Kids Are 'Egg-Static' Over Raising Chicks

Hillsborough, NJ -- Students at American Montessori School in Hillsborough experienced the birth of life when they helped raise a dozen chicks.

The school received one dozen eggs from a farm in Pennsylvania to raise for two weeks. The first week the children, ranging in age from two and a half to six years old, watched as the eggs were incubated under a warm lamp.

“The kids watched the eggs like a mother hen,” said Lalita Amuthan, a teacher at the new school.

Then after one week of rotating eggs three times a day and watching them warm, they finally hatched on Monday, Feb. 15.

“They were able to actually see a live chick come out of an egg,” said Amuthan.

Amuthan noted some children were surprised as the chicks weren’t as fluffy as they imagined, with some even saying “ewww.”

Of the dozen eggs, 11 hatched.

“I liked seeing when the eggs cracked,” said Rocco Jule, 3, from Hillsborough.

Since then the children have been taking care of the chicks by feeding them, giving them water, petting them and more.

The chicks go back to the farm today, Feb. 19.

“This offers them a more hands-on learning experience,” Amuthan said.

The Montessori preschool, located opposite the Duke Farms on Route 206, teaches children life skills through a combination of personalized learning and hands-on experiences. The school is open to children in and around Hillsborough. Currently their are students from Bridgewater and Belle Mead also enrolled.

The school will also offer another program in the April or May where the students will watch a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. That will be a six week program.

The school is currently enrolling for its nature-based Summer Camp, which starts in July. The school can be reached at 908-977-6640.

(Photos by Alexis Tarrazi: Abigail An, 4 and Rocco Jule, 3 both of Hillsborough play with the chicks).