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Excitement hatches at Children's Centre

12 October 2005

An air of delight permeated the kinder room of the Monash Children's Centre last week when nine chicks hatched as part of a two-week Ready Hatch program.

Pre-schoolers Naa and Boris show off the new born chicks with help from their kinder teachers Alisa and Cathy (far right).

Now in its third year at the centre, the program is designed specifically for kindergartens and aims to educate children through hands-on experience.

Ms Julie Cauchi, a Monash Children's Centre coordinator, said the program, which was devised by Queensland company Living Eggs, was a great learning experience for the children.

"It really is a special experience that the kids treasure. They become so excited waiting for the chicks to hatch and love caring for them once they have," she said.

"It's great to have interactive learning opportunities such as this at the centre. We let the children's interest and creativity lead the classroom activities and have lots of discussions about the chicken's lifecycle and the process of hatching.

"And it's not just the kinder class that benefits -- children from right across the centre come to visit the chicks and watch or learn to handle them."

The chicks, whose names include Michael Jackson, Chick Number One and Isabella, will stay at the centre until mid-November before being adopted out to volunteer families or sent to hobby farms or free-range egg producers.