Some Kind Words & Recommendations
A pre-school has rid itself of an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted label and earned fresh praise for its ‘enriched’ education provision.”They provide activities that engage children’s interest – for example, children eagerly watched their hatched ducklings and frogspawn.”
OFSTED
“The set up and experience was the best we have ever used. It was so nice to see such carefully thought out equipment and brilliant resources. Very impressed :)”
Enderby Road Infant and Nursery
“This has been a fantastic experience. The residents have loved interacting with the little chicks; this is definitely something we will look to do again next year.”
Bupa Care Home Crossley House
“The overall experience of hatching and then caring for our ducklings has been one of the best things we have done at our setting. The children have gained huge capital culture from this. We have heard new vocabulary and seen shy children develop confidence beyond anything we imagined. The whole experince with incredible eggs cannot be recommended highly enough. Thank you.”
Building Blocks Kindergarten
“The residents and staff at Lilleybrook Care Home in Cheltenham had such a wonderful experience hatching chick eggs; We really hope that other care homes will be inspired to do the same!
What surprised us the most, is how much reminiscence this activity evoked! We were surprised to learn that so many residents had memories of breeding chickens when they were children, or as adults with their own children. They had plenty of helpful advice to give before and during hatching. Now that the chicks have hatched, residents (and staff) are enjoying watching them grow, and handling them. We loved it so much that we are keeping the chicks and preparing an area in our garden where residents can continue looking after them as part of their daily routine. We had all of the support and equipment we needed from Nick, and all of the instructions and guidance was easy to follow. We are so glad we did this, it brought residents and staff together!”
Lilleybrook Care Home
“The students loved watching them hatch, playing with them and watching them grow. We have kept the ducks and are now in the process of setting them up with their very own area and they are now joining the rest of our animals in our school! Highly recommend incredible eggs – such a great experience for our students 🙂 “
The Mews School
“I just wanted to message you and the Incredible Eggs team to express a huge thank you from all of the residents and staff at St Vincents. Our duckling experience was incredible and we all thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. We were so pleased that we managed to hatch all six eggs and to see them develop and grow over the week. Swimming and cuddles time was a particular favourite of our residents. None of our residents had ever seen a bird hatch from an egg and said that it was such an honour to witness and a wonderful event to witness during the final chapter of their lives. I thank you all for making such a wonderful experience possible. I have attached some photos of our experience. We have so many photos, but I just wanted to share a few as they may help encourage others to book this wonderful experience for their residents. With sincere thanks.”
St Vincents Care Home
“Thanks for a wonderful experience. The children watched with great excitement for the eggs to hatch and were rewarded for their patience when four ducklings hatched.The children loved watching the ducklings splashing about in the water and running around. We have had chicks in the nursery before but we found that the ducklings were more friendly and inquisitive. There was great laughter when we had them out of the brooder as they liked pulling children’s shoe laces and trouser legs. The learning which took place whilst we had the ducklings in nursery was tremendous. All areas from the Early Years Framework were covered in an exciting way. The children couldn’t wait to get in each day and we had more visitors in nursery then we usually have.”
Alderman Swindell School
“Hatching our own chick’s was the most thrilling and exciting time for our children in foundation. The rest of the school found it fascinating and were just as excited as us (the staff). We will definitely doing this again next spring.”
Stoke Damerel Primary Academy
“It boosts their cognitive function, something which degenerates in those living with an illness like dementia. We support their families too – several grandchildren have come in for cuddles with the ducks and it’s great to see such a hands-on project boost the residents quality of life in such a way”
Prince George House, Suffolk
“I can only describe our experience as amazing, our children are still talking about it weeks on, parents have been amazed by their new language and knowledge , from start to finish it was very professional, everything explained and support there if needed, would highly recommend.”
Glascote Nursery and Care Club
“Immersing children in our topics through real experiences has allowed us to support children in their development in all areas of learning. Duck life cycles, facts about ducklings and letters to farmers have all been written in relation to what the children have seen. Children have been heard commenting on the ducklings using key vocabulary they have learnt. Staff at the school have overheard the children’s cute comments “we have to be kind to the ducklings” and “girls ducks quack louder than boy ducks”.
