Spring "Peeps" in at The Montessori Children's Academy

Students at the Morristown campus of The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) are welcoming spring with the help of special visitors Fluffer and Nutter, a pair of baby chicks. The chicks are visiting for two weeks from Sparta Mountain Farm in Jefferson Township, NJ which educates local children and adults about agriculture and raising animals. A generous MCA Morristown family introduced us to the farm’s “Rent-a-Chick” program and sponsored our participation in the program this year.

As participants of “Rent-a-Chick,” our students are given a two-week opportunity to care for the baby chicks. Our teachers have incorporated lessons about caring for animals and about the Life Cycle of a Chicken to enhance the children’s experience while the animals are in their classroom. The students have learned that the baby chicks, who joined us just over one week ago, need light shining close to their bodies to keep them warm. They have watched the chicks grow more feathers and begin to produce their own body heat.

The chicks have been greeted enthusiastically each morning by our students, who marvel at how much they seem to grow overnight. It has been so exciting for us all to see the once yellow-feathered babies start to change colors and stretch their wings. It is through hands-on experiences like this that our students truly absorb lessons about the natural environment in a meaningful and memorable way.

For further information about MCA and our programs, please visit our website www.TheMontessoriChildrensAcademy.com. With campuses in Morristown, Short Hills, and Chatham, The Montessori Children’s Academy is “Educating Today’s Child for Tomorrow’s World”.