COLD LAKE - Angie Claude is a Grade 1 teacher from Cold Lake Elementary School. She has been hatching a variety of bird eggs in her classroom for 15 years.
In the past, students have witnessed chicken and turkey eggs in her classroom, but this year, in the beginning of May, Claude brought 12 Cayuga and Saxony duck eggs into the classroom.
After 28 days in an incubator, the eggs hatched.
On June 7, she took the ducklings outside for a picnic with the students. The ducks, who were just over a week old, followed the teacher and students because they have imprinted on them. Ducks begin the process of imprinting shortly after hatching, as they learn to follow an appropriate adult for safety.
The students have been learning about ducks through fiction and non-fiction stories Claude shares with the class.
“Today we read The Ugly Duckling,” said Claude.
While the ducks may look somewhat alike, the students have given them all unique names.
Knuckles is easy to spot as he has white tips on his wings. Other names include Peaches, Snowy, Blackie, and Skelly. While the students ate their picnic lunches with the ducklings, the ducklings ate grass and tried to catch flies.
Grade 1 student Ava says she likes the ducklings because they are cute and friendly. Other students enjoyed holding the ducks because they are so fluffy.
When asked what they learned about the ducklings, students responded, saying, the ducks grow fast, they eat lots of food, they chirp a lot, and they run quickly.
