There was much excitement at nursery last week when the eggs and equipment we’d ordered from Incredible Eggs arrived, giving the children in our Beaconsfield nursery the opportunity to experience the pleasure of the hatching process and then helping to look after the chicks once hatched.
The six chick eggs were delivered to us by Simon at Incredible Eggs on Monday 20th March 2017. Simon talked us through how to care for the eggs, the hatching procedure and caring for the chicks once they’d hatched. He was very helpful and we were really impressed by all the help and information given.
On Thursday 23rd March our six eggs hatched and Heather in Rocket Space was able to move them to their cage. It is fantastic for the children to get involved with the feeding of the chicks and helping to clean out their cage. It teaches them about being responsible and promotes caring and gentle behaviour. We believe it also gives them a sense of independence and boosts their self- confidence.
Children from the whole nursery have been visiting the chicks in our pre-school room in small groups. They have been invited to hold and stroke them and watch them run around. They are also inspiring lots of activities and learning in all rooms.
We would definitely recommend this experience to other nurseries. The children of all age groups are really enjoying it and were very excited throughout the hatching process. It was really lovely to see families all being excited together, wondering whether the eggs will have hatched and has also helped children who are anxious about separating from their parents. Vicky, manager at Northgate House says, “Children feel proud in being able to complete tasks set out for them, including scooping the food from the bag and placing it into their food tray, pouring the water in to their water tray, and helping to put fresh hay in to their cage. It has been a very exciting and rewarding experience.”
We’ve had lots of great feedback from parents too, Max’s mum said, “it’s so lovely that you’ve provided this for the children to experience.”