Dryden Preschool teacher Lindsay Bridgewater has been talking about eggs and embryology with her students in anticipation of chicks hatching in six elementary classrooms later this month.
Once hatched, chicks can be purchased
DRYDEN — Dryden Elementary Preschool students in Lindsay Bridgewater’s class are learning about the life cycle of chickens in a fun, hands-on way thanks to “Egg-citing.”
“Egg-citing is a program that the Lapeer County Farm Bureau is sponsoring. Dryden elementary school has 6 classes—preschool, BK and Kindergarten—with eggs in incubators and are even hatching some with the hens that live in their classroom,” Bridgewater explained.
“We placed 100 eggs in incubators.”
Bridgewater joined the Cardinal family a few years ago as a volunteer.
“My son started preschool at Dryden three years ago and I started volunteering in his class. I hatched duck eggs for his class that year. Last year I started teaching and hatched eggs in my class,” she said.
She was eager to hatch eggs again this year with her students. When the Lapeer County Farm Bureau grant provided the eggs and incubators for classrooms at Dryden Elementary, she was thrilled.
She started off the first week of incubation with some education on hatching eggs and embryology with her preschool class, before placing the eggs in the incubator. Her students have been engaged and are all excited for hatch day and so are Farm Bureau coordinators.
In a Facebook post, they said, “Lapeer Co. Farm Bureau Ag Education is happy to be collaborating with Dryden Community Schools to bring STEM and agriculture education to life for these kids. Hatch day is scheduled for March 24 in Dryden.”
Bridgewater shared that the education about chickens flowed right into March is Reading month, as she incorporated farm fresh eggs into a classroom snack.
“Our Preschoolers kicked off March is Reading Month by celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday. We made farm fresh green eggs and ham (sausage), read the corresponding book and explored what a chick looks like at 4 days of incubation with embryology model eggs.”
Bridgewater said she loves to bring nature and farm learning into the classroom as often as she can for her preschool students.
“I lived on a farm. We had pigs, a few cows, horses, chickens, and turkeys,” she said.
She remembers always loving animals and farm life and she wants to share as much of that with her students as possible.
“I started showing 4-H when I was 5 years old. I showed dogs, cows, and pigs. From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a preschool teacher. Before I started teaching I was a vet assistant in Seattle.”
What will come of all of these hatchlings?
Bridgewater says that the Cardinal hatched chicks can be purchased by the public.
“We will be adopting the chicks to farms, for $2 a chick. People can also adopt, but send the chicks home with me. All of the money from chick adoptions and donations will go back into the garden/farm project for Dryden Elementary. We are getting a greenhouse and putting some chickens out there,” she shared.
As part of the school’s new year-round preschool program, students will be learning how to plant, grow, and compost in their new greenhouse.
For information on adopting a chick or donating, contact Lindsay Bridgewater at lbridgewater@dryden.k12.mi.us.
