On April 1, the first graders and Mrs. Kuhlman started incubating their chicks, no “fooling!” Mrs. Benita Kuhlamn said, “We put them in on April Fools day and 28 chicks hatched on Earth Day!” They received their eggs from Michael and Amanda Ratzlaff. Zoey Sassaman said, “We learned that the chicks are very delicate, and we also learned the life cycle of a chicken!”

The first graders’ duties were to give the chicks love and attention. Spencer Dykstra said, “We had to take care of them like real life babies. We fed them, watered them, and took out their yucky newspaper!” They tested to see if any of the eggs were duds by candling them. Kuhlman said, “We shined a bright light to see the air sac and a black glob. If the egg has a black glob and air sac they were alive, and if it was clear they were no longer fertile.”

Anna Small said, “Getting to hold them and look at them was my favorite part of having baby chicks!” Amber Beeson said getting to take some chicks home to her farm was her favorite thing about having chicks because she still gets to watch them grow. Oakleigh Van Duysen, Brynlee Odens, and Amber Beeson all got to take a few chicks home to their farms where they can now start their chicken lifestyles. Kuhlman said, “This is just an “egg”cellent project to do with my little peeps!”