Tampa preschoolers use 'hands-on learning' quite literally during embryology project on chickens

Baby chicks teach a lesson to Tampa preschoolers

Tampa preschoolers are learning with the help of some baby chicks. FOX 13 photojournalist Barry Wong takes us for a closer look. 

TAMPA, Fla. - Ivybrook Academy preschoolers may not be able to answer the riddle of "chicken or egg first", but they can provide a lot of information about the life cycle of the birds. 

"When they experience it for the first time, and you see their cute reactions, how excited they get, it's really fulfilling," Ivybrook Academy teacher Valerie Perez said. 

The backstory:

The reactions stem from a month-long embryology study on chickens. After around two dozen eggs arrive, they are transferred into an incubator. 

"Inside the egg is a little embryo, and it keeps growing and growing and going, and it gets its feathers," four-year-old Theory Carlwood said. 

The preschoolers learn and observe, as bright light exposes the inside of eggs. 

"When the embryo is inside the egg, it eats the yolk inside the eggs so it can grow," four-year-old Rabia Mirza said. 

After around three weeks of incubating, the eggs start to hatch. 

"When they come out, they're a little wet from the yolk inside," five-year-old Mia Salerno said.

Dig deeper:

The embryology project is part of the core curriculum of the academy, based on the Montessori and Reggio Emilia approach, where the classroom environment serves as a resource for exploration and inquiry. 

"Hands-on learning makes everything more meaningful. It's a lot more genuine," Perez said. "Instead of us reading to them about the life cycle of the chicken, creating an experience for them to observe this process with their own eyes, to feel the chicks with their own hands."

What they're saying:

All the kids comment on how soft the baby chicks are. They are present on tables as students complete daily lessons. 

"We know that this is going to be engraved on their memories more than just reading," Perez said. "They retain it a lot better. They'll go weeks, sometimes months, telling us about this experience that they had, even when our theme has changed."