Suffern kindergarteners hatch hands-on learning
R.P. Connor Elementary students watched chicks grow from egg to hatch in interactive farm unit.
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More than 100 kindergarten students in the Suffern Central School District recently wrapped up an “egg-citing” farm unit.
News 12 is told that six kindergarten classes at R.P. Connor Elementary School in Suffern, took part in a hands-on lesson that allowed students to observe chickens develop from egg to hatch and then as baby chicks.
Students shared how they learned chickens grow in eggs to be “big and strong.”
The project gave students a front-row seat using incubators.
“I think this is such a special way to create core memories and to remember the content we’re learning about,” said Danielle Ruiz, a dual-language teacher at the school.
Ruiz said students have been understanding vocabulary words in both English and Spanish, learning how to describe what they see and understand the changes happening.
“Their soft fur that they started with was yellow, and now it’s turning into white and black and gray,” Ruiz said. “Being able to see the change of the chickens and seeing them evolve has been so powerful for them, for the students. They’re so excited.”
The chicks will leave their cardboard coop soon for a permanent home at a local farm.
The school was able to purchase three incubators for the project thanks to a grant from the Rockland Community Foundation and Optimum, the sister company of News 12.
