Chicken Coops

 Unexpectedly yesterday afternoon, my partner teacher and I received a wonderful gift.  We raise chickens and one of our families is donating two brand new coops.  Our current coops are in need of repair and after being moved over the summer are in rough shape.  They are completely repairable, usable, and viable.. but the gift was offered and we accepted. 

I am not the original chicken "tender" in my partnership. My partner teacher, Bram, started the program about 5 or six years ago.  Her class at the time designed the coop and run out of an old refrigerator box.  These kids put the engineering design process to use.  They gathered on weekends and used class time to construct and build the coop and run.  How amazing is that?!? What a talented group of students.

When I joined, we shared her coop until I could have one built.  My parents and students used the same design that the original kids used.  Now we had two coops built out of their imaginations. We have repaired these original coops over the years, painted them matching colors, and put our baby chicks in there with love.  

Over the summer, my county's maintenance department moved the coops and runs to make way for portables.  In the move, they didn't care for them the way we would have if we had moved them.  They weren't broken per se but damaged. Nothing that we couldn't fix on our class restoration day... which was scheduled for this weekend.

As we were packing up to go home yesterday, we received a phone call from one of our parents offering us the new coops and runs.  She had already begun building them in her shop. We accepted this kind offer and immediately sent the remaining parents an email letting them know that chicken coop restoration was off. To say this was a whirlwind afternoon, would be an understatement.

It all happened so fast, that I don't think Bram had a chance to process what was happening.  She had put so much time, effort, love, and memories into these coops.  These coops were a testament to her students who created them.  They offer a lasting legacy to Bram's contribution to her kids, the school, and me. What Bram doesn't know is the legacy isn't in the wood, the nails, or the chicken wire...the legacy is in the memories that we all hold.  The way she has paved the way for us to have a chicken project, the love she has shown to each chicken and to the kids who raise them.  She has created countless kids that will grow up and realize that they can do anything that they set their minds to.  Bram continually shows the students, community, and me that it isn't about the final product but the journey along the way.  So today, as she is letting go of her "legacy", I hope that she finds comfort in the fact that we hold her legacy in our hearts.