Lidia Siracusano’s kindergarten class never gets quieter than a peep these days. That is since nine new arrivals emerged from their permeable shell on April 24, much to the delight of the entire school district community. While the eggs hatched in Room 24, thanks to efforts by the technology team, Michael de’Venau, Rob Wihnuk and Andy Kollmer, a camera streamed live video district-wide. Parents and students were able to access the video from home via the school’s website.
Despite the fact that she has been doing this for 15 years, the process never becomes dull for Mrs. Siracusano who said, “I get a warm and fuzzy feeling every time I do this project.”
I have to say I was feeling pretty warm and fuzzy myself as I listened to the students share all they knew about the egg hatching. I arrived at the school the day before the chicks were due to hatch and when I asked the students to tell me a bit about it, hands flew up, eyes widened and enthusiastic grins appeared on every face. One student was thrilled to tell me the chicks were expected on his birthday! That coincidence earned him the honor of having the first hatchling named after him. Another told me she was very excited when she heard about the project and others explained to me, in very specific details, what would happen.
“The chicks will look like they are dead when they first come out of the egg but then they will wake up and become fluffy.”
The beauty of this project is the intensity of the motivation it has created for student learning. From the moment Mrs. Siracusano and assistant teacher Mrs. Miceli returned from Makinajian Farms in Huntington with the eggs, students began journaling. They wrote, drew and labeled what they saw. Looking through a scope allowed them to see what was happening inside the egg shell. Each morning the students would check their calendar and count down the number of days before the hatchling’s due date.
“Children are truly inspired by this incredible experience,” said science and technology teacher, Regina D’Orio, “and will remember this for years to come.”
