HELENA — At Prickly Pear Elementary, kids are learning about the life cycle of chickens. Thanks to the “Explore Agriculture Classroom Grant”, they’ll have a much closer look at how it works.
“It is so precious,” said second-grade teacher Nikki Odegard, “and kids can be kind of wild, but then when they're holding something so small, they were so gentle, and you could see it in their face they loved it so much.”
WATCH: Grant supports agricultural education in classrooms
In its first year, the grant provides $3,000 in funding across 6 Montana schools, going towards integrating agricultural education in classrooms, one of the main goals for the Montana Stockgrowers Association.
“Any ability that we have or any resources that we can invest into students, and really give them opportunities that they might not have at home, is something that's really important to our foundation,” said executive vice president Raylee Honeycutt.
After hearing about the grant, PPE second-grade teachers Kara Petersen and Nikki Odegard applied.
Ms. Petersen has been incubating eggs for her lesson plans since 2009. The incubator she used, passed down from her mother, who was also a teacher, had problems holding heat and humidity, so they felt it was time to upgrade the old equipment.
While the new incubator helps continue their lesson plans, the unit also teaches kids life skills they can use outside the classroom.
“Being able to take care of a living creature helps them really take that step and have that responsibility,” Petersen continued, “and I feel like that's a big part of agriculture, is learning the responsibility of taking care of a living thing.”
The unit lasts as long as it takes an egg to hatch, 21 days, where students watch the life cycle right in front of them, tracking each stage along the way.
Teachers took it a step further, giving students the opportunity to give suggestions for names and connect with the lesson on a deeper level.
“Getting to observe the whole process and be more hands-on. feed them, hold them, they're going to remember that much longer than they would remember a video or a presentation,” Odegard stated.
Grant applications are open year-round, and teachers interested in the program can request up to 500$. More information about the program can be found here.
