(Dawn Kujawa – Lexington Two Communications) Springdale Elementary students have an “egg-cellent” opportunity for hands-on learning, thanks to a donation from the House of Raeford Farms and its FLOCK outreach program.

Springdale is now home to a chicken coop. Named Springdale Roost, the coop is home to 8 Rhode Island Reds, known for egg-laying production and a gentle nature. FLOCK contracted with Complete Solutions Contracting to finish the project’s physical structure and purchased the chickens from McCurley Farms in North, S.C., along with coop supplies from The Dog Food Center in South Congaree. Signarama donated and installed the sign.

“We have a passion and love to see kids connect with nature,” said Chuck Underhill of House of Raeford Farms FLOCK.  “There is so much to appreciate and learn, and providing the coop has opened so many kids and adults to an entire new experience of where the things they get in the grocery store come from.”

Since the coop’s debut nearly a month ago, Principal Annette Ariail said the entire Springdale Elementary community has gotten involved in supporting it:

• Staff and students made suggestions for names for the 8 Rhode Island Reds, and all of the school’s families will vote on the names this month. In the meantime, each chicken has a colored band on its leg to be easily identified.
• The kindergarten group is responsible for the chickens’ daily care, going outside each day to collect the eggs.   Students are excited to find some extra large eggs, as well as some different colored eggs, and students delight in making predictions about what might be different on the inside of those eggs.  Once collected, eggs are then sorted and delivered to different staff for activities. Students also feed the chickens, refresh their water and clean their coop.
• The coop is a huge staff favorite. Staff members will take some of their break time to visit the coop to hold, pet – and in some cases, sing – to the chickens.  After all, happy chickens lay more eggs! One staff member makes a dry “salad” of fresh veggies and/or fruit for the chickens each day. Another staff member made sweaters for the chickens, though the chickens themselves were not fans. Some staff even stop by to check in on them on weekends.
• Each morning on the school’s news show, students learn a fun fact about chickens and graph the number of eggs collected from the day before.  Each week the type of graph changes for students to see the information displayed in a variety of ways. Some grades have planned entire chicken units of study..  

“Students and staff are looking for as many real-world connections as they can make to chickens and the chicken coop,” Ariail said.  “Each morning students learn a fun fact about chickens on the news show and get to see a different type of graph with the amount of eggs collected each day.  They see the data in bar graphs, pictographs, tally tables, etc.  Students are able to connect those graphs to other learning throughout their day.  They are so excited to learn about the chickens or do anything that connects to the chickens.”

That’s exactly what FLOCK aims for in selecting its projects, Underhill said.

“FLOCK’s overarching purpose is to focus on the communities that we have locations in, and schools are the backbone of every community,” Underhill said.  “There may be no better way of telling your community that you truly care about it, than to bless their children and those who teach and support them.  On top of that, there isn’t always budget availability to do these kinds of special projects that truly amplify the learning experience and environment.

“What’s so fun about this environment is that almost everyone loves eggs and eats eggs,” Underhill added.  “Without exposure, you do not understand that, at best, chickens lay one egg a day.  So to lay enough eggs just for the families represented at Springdale Elementary, farmers must have hundreds of chickens, maybe thousands.  It takes a lot.  Teaching communities and families the real value of every farmer, every acre, every investment in agriculture is incredibly important, and it’s an honor for House of Raeford to help.”