Real-life teaching 

This article has originally been published in the Espoo Magazine 2/2022.

Read other articles in the Espoo Magazine 2/2022

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At the Mainingin koulu joint comprehensive school in Kivenlahti, hatching of eggs has taken place for over twenty years. Previously, the chicks went back to the organic chicken farm nearby a couple of weeks after hatching, but for five years now, they have instead gone to the school’s own henhouse in the spring. After the summer holidays, the chickens return to the students’ care for the autumn. 

A small henhouse has been built in the school’s sheltered courtyard, and barley is planted in the ground in the spring. The chickens are fed with leftovers from the school kitchen and home economics cooking lessons. 

The students not only get the chance to take care of the chickens, but the eggs are used in home economics lessons and they can also serve as a source of inspiration for other lessons, such as mother tongue or visual arts. Moreover, they give the students hands-on experience of where our food comes from. 

All students, from the first to ninth grade, have taken an interest in the chickens. Volunteers queue up to tend to the chickens. 

“For many students, the chicken coop is a place where they somehow open up. There’s nothing better for an adolescent than the chance to show affection to such a cute feathery ball of fluff. You learn a lot with chickens, not least about yourself,” says Iivari Laakkonen, teacher of biology and geography at the school. 

Text and photo: Eemeli Sarka