Bradley School Farm Visit

What a great day we had yesterday! The K-5 grades of the Bradley School came for a farm visit. We had so much fun. The group photo above includes about 60% of those that attended. We gave each of the kids a reusable shopping bag with the name of the farm on the front. I made up sheets about the animals on the farm that had "kid friendly" info. There was also a word scramble puzzle. The children were split into groups of around 10 and visited each area. I was so thankful for my wonderful volunteers - Kaylene, Tina, Colleen, Bob and Kate all came early and were a huge help. Greg handled the food with Marvin's help.

One group went into the barn where we had 300 baby chicks in a pen on the floor. Each one was able to hold a baby chick and learned about our farming practices and the difference between farm fresh eggs and store bought commercial eggs. We showed them the different colors of our eggs - light brown, dark brown and blue. They saw a turkey egg. Our kittens were a big hit as everyone wanted to hold one. They have been catching mice right and left. Hopefully they will get rid of them all eventually.

Another group visited the sheep, goats and pigs. The baby sheep and baby goats loved all the attention. They all brought little packets of carrots. My animals were full and happy at the end of the day. Piper the pig is still waiting to give birth and all our visitors want to know as soon as she has them.

Some went to the vegetable area and saw how the different vegetables are grown. They were each allowed to pick a head of romaine lettuce to put in their bag.

Next was the fruit orchard. They had all painted rocks with the name of a fruit tree and ran around and found which tree they would place their rocks under. They are such a wonderful addition to the orchard. I will have to find another group to do more for the rest of the trees

We had stacked bales of hay in the field and they all played on them like little puppies. Greg brought his popcorn machine and his hot dog machine. Everyone enjoyed both of these, along with fruit snacks and drink boxes.

I have never seen a better behaved bunch of school aged children. They interacted nicely with each other. The teachers are amazing and their relationship is almost like family. The kids were all respectful and gave so many hugs and thank you's that I had a warm glow the rest of the day.

I think they all had a great time and I know we did.

We woke up this morning to rain. We spent yesterday afternoon madly stacking hay so it could be covered with a tarp before the rain started. I'm a bit concerned about the lettuce and broccoli, but there's not a whole lot I can do - just be happy we are getting free irrigation. What an odd year for weather. We are so thankful to not have to deal with the tornadoes and flooding that other parts of the country are going through. My heart goes out to them.

Have a wonderful day and spend time with a child - it makes you younger!