The Children's Farm 1

Yesterday Logan and I went to our first of four classes at The Children's Farm in Stillwater.  I signed up for a four week Harvest Learning class because I knew Logan would love it so much!  It only takes us one hour to get to the farm from our house in Eau Claire, so its worth the weekly trip for just four weeks.  Our first experience was so wonderful, Logan ran around loving every minute and already can't wait for "farm school" next week!

"Come on, Mom, let's go!"

The Children's Farm is a non-profit pre-school - they even have regular preschool that runs all year where the kids do farm chores and learn about animals, gardening, etc.  A few of the moms in our class actually attended classes at the farm as a child!

Our first task was to feed the animals.  We picked up our buckets of feed and took them to the appropriate animals.  Logan chose the steer (cow) and the horse.  So, we fed Tye-Dye, the steer (here is our new friend Oren feeding the steer after us) and we also fed Felicia, the horse - right out of our hands!  Logan carried the feed buckets all by himself.

After giving the animals food, it was time to fill their water.  We learned to use the water pump.  The farm emphasizes children learning to do things on their own, with only some guidance from their grown-ups.  Logan did a great job of trying everything on his own.  Its also a very relaxed learning environment.  After all the feeding, they rang a bell and we circled up to learn about all our activities for the day.  Once they are all explained, it is up to you and your child to decide which activites you would like to do, and in what order.  You can take the learning at your own pace, which seems great for Logan (and most little boys, especially, I think).

Logan first chose to gather eggs from the chickens.  He picked this egg out of the chicken's nest.  Then we took it and scrubbed it,

rinsed it, and put it in an egg carton.

Then we went to the garden, where Logan dug holes, planted potatoes, then covered the holes with a rake.  He really loved this task and we did it several times!  The garden is really neat, with lots of vegetables and herbs.

The rain started, so we went into the barn and the teachers brought the baby kitties in for the kids to meet and hold.

Logan called this "my kitty"!

The little bit of rain didn't bother anyone.  We spent time painting in the barn, reading books, playing with the kitties, and...

Playing in the hayloft!  We climbed a ladder to the hayloft where bales and boards were set up for the kids to climb on.  It didn't take long for the rain to pass and the sun to come out!

Logan got to ride a pony named "Gertie"!  Grown-ups had to stay back by the fence, so Logan walked into the pasture...

hopped up on the stump...

climbed onto Megan's knee...

and mounted the pony!  Way to go, Logan!

He learned to shake the reigns to "go" and pull the reigns to "stop".

He kept saying, "I'm doing it, Mom!"  I was so proud of him for following through without me by his side.  Logan is probably one of the very youngest kids - he just made the cut-off for the class, but he did a great job keeping up!

 By the end of the day, we were plenty warm, we even took our jackets off!  Logan loved this tree swing!  We ended our time singing songs about the farm and its animals.  Its amazing to watch Logan learn in such a experiential way.  Being on the farm are certainly things he would never experience anywhere else.  What a great day!  Can't wait for next week!