Are you hatching eggs in your classroom? Would love to hear from you! Happy Spring!!!

We're Hatching! & a lil Farm Freebie

Oh the sound of the little peeps has arrived! First thing this morning we spotted 3 eggs with cracks! The kiddos quickly put away their stuff & grabbed their egg observation journals to log this exciting event. Well that little crack didn't seem to do a whole lot until....math time! As soon as I said, "Who can think of a way that we can make 10 with 3 numbers?"-I heard a loud squeal come from the back of the room. "It's HATCHING!" And instead of all eyes on the Smart Board, well you can just guess! Yep! 21 bodies huddled around the incubator in the back of the room...Oh well...so much for math today! We pulled those observation journals back out to write about our "first hatcher"! We have 6 more eggs with cracks & the kiddos are very anxious to see if any of them hatch during the night. I'm predicting an incubator full of fluffy yellow chicks in the morning!

I've also just posted this fun lil sentence-building center on TpT for FREE! Don't you just love freebies? I wish there were shoe freebies!!! lol {I think I'm addicted to shoes..& blogging....& clipart...OMigoodness! Do you think I need help for these addictions?!?}

If you would like to download this little center, just click on the pic! Hope you enjoy it!

THEY HAVE ARRIVED!

The eggs have arrived! Check it out...12 little babies! My firsties were soooo excited this morning when they saw them! Of course we got started right away on our little egg-hatching journals. We predicted how many eggs we think will hatch & drew a picture of our prediction. We will be writing in our journals each day until the "big hatch."

This lil reproducible book is in my "What's Hatchin' Chick?" unit. Click HERE or on the pic below to check it out.

I really REALLY love all of the fun chicken books that are out there. One of our favorites is "Big Chickens" by Leslie Helakoski. This book is such a HOOT!

After reading about these crazy clucks, we brainstormed what we thought it meant to be a "big chicken." Tomorrow we will be writing about things that turn us into "big chickens"-I can't wait to see what the kiddos write! Of course, I can't resist the opportunity for a little craftivity! Check out these super-cute "Big Chickens"...

The pattern for these cuties & the writing prompts are in my "Big Chicken Writing Craftivity" unit. Click on the pic to see more. 

I'm really excited to have just two more days left til the weekend! WOO HOO! I'll keep you posted on the hatchin'!