DAY 1:
Hi families,
Day one at the farm was filled with surprises, challenges and fun! Enjoy!!
Most Surprising
The most surprising thing today was how much poop the cows left while we were herding them.
The farm is the coolest but I’m missing my family. I got to ride bareback on a horse and hold hens and roosters. The day was very fun.
The most surprising part of the day was when the cow ate my sweater. Because I like that sweater.
The most surprising part of my day was how much work you have to do if you are a waiter.
The most surprising thing today was seeing the cat catch a mouse.
The most surprising thing was that the farm wasn’t as cold as I thought.
The most surprising part of the farm trip so far was the day when the cow peed right in front of us because everyone one was gasping and we were caught off guard.
What surprised me today was that there was a cow named Puppy.
Most Challenging
The most challenging thing was getting the cows to the barn and feeding them because they were not really listening.
The most challenging thing today was saying goodbye to my family because I was going to miss them a lot.
The most challenging part was that when I had barn chores, I had to bring the sheep and the sheep didn’t cooperate.
The most challenging part of the day was the bus ride.
Something that was challenging was the tetherball because I kept missing it.
The most challenging thing was trying to pick up the chickens.
The most challenging part of the day was learning the dangers of how to pick up a chicken.
The most challenging thing for me was coming down the ladder for the haystack because it was very steep.
The most challenging part of my day was being a waiter because everybody just sat there and I had to do all of the work.
The most challenging part of the day was milking the cow and the other kids drank it. They said it was bad.
The most challenging part of the day was when I was cooking and we had to bring out the compost.
Most Fun
The most fun part was the two hour free time and spinning around and wiffle ball because it made me laugh a lot.
The most exciting part was when I got to pick up a rooster.
The most fun part of the day was when the cow tried to eat my sweatshirt.
The most fun thing I did today was doing barn chores like milking cows and collecting eggs.
The most fun thing I did was play on the swings.
The most fun thing I did was writing this but I will probably like sleeping the most.
The most fun thing in my day was seeing allllll the chickens and the line of cows that was like a mile long!
The most fun thing was having fun with my friends at recess because it was just plain fun.
The most fun part of the day was riding the horses because I’ve never ridden a horse bareback and I loved the experience
The most fun part of my day was the cooking class.
Who knows what adventures await us tomorrow?
Yours in farm solidarity,
Jessica, Deborah, and Alisa
Day Two:
Dear families,
We had an exciting and packed day number two at the farm. The morning started with a delicious breakfast of homemade yogurt, oatmeal, cherry jam, and toast. Today was also special because Faith, our Lower School Principal, and Jorge Marron, the Communications Manager at LREI, drove up to spend the day with us. Faith enjoyed visiting Hawthorne Valley Farm where she’d spent time as a kid, and Jorge enjoyed documenting our adventures on this picturesque fall day.
After breakfast, the entire class went on a hike up a “huge” mountain on the campus of the Hawthorne Valley Farm School. After a steep ascent, we settled on a carpet of green moss and listened to the sounds around us. Acorns fell from the trees above as we enjoyed a snack of fresh apple cider and corn chips.
Students also engaged in farm activities such as cow herding, baking bread, and gardening. During an afternoon rain, we sat together in the farmhouse and wrote poems about our morning adventure. We look forward to sharing all of our poems with you at our farm breakfast, for now, here is a sample:
I Hear
I hear the trees swishing in the air.
I hear kids, loud as can be.
I hear my feet walking down the mountain.
A Nice Fall Day
A nice fall day
A crisp warm breeze
Trees swaying in the breeze
Crunch
Crunch
Crunch
My feet crunch on the fallen leaves.
Up a Hill
Wind whistling in the trees.
River swishing quietly down below.
And then suddenly,
You can hear the footsteps of another,
Crunching, stomping on colorful leaves.
When she, nature brings us more
You can spot the twigs parachuting to cover the floor.
Then you stand in a calm, quiet place.
Where no one can disturb you
When you watch the dancing trees.
When you feel the furry moss
When you smell the dewey grass
You can almost hear the blooming flowers.
When you look above
The puffy clouds so white
Looking down below.
See the red roots reaching, stretching
In the safest place
With her.
Leaves
Leaves with shades of yellow and brown blow in the sky.
They look like they’re flying, flying high.
Look up and see them come and go, going up, going down.
Going fast, going slow.
As they soar through the sky, a single leaf
Goes in my eye.
We’re excited to see what tomorrow brings!
Yours in farm solidarity,
Jessica, Deborah, and Alisa
Day Three:
“It’s like a three day sleepover with all of your good friends!”
Dear families,
It’s been a rainy day here at the farm, but that hasn’t stopped us from being outside! We participated in a range of farming activities including collecting raspberries in the garden, making butter, riding horses and cooking potato leek soup and apple cobbler for tonight’s dinner. The weather cooled off enough for us to relax next to the wood burning stove in the evening and write and sketch in our journals.
Below, enjoy a sample of the “I am” poems that students wrote from the perspective of an animal or object that they encountered on the farm. Can you guess the perspective of each poem?
I Am…
I am messy, pink
I wonder if I look slovenly
I hear the wind in the trees and humans giving me food
I see the sky, clouds, humans
I want to be free and cleaner
I am messy, pink
I pretend that I’m a human
I feel other animals’ bodies against mine
I touch my food
I worry that the humans will forget about me
I cry, “Snort, Snort, Snort!”
I am messy, pink
I understand that I will be bacon soon
I say every animal should be treated as well as humans
I dream that I am a human feeding animals
I try to be a friend
I hope for the humans to remember me when I am bacon
I am messy, pink
I Am…
I am tall and elegant
I wonder if people have heard my story
I hear my mane flowing wildly in the wind
I see my stable and the barrels of hay
I want a best friend
I am tall and elegant
I pretend that I am galloping along the ocean floor
I feel love in my heart and strength in my guts
I touch my mother providing me with warmth and love
I worry that I will never find my long lost sister
I cry to my heart in the colors of the sunset.
I am tall and elegant.
I understand that I will never be free.
I say that horses matter!
I dream that Sierra will come with me everywhere
I try to look beautiful
I hope that someday, one day, I will be free
I am tall and elegant
I Am…
I am glad to live in the nice relaxing forest
I wonder when I’m going to live nowhere
I hear the sound of the rambunctious land around me
I see the countryside around me
I want a better world
I am glad to live in the nice relaxing forest
I pretend that I will be alive forever
I feel the warm sun
I touch the sky
I worry about a forest fires
I cry when it rains
I am glad to live in the nice relaxing forest
I understand that I am what I am
I say thank you to the rain
I dream about being the tallest in the forest
I try to tell people not to climb me
I hope to be happy
I am glad to live in the nice relaxing forest
We are sad to leave the farm but excited to see you all tomorrow!
Best,
Deborah, Jessica and Alisa
