Hatching chicks in early years is a wonderful way to introduce children to the life cycle of animals and the responsibility of caring for them. Children can learn about the development of chicks inside the eggs, observe the hatching process, and interact with the fluffy babies. Hatching chicks can also provide many benefits for children's social and emotional skills, such as empathy, cooperation, and communication.

Once we had everything ready, we started hatching your chicks. Here are some of the things we had to do:

- Set up the incubator according to the supplier's instructions. Place the eggs inside and turn them regularly. Monitor the temperature and humidity levels and adjust them as needed.
- Observe the eggs daily and record any changes or signs of development. 
- Prepare the children for the hatching process. Explaining that it may take several days for all the eggs to hatch and that some eggs may not hatch at all. Remind them to be gentle and quiet around the incubator and not to touch or open it.
- Watch the chicks hatch and celebrate their arrival! This was the fun part! We saw small cracks and holes on the shells. We could hear loud peeping sounds before the chicks emerge. Once they hatch, we had to leave them in the incubator until they are dry and fluffy.
- Once dry, we transferred the chicks to the brooder box (cage). Then, we made sure they had food, water, bedding, heat lamp, and toys
- Interact with the chicks daily and let your children hold them gently. Observe their behaviour and characteristics and compare them with their siblings. We did notice a few poorly ones that unfortunately didn’t make it but we successfully had 5 chicks that developed little characteristics within days of hatching.
- We asked all parents, children and family to suggest names ideas and we had lots of amazing suggestions such as Benny, Pickles, Banana, Coco, Fluffy, Squidge, Betsy, Marshmellow, Pink and so many more! 

Hatching chicks offered so many learning opportunities our across different areas of development. Here are some examples on how it extend them:

- Explore the science of chick development and hatching. Using books, videos, models, and experiments to explain how chicks grow inside the eggs, how they breathe through pores on the shells, how they break out using their egg tooth, and how they adapt to their new environment.
- Learn about the life cycle of chickens and other animals. Using posters, puzzles, crafts, and stories to show how chickens change from eggs to chicks to adults and how they reproduce. We also compare them with other animals that lay eggs or give birth to live young such as sheep, horses and cows. 
- Investigate the characteristics and needs of chickens and other farm animals. Using family photos from trips, toys and speaking about chickens and other farm animals, such as cows, pigs, sheep, or horses. We discuss what they eat, where they live, how they communicate, and how they help humans.
- Develop literacy and numeracy skills through chick-themed activities.

If you’ve never hatched a chicken, it really is something you need to experience. We are egg-tremely grateful to Incredible Egg Company for allowing us the opportunity for 10 days. It is certainly 10 days that our children, families and staff will remember for the rest of the year.