The anticipation began in mid-April, when chicken eggs arrived at Unqua Elementary School in the Massapequa School District. A few weeks later, four baby chicks hatched and quickly became the talk of the school.
STEAM and Magnet teacher Amanda Albert made the trip to the Makinajian Poultry Farm in Huntington, where she received eight eggs that were then placed inside an incubator in her classroom. As the end of the 21-day incubation period neared, she set up a camera with a livestream so students could watch at home. The first of four chicks hatched at 8 p.m., so children were able to greet their new fluffy friends the following morning.
Bobo, Chocolate Puff, Lucky and Snickerdoodle were the names given to the four chicks. Each class suggested a name and Ms. Albert input them into a random picker wheel app to select the winner.
The baby chicks support an animal life cycles unit for kindergartners and first graders. They kept journals throughout the process. During the week of May 11-15, students from all grades were invited to meet and hold the chicks.
Ms. Albert created a habitat for the chicks out of a large plastic bin with a blanket, warmer, food and water. Different teachers took the chicks home each night. After nearly two weeks in the classroom, the chicks will then go with Berner Middle School health education teacher Michael LaBella to live on his family’s farm in Pennsylvania.