Highlands Primary School, London
“One resident watched the eggs constantly until they were hatched. What I enjoyed was watching the residents that are usually quiet come out of their shell (no pun intended) and the residents that are bedbound were still able to see the ducklings, as I went from room to room and brought some of the ducklings to show them, which they really enjoyed. I would highly recommend other care homes having the duckling hatching experience, especially from ‘Incredible eggs’. They are a good company and I thought the price was very reasonable.”
Parklands Nursing Home
“What an amazing experience this has been for our class, school and community. The children and staff have been thoroughly immersed in the whole process from watching the eggs hatch in the incubator to seeing the ducklings grow and develop into naughty teenagers at just 3 weeks old! The learning opportunities, discussions and fun this experience has provided has been truly incredible! Our classroom has never been so popular with children, staff and parents regularly popping in to see our new additions. The staff from Incredible Eggs have been friendly and supportive during the whole process and have given us everything we needed to ensure that we and the ducklings were happy throughout the whole process.”
Gobowen Primary School, Shropshire
“It’s about bringing reality into the school. For the children to experience this first hand is so important as they can relate what they have seen with the ducklings hatching to what they have learnt in lessons. Also they are learning softer skills such as sharing with their friends as well as how to handle and care for animals.”
Somerleyton Primary School
“We have been using Incredible Eggs for a few years now and have had only positive experiences. Equipment is always of an excellent standard and the quality of resources to support the children’s learning is excellent. The children love the hands on experience that is provided and learn so much in the time spent hatching and nurturing the ducks. We’ll see you again next year!”
St John Vianney Community Primary School
“Our experience with Incredible eggs has been fantastic. We are a 36 bed care home and thought that it would be a great idea to hatch ducklings to coincide with Easter and start the festivities off early and what an experience we had, We hatched 5 ducklings in total and everyone fell in love. They were asked for everyday by our residents and staff and everyone joined in, We even got out local schools involved and took our duckling to visit 2 different schools so they could join in our experience. We would thoroughly recommended the use of Incredible Eggs.”
St George’s Care Home
“The children and staff loved having the chicks in school! It has been such an amazing opportunity for all and the parents have commented on how fantastic it as been! Help was there throughout the process and I couldn’t thank Incredible Eggs enough!!”
Angram Bank Primary School
“What a fantastic experience for adults and children alike. The learning gained by adults and children was enormous. We will be taking part every year going forwards.”
Toy Box Nursery
“We really enjoyed having our duck eggs. It was educational for the children and a big moral boost for the staff. We are fortunate enough that will still received regular duck updates and well as one of our teacher to them to her families farm.”
Ellistown Primary School
“It is the third time we have ordered from Incredible Eggs, and yet again, what a fantastic service!! The process is so easy, and the children get so much out of seeing the duckling lifecycle. Unfortunately, this time, we had one duckling that didn’t make it, and the lady on the service hotline was wonderful. We can’t wait to order again next year.”
Anglesey Primary School
“Our Reception classes absolutely loved observing and caring for our chick and duck eggs. They were absolutely fascinated and it helped motivate some children to talk who are usually incredibly shy. Great team building experience for the staff too as an unexpected bonus!”
St Andrew’s C Of E Infant School
“We thoroughly enjoyed the whole hatching experience and loved being able to watch the ducklings hatch and then be involved daily in looking after them and watching them grow until it was time to return to the farm.”
Look Who’s Learning Nursery
“We want to thank Nick from Incredible Eggs South West for providing us with 7 duck eggs (6 hatched) and invaluable knowledge and support during our two week experience of being duck parents. We knew having the ducklings would be a wonderful learning opportunity for our children, providing them with a first hand experience watching them hatch and grow. We have seen how gentle and caring the children can be. The awe and wonder they have shown watching the eggs has been absolutely priceless. It was made all the more special because duckling number 2’s birth was witnessed by us all. We have had the children singing songs to them and we watched them grow & swim. They gave them a gentle stroke and the ducklings ate out of our hands. Our team, children and parents have all enjoyed this incredible experience and we will be looking to repeat it.”
Longham Pre-School
“What an great experience for my class, filled with curiosity, awe and wonder. The buzz around the classroom was amazing. The discussion and work produced was great as we were immersed in the learning.”
Bugle School
“We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and will definitely recommend it to others. All the children within the school benefitted from the chicks, through recording them and sharing updates. Will definitely be using Incredible Eggs again.”
Bedford Hall Methodist Primary school
“The children and staff throughly enjoyed the whole hatching experience. Many of our older children are still discussing the experience now, even though the chicks have left us. A truly enriching experience.”
