Hatch a Chick is a great behavior management tool. So, it’s almost Spring Break or Easter break and the kids are very “wiggly”! What do you do? Find something that is FUN and will motivate your students to focus a little better before Spring Break or Easter.
Hatch a Chick (Let’s help students self-regulate their behavior)
Classroom behavior can be extremely challenging, especially with Spring Break and Easter coming soon! I’ve got a great activity that will help students control their classroom behavior during this time. I’ve made it easy by talking about several steps to help manage your classroom.
Let’s Introduce Hatch a Chick!
Introduce the Activity using the Poem “Little Chick”. Click on any of the pictures to see more!

Students color an egg so that they can take care of it. The eggs get taped to their chair so that they can “take care of it” by sitting in their seat. Of course, students won’t be at their seats all day long. So, whenever they are not at their seats, have them push their chair in and their desk/table can be a magical incubator that keeps them warm. Oh yeah, I know, we are really pushing it with this one so you’ve got to sell it!


Display a countdown chart so students will stay interested and know when their “special” chick will hatch. Use velcro or sticky tac to change the chick each day for the countdown. There are numbers 1-30 included.

Each day students get to record how they did taking care of their egg. Includes days Monday-Friday. If you need more than one week, simply print off additional pages.

They will be so excited when “hatch day” has arrived! Little do they know, there is more fun to be had! On hatch day, you can put a plastic egg, peep, and tag (I have “Happy Spring” and “Happy Easter”) on each student’s chair for when they get to school. Wait until you see the looks on their faces! To make it even more exciting- you can get these cute little chicks from Amazon (see below).


Now that the chicks have hatched, your students get to tell about their newborn chicks!

Now for the really fun part! Keep your students fully engaged for at least 45 minutes! Have them work independently on making a home/nest for their chick. Use the student booklet so that they can plan, design, build, and reflect on their home for their new chick!

Life Cycle of a Chicken
If you are looking to get into more detail about the Life Cycle of a Chicken, I also have a teacher/student book and craft activity.

Tag me in Pictures!
I would love to see some pictures of this activity, especially the STEM activity! You can tag me @jdsrockinreaders on Instagram or Facebook!
Ready to Hatch those Chicks?
If you are ready to try to get a little bit of the wiggles out, you can give this a try- and just think- at least it will be fun! You can check it out:
Hatch a Chicken
Hatch a Chicken with Life Cycle Activities
Other products you may be interested in: