Every spring, students in Mrs. Shirley's pre-kindergarten class at Adams School watch and listen to incubating chicken eggs, waiting approximately 21 days for signs of little beaks pecking at the shells. This year only three eggs produced chicks. Each student had their picture taken with a chick, and the pictures will be added to the children's keepsake portfolios.

Each month of the school year classrooms at Adams School studied a different author. They read his or her books and created artwork and creatures that reflected the subjects in the stories. May's author was Eric Carle, who wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and other colorfully illustrated tales of animals and nature. The pre-kindergarten class learned about Carle by looking at his website, www.eric-carle.com, where he demonstrates his technique for designing characters and shares stories by reading his books aloud.

Mrs. Shirley and her assistant, Mrs. Berkshire, helped the afternoon students learn to act out the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." They practiced all week and will perform the story today during the school's Spirit Day event.

Pictures by Marla Blair

Mrs. Shirley, Adams School pre-K teacher, incubates chicken eggs each spring to show her students how baby chickens are hatched. Mrs. Shirley and Lucas Ulvestad worked together to find a comfortable grip for one of the chicks.

Caden Rhoades took a turn holding a chick from the small flock the Adams School pre-K kept in their classroom. After the eggs hatched in the incubator, the chicks were placed in a tall box for easy viewing. Friday the chicks will go to a farm to begin their new adventures.

Lucas Ulvestad and Jacob Weeks kept an eye on everyone on Thursday, during playtime in the pre-K classroom at Adams School.

Brook Coleman found the fishes at the light table to be just as much fun as baby chicks.

Ashtyn Gannon will play the butterfly in the pre-K class performance of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" during Spirit Day activities on Friday. 

The morning pre-K class at Adams School made tissue paper butterflies to look like author Eric Carle's character in his book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

At the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Shirley asked students to design T-shirts, then attached a life-size picture of each student's face and hung them over the classroom. Students will take the items home at the end of school.

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