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At Aurora Early Education, we understand and celebrate the importance of encouraging children to interact with animals.
As they form positives relationships with animals, children strengthen their empathetic and caring skills as well as their sense of responsibility. Playing with animals helps keeps children active and healthy and, as they often confide in and talk to animals, their self-esteem and communication skills also develop.
At Aurora, we have several incursions which bring a range of animals from dogs to baby chicks into the center to encourage our learners to become more comfortable with animals. We also have two resident guinea pigs which our children love caring for.
Even if you don’t have pets at home, there are several places around Melbourne that allow children to have experiences with animals. One lovely place to visit is the Collingwood Children’s Farm.
The Farm at a Glance
The non-profit farm is at the banks of the Yarra River in Abbotsford. While the farm was established in 1836, it became a children’s farm in 1979 and is open to guests from 9:15 am to 4:00pm.
Visitors are given the freedom to explore the farm on their own. It’s home to peacocks, goats, ducks, sheep, horses, chickens, donkeys and a host of other animals.
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Activities For Children
The Collingwood Children’s Farm has a wide range of activities for children and adults alike. The Young Farmers’ Program gives children between the ages of 8-16 the chance to be farmers; it shows them how to care for animals, horse ride, cook and garden.
For younger children there are daily activities like guinea pig cuddling and milking cows, which happens at 10:00am and 4:00pm every day.
Want more information? Head to the Collingwood Children’s Farm website to see why you should plan to visit it this weekend.
Looking for more animal-centered activities to enjoy your children? Here are some other ideas.
Have a trip to our Kindergarten in Melbourne CBD and Kindergarten in Rowville.
