Welcome to Countryside Farms, where sharing the farm experience with children is our specialty! Again, we are pleased to continue to offer our field trip selections. Field trips emphasize agricultural education, highlighting plant and earth science. Our programs involve a series of hands-on activities that feature a three to four station rotation, lasting twenty minutes each. The amount of stations depends upon the age of the students. Most of these stations address the state school standards.
The walnut orchard has grown so much. This year will mark its first year of harvest. With steady/consistent care, we have seen little twigs of trees become a producing walnut orchard! The hayride tours this maturing orchard, through all the seasons. A stop along the way takes place, so we can teach about "The Health Tree", as Linden Nut Company calls them. The Farm Garden and raised strawberry beds are cleaned up and, weather permitting, ready for vegetable or strawberry pickin'!
The farm play yard is where children can climb on the antique tractors, run through the hay tunnels, pet the goats, see "Rojo Red," our noisy rooster and his hens and feel the, oh so soft rabbits. There's also the Fort! Here the children can view the "lay out of the land" or play in the large sandbox below. The "Bean Pond" and the honeysuckle flowered tee-pees will be ready too. Bring your lunches and enjoy one of the grassy picnic areas. Of course, we will have the bounce balls, sack race sacks and tug-a-ropes out for lunchtime play!
Farm Stations
HAYRIDE TOUR: Children ride out through the walnut orchard, make a stop and learn about the walnut harvest, a "whole lot of shakin" goes on in this station. During the fall season, children will glean walnuts from under the trees and take them home. Spring, summer and fall always finds the hayride making its rounds in the orchard.
FARM PLAY YARD: Children visit the goats, rabbits and chickens in the barn and pasture area, along with our newest addition, Quackers, the Duck! "Bella", our dwarf pygmy goat loves to be walked around on a leash. Curly, our Angora goat is just begging for you to feed him, now! The "Fort" with its observation telescope and sandbox below, is in this station. Children can also take a plunge in the "Bean Pond" or sit in the shade of the honeysuckle tee-pees. Haystacks to climb on in the spring and hay tunnels in the fall, what fun! These are in the farm play yard area, too.
PLANTING STATION: What are the different types of soil? What does ideal soil consist of? Our worm composting is on display. Children will observe worms at work! How do plants grow? Which season should we plant what? Children participate by planting seeds in their own, take-home container. In the spring we plant watermelon seeds for summer harvest and in the fall we plant sugar snap peas for the spring harvest. How owls benefit farming is introduced with owl boxes and owl pellets on display.
FARMERS MARKET (spring-time only): In this station, our farmers market truck is set up. Seasonal produce is on display. It is weighed and measured and children will choose produce to take home. Weather permitting, seasonal produce may be picked in the garden or the raised strawberry beds.
PUMPKINS and TORTILLA CORN (fall season only): What a fun, interesting station! How does a pumpkin grow? What is that pumpkin flower all about? How does corn become corn? What's the silk all about? This station is in the FARM GARDEN! Yes, an enclosed garden with lots and lots of pumpkins, cornstalks, herbs and tomatoes! Once the lesson on pumpkins and corn is complete, children will take turns cranking the corn Sheller and grind corn into corn meal. Then, it's Pumpkin Picking time!!! Everyone will have lots of choices, since each and every day, more pumpkins are added from our down-the-road field.