Tip Top Day Nursery
“This was the most wonderful experience for our residents and staff. Seeing the ducks hatch brought so much joy and then watch them grow was amazing. We will definitely be booking them again.”
Heathermount Care Home
“I would recommend this program highly to all, it is a fantastic experience for the children and adults alike. It provides lots of learning opportunities for children, and introduces them to real life life cycles which is something rarely seen by most without these types of programs.”
My First Friends Day Nursery
“The ducklings were an utter joy to have. We loved watching them hatch. It was such a special moment and I know the children will be talking about them for a long time. Thank you.”
Rounday All Through School
“Thank you, we enjoyed our time with the ducklings and were really sad when they left us. The children gained so much from the experience and it gave our Science work some real purpose.”
Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School
The ducklings were very sleepy at first, but then they started following each other round, particularly in the water. The children were so excited and it’s amazing how much they remember about them. We will absolutely be doing it every year now forever.”
Cecil Gowing Infant School
“The students absolutely loved watching the eggs hatch. During lessons they had loads of questions and it made the students desperate to get to their science lessons. The whole experience gave the school a real buzz and got everyone talking and excited about science and ducks.”
Manningtree High School
“The ducklings have made people light up with joy and it’s such a great sight to see. We all waited in anticipation for the first duckling to appear and it was a wonderful sight to behold.’
The Fernes Care Home
“As a school we decided to go for the duckling hatching experience as we had previously experienced the chicks and wanted a change. We were not disappointed. The service from Incredible Eggs was amazing. The duckling hatching experience was such good fun. Both children and adults so enjoyed the ducks. We had 6 eggs and all hatched. We enjoyed watching them take their first swim and explore our school environment. It was such an amazing sensory experience for our children. Our ducks went on to live on a lovely farm and we get regular photos of them. They are so big now and doing well. It was a lovely memory and something we will definitely do again next year. We would highly recommend Incredible Eggs.”
Craighalbert Centre
“We were thrilled to see the chicks enter the world, they’re a real talking point at the home and both the residents and staff are always wanting a cuddle with their new housemates. The chicks give the residents a real purpose. They have watched over and cared for them ever since they were eggs and so to have the opportunity to see them grow has been a great privilege and a real honour.”
Rosebank Care Home
“This is the first year that we’ve had ducklings as we usually have chicks. Some of them hatched whilst the children were at school and it was great to see that awe and wonder that we try to promote here at the school. It’s all about providing them with new experiences that make them go ‘wow’ and they are actually seeing the lifecycle of an animal right in front of them and from the beginning. They have been able to handle the ducklings and they’ve watched them grow rapidly. We’ve talked about their webbed feet and they watched the ducklings go swimming for the first time and they loved it. They are learning about the lifecycles of animals and the world around them and actually seeing the ducklings hatch brings it all to life and makes the topic much more meaningful and purposeful. They absolutely loved having them in class. They would check on them regularly and make sure they had food and water. They even gave the ducklings names from Josh to Twinkle and Batman.”
Derby High School
“We would like to say what a very enjoyable and rewarding experience we have had with the ducklings. The ordering, delivery and pick up was very easy to arrange and the information that was given to us on delivery was very informative. All our eggs hatched within the first 5 days, we had a 100% success rate. The children found the duckling easy to handle and enjoyed their time with them in their classrooms. Watching them eat, swim, play and sleep. We would recommend this experience to others and will definitely be having them again. Thank you.”
Greefields Primary School
“A fantastic experience for reception children. They gave a presentation to each class explaining incubation and hatching and learnt so much…It has inspired writing and encouraged them to care for living things”
Cavell Primary and Nursery School
“From candling the eggs to handling the chicks, the children were completely engaged throughout the process…As a complete novice I really appreciated the detailed information pack provided and knowing that you were at the end of the phone was reassuring. We are looking forward to doing it again!”
Swanton Abbott Primary School
“It has been a magical experience having the chicks and watching them develop…There has been so much learning and the children and parents have all been so excited—we even filmed the hatching…There was a lot of information and support provided throughout the whole process. We will definitely be booking again next year.”
Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School
“We really enjoyed looking after our chicks. The whole project was really easy to set up and everything we needed was provided in the kit box. It was amazing for our year 7s to see the moving embryo inside the egg when they used the candling lamp. They helped to film the hatching and were really amazed by the development of the chicks after they hatched. We monitored how quickly they grew and researched the appearance of the adults for each breed that hatched. I will definitely be booking the kit again next year so that we can complete some additional exciting projects. I’ve never seen children so keen to clean out a cage before! I’m sure their parents would be amazed!”
Reepham High School
“We are writing to thank you for the excellent egg hatching programme in which our school recently participated. The kit you supplied completely took the worry out of this activity after you had set it up for us. We particularly found the worksheets useful and the children all enjoyed drawing the life cycles. An excellent value for money programme which really allows the children to see the chicks and take part in this little miracle as it unfolds. We shall definitely do it again!”
John of Gaunt Infant & Nursery School
“The excitement was tangible in our class as we waited and watched and squealed at the hatching eggs. The eggs hatched as happy, healthy ducklings. We named the ducklings Rosie, Luke, Fluffy, Duck, Scruffy and Rocky. We have learnt to care for the ducklings as they have grown and changed rapidly. We have helped to teach the ducklings to eat, drink, swim and follow the leader! Each day we topped up their food and water, and every other day we cleaned out their brooder. We handled the ducklings carefully when lifting them out of the brooder, stroking them and placing them in the water to swim. We have learnt lots of new facts about ducklings and ducks by finding information in non-fiction books, on the internet and by asking the grown-ups. What an exciting learning experience for us all! Thank you to Incredible Eggs!”
Manland Primary School
“What an amazing experience we had, watching six beautiful little chicks hatch out of their eggs. The eggs arrived with us three days before their hatching date, which was perfect for our little ones. We didn’t have to wait too long but had time to study the eggs, and hear the chicks cheeping inside the eggs, before the tapping began! The children then enjoyed looking after the chicks, feeding them, cleaning them out and giving them lots of gentle cuddles throughout their stay. Lots of talking and learning took place, and it is definitely an experience we will repeat with other groups of children.”
South Lee School
“What a thoroughly enjoyable experience! The children learnt so much from seeing the eggs arrive and hatch out into ducklings. Everyone was very excited to come in to nursery each morning to check on them and all of our parents were full of praise at what a fantastic learning opportunity it was for the children. Absolutely fantastic! The whole experience has been well worth it and one we hope to pursue again in the future with chickens. Thank you from everyone at Fledglings Nursery.”
Fledglings Nursery
“We thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching the ducks hatch and became so attached to them that we ended up keeping them! They are now living in Aylesbury. We will definitely order them again next year. Incredible Eggs is a great way to support our ‘Living Things’ topic as it covers all areas of learning in the Early Years curriculum and gives children hands on experience that they will remember forever. Look forward to seeing you again next year”
Sudbury Primary School
“I am not sure who was more excited when the chicks hatched, the teachers or the children! The service provided was excellent, the equipment easy to use and the instructions clear, we just sat back and watched the chicks arrive. We would highly recommend this service. The children have experienced a valuable life cycle lesson. Many thanks.”
The Norwich Montessori School
“It was fantastic having the ducklings to look after. The children learnt so much. As well as the science and literacy focus they provided, the children recognised the perseverance and determination that the ducklings displayed and discussed how they could apply this to their lives. All the arrangements and the delivery and pick up were all very easy.”
Four Elms Primary School
“We recently had the pleasure of looking after 5 duckling eggs, watched them hatch and grow in to the cutest little bundles of fluff. The children thought it a lot of fun as they waddled in the water and ran around. We think it is a very valuable experience as it helps to teach the children to handle fragile creatures with care and have the responsibility of looking after them as well. The service was excellent, I especially liked the way that the person who dropped off the duck eggs, incubator and all other equipment (which was in excellent condition) spent time talking to the children, explaining what they needed to do to care for the ducklings. I would highly recommend this project to any nursery/pre-school setting.”
ACE Nursery School
“As the Key Stage 1 teacher, having hatching eggs fitted into our ‘Changes’ topic very well. Very soon, the chicks were hijacked by the rest of the school as well, including Pre-School. The chicks were named, handled and loved. We made observational drawings, wrote a care plan, created an imaginary design for their very own henhouse and we weighed them and made graphs. We certainly enjoyed the experience and the children won’t forget it in a hurry. Thanks very much to Incredible Eggs, who brought all the equipment and gave us careful precise instructions on how to look after the eggs and the chicks.”
Northrepps Primary School