Class learns school's for the birds
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Ask any fourth-graders at Queen Lili'uokalani Elementary. They'll agree: Friday is the best day of the week. And it's not for all the obvious reasons.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
For these students, who have spent the school year raising ducks and chickens, Friday is when they can enjoy the fruits — or eggs — of their labor.
Charles Barnes, 9, of Queen Lili'uokalani School, holds one of the Rhode Island Red chickens that his fourth-grade class is raising.
On "French Toast Friday," the 23 students in Malcolm Yorkston's class crack eggs that their hens have laid, get out the maple syrup and have a feast. It's a reward for all the work they've done during recess and after school to care for the animals.
"Since Kaimuki is a business community and is in town, most kids haven't been around ducks and chickens," Yorkston said. "For all of us, even some of the faculty, it's been a real learning experience."
Yorkston, who has used gardens as class projects in the past, decided to move on to animals this year. He assembled his small zoo in August.
The three male Muscovy ducks came from an animal shelter in Wai'anae, the Campbell ducks came from a woman in Manoa who raises them, and the Rhode Island Red chickens came from the Big Island. With a little help from his wife and friends, Yorkston built a 6-foot-high, 30-foot-long coop on the urban campus.
Students enjoy the project, but it's not just for fun. Yorkston uses the ducks and chickens to teach lessons related to the Hawai'i State Performance Standards in science, social studies, math, language arts and health.
Students learn responsibility and teamwork through caring for the animals. And they've compiled folders full of information and essays on everything from how to take care of the animals to the differences in the behavior of ducks and chickens. Student Charles Barnes noted that ducks lay eggs in wet areas, while chickens, which don't have the feet or oil glands for swimming, prefer dry land.
The students also learn about things such as bird bone structure and pecking order. Right now, for example, Rio is the top duck, but Bitty is trying to take control of the coop.
Three to five students enter the coop at a time, working quickly to change the water for the duck pond and refresh the food supply while getting to pet the birds. Elissa Aipa said the more she and other students pick up the birds and give them attention, the less they bite.
"I don't even have to teach them about that," Yorkston said. "They just learn nurturing and responsibility."
Tia Nakashima, the only student in the class who has a chicken at home, is the resident expert and has given advice. Her father helped Yorkston build the coop.
"It's a lot of fun when we go in the coop to take care of them," Tia said. Her own hen, Chiquita, doesn't lay eggs anymore, which makes the school project and the french toast even more fun, she said.
The class is trying to raise about $500 to pay for animal feed and upkeep. Students say they want to keep the fowl healthy, and they've noticed that the better their food, the better the eggs. When the chickens get lettuce in addition to their regular diet, the hen's eggs are bigger and sweeter and have healthier, harder shells, they said.
Students across the Lili'uokalani campus and their teachers and parents are pitching in to help sponsor a duck or chicken. Kids from other classes who contribute are allowed to help care for the animals — a popular recess activity.
It also ensures that Rio, Wiggletail, Bitty, Dawn, Marshmallow, Hulihuli, Roast and PotPie will continue to get plenty of attention well after this class of Yorkston's moves on to the fifth grade.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
