Story By:
Jennifer Marsh
My favorite school tradition dates back long before I took the place of a retired third grade teacher - hatching baby chicks. It's one of the first questions my students ask me every year on the first day of school, "When do we get to hatch baby chicks?" We work together with Rhonda Herrick, an extension educator with UNL. She brings us eggs and an incubator and educates us about, as she says, "being mamma hens and father roosters" so that we may have a successful hatch in just 21 days. It's so fun to see the students' excitement as we learn just how quickly a baby chick develops inside the egg. Hatching day is like none other! It's one of the most exciting third grade traditions at our school. We can't wait for this year's hatch!