Old Mcdonald Had a Farm...

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some chickens,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a cluck-cluck here,

And a cluck-cluck there

Here a cluck, there a cluck,

Everywhere a cluck-cluck

Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i oh!

James' 2nd grade field trip reminder me on that song.  I went with James' class as a supervisor to the Lowell Ranch for a program entitled, “Food From the Farm” presented by The Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation (CALF)

Ever Wonder What Part of the Plant You Are Eating? Where Does Your Hamburger Come From? The Earth gives us many resources, which provide all the food we eat.

Many students struggle with these concepts as they see food in the grocery store and lack the connection of how the food got there. This program provided students Authentic Experiences for understanding the Connections between the Natural Resources on a farm and the Food They Eat. And, boy did we experience!  I have NEVER been to such an amazing farm! 

These 2nd graders learned facts about different animals and were able to pet the chickens, roosters, goats, cows, horses, and sheeps.  They were taken into an old barn and discussed what the barn was used for and then talked about the many different products that are made from the farm, animal parts or have animal parts in them.  Such as...footballs, helmets, wheat, lotions, toothbrushes, and LEGOS!  Yes, legos.  There are animal parts in plastic which comes from the farm. Crazy!

 

 Next, the children visited another barn where they played a game and learned about eggs and chickens. 

Did you know how eggs get their color? 

Answer - Its determined by the chicken's ear lobes. 

Moving along, the children then visited a garden. They learned and talked about the differences between fruits and vegetables, were able to sample many different kinds, and experienced pulling carrots out of the ground. 

Next they ventured to an outside green house where they talked about argiculture and how to distinguish between foods that are roots, stems, flowers, branches, leaves, or fruits.  

Did you know a tomatoe is a fruit? 

Any piece of food that has seeds are considered a fruit. Interesting, huh? 

The final two stops were just as informational and fun for the kids.  The first stop was learning about milk and the children together participated in making ice cream.  After each child had a chance to shake the ice cream bowl that the ingredience were lock into, they then got to taste the cold, fresh ice cream.  Yummy!

The last stop was listening to a lady who owned a dairy farm.  She talked to the kids about cows and the importance of the dairy farm.  James was shocked to hear that this particular dairy farm owner had over 4,000 dairy cows.  She showed them the types of grain they eat, about how cows have four stomachs, and how each cow gets branded.  My two most favorite lines that James said throughout the day happened to