Also titled “What I did with my Monday lunch break.”

New school. New adventures. New parent-volunteer responsibilities.

Enter chicken adoption.

The goal? Sit in a circle with nine other kids. Wait for teacher and parents (like me*) to place ruffled-feathered (literally!) chickens in the center. Recite a poem or sing a song, that you wrote yourself, to entice the chickens to come and sit in your lap.

Really. That’s the goal! The chicken that sits in your lap is YOUR chicken for the rest of the year.

How did this go, you may ask?

Well, a chicken actually did sit in D’s lap. But the kid did NOT sing a song or recite the poem he wrote. He told me he forgot his paper and hadn’t memorized it. I was a little skeptical about what that might mean, but turns out most of the kids were ignoring the recitation/singing portion of the assignment and just talking directly to the chickens. Or tempting them with grass and weeds.

“Here, chicken!”

“Hey, I want that chicken!”

“Chicken! Please come sit in my lap!”

The chickens were more concerned with trying to escape the circle. In fact, I think that’s why three of the kids ended up with feathered friends in their laps. My theory is that the birds were trying to leave the circle and then got “stuck” in the laps. 

By the end, the teacher was helping out the kids who were chicken-less by plunking chickens into laps. It worked!

D’s new buddy is named Thor. I think it’s a girl. But I’m sure she’s not taking any offense to the tough, manly name.

*I’ve never picked up a chicken before. I learned quickly that they move their wings out in a defensive posture as you approach. And picking them up below those wings is not the smartest move. I found that out with the first chicken who flapped her wings very mightily until I put her back down. After that, I smartened up.