Day 1

Our first day at the farm has been full of sensory experiences. It all started on the bus when one fourth grader shared his jelly beans. Their flavors were as follows: rotten egg, booger, cherry, cinnamon, dirt, earwax, grass, green apple, marshmallow, sausage, soap, and last but not least, vomit. And it was only 9:08am. What did the rest of the day have in store for us we wondered.

By noon, our bus was pulling into the farm driveway. Once unloaded, students were very eager explore. In no time students were both relaxed and becoming more and more excited by the potential of the farm.

Below are just a few of the comments overheard as our day progressed:

In the afternoon:

“It’s good to get away from the concrete city and get a breath of fresh air.”

“I can hug a chicken.”

“Henry’s chicken noises literally attract the chickens.”

“Can I jump off the top?” (of the bunkbed)

“Let’s get everything that’s not nature out.” (of the bush fort)

“Is it true that we can drink milk straight from the cow?”

“You know when horses poop… the hole opens wide and then a huge mound comes out, it’s just so amazing.”

“Oh my god, I just drew the most amazing picture of my life!”

In the evening:

“I can do red light and blinking light” (with headlamps during flashlight tag)

“Aren’t the stars so pretty?”

“I just sleep in the same clothes I am wearing the next day.”

“Goodnight!”

Day 2

On our second day, fourth graders delved into new and familiar activities, putting our classroom norm to “be positive, strong and open” into action.

Students describe our day well in their daily written reflections. Below are some snippets…

about the morning….

“I went outside to the smell of horse manure and fresh dew.”

“As I look up at the bottom of the bed above me the mattress pattern of blue stripes and the frame pattern of waves become the rise and fall of the sea…”

“Today was amazing. First, I woke up to the hustle and bustle of the four girls I bunk with.”

about working with animals…

“We went to the horses. I was so excited my whole body was jittering.”

“The horses’ names were Sierra and Daisy. We had to feed them. While I was refilling the hay I was thinking how scared I was if the horse came back and kicked me.”

“It felt scary when the horse started to gallop because it bounced up and down and I almost fell off.”

“When I rode Daisy I got to ride her backwards, it was really fun.”

“A cow has four stomachs. It eats grass and then spits it out four times.

“We walked in, first I looked at the baby calf in the stall. I saw a small white cow, one of the cutest ever.”

“So there was a bull named Monty. He was scruffy, huge and pooped a lot (based on the stall).”

“After a long and trying walk we reached a road, crossed it and ended up in a grassy field. We didn’t see any cows…BUT THEN a stampede of them came walking.”

“We stopped traffic and we were in the back tallying them (the cows). Slowly, smelly and long we got to the farm.”

about meals…

“At lunch I tried a lot of things I thought I never liked but they were actually really good.”

“Part of the process of making the tablecloth clean was running around in the wind while tossing and turning the table cloth.”

about farm chores…

“While we were putting the apples into the machine I smelled it. It smelled so good. I could smell the sweetness and the freshness of the apples.”

“Then we went out into the bitter cold weather. It was so cold, it felt like my hands were going to fall off.”

about free time…

“We also played in the chicken coop when we weren’t supposed to – it was really fun when we did that.”

“My favorite part of the day was going on a nature walk with Shelby. I am going to press flowers. Yay!”

Good night!!

Day 3:

“Today was better than the udder days. Hahahahahaha… puns!

“This morning I woke up and I totally forgot that I was on the farm. I felt weird because I usually wake up and my sister is next to me.”

“My favorite was the warm toasted raisin bread with melting rich creamy gold butter.”

“I smelled the peppers. It was a good smell, but faint. The peppers were smooth and silky.”

“I tasted sour chew for the first time – it was so good.”

First we were introduced to lemon balm…and then a plant that you can brush your teeth with, then a plant that some people thought it could make you fall in love in the olden days.”

“We got to play with the baby calf, she was so playful. She licked my face.”

We fed the pigs. Their snorts were like kids screaming.”

“In the soccer field, we reflected.”

“When we dumped the chicken food into the buckets they went crazy like a bunch of chicken pigs.”

“It feels like the game is never ending. You jump as high as you can and slap the ball over and over. I played everyday on the farm.”

“I ran around looking for a place to make a grave for a caterpillar but then I forgot about it so I played a game. Then I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the caterpillar and it was moving.”

“When was this forest found?”

“Another crazy experience was when a group of children went too far into the woods. Turns out they got stuck up a 100 foot cliff. It was really rocky with tree stubs to hold onto and moss was everywhere.” (Editor’s note: students were exploring the woods on the Hawthorne Valley Farm School campus next to the farm when they happened upon a big leafy mossy hill and decided to climb it. Next they discovered that oddly enough climbing UP can be a lot easier than climbing DOWN. Some students felt stuck at that point but with the help of their classmates and a teacher they made a successful descent.

“We all went to the playground safe from poos.” (after a cow herding session).

“I ride (on a horse) no hands, both hands and more. I pass the bouncing tetherball and the swaying swings.”

“At the end of the day we shaped the butter into cow poop with a calf footprint in it. At dinner everyone LOVED it!”

“Today was a natural wonderful day full of adventure and many feelings.”

“As I hear the wind slide nimbly past my ears I feel complete coming home to family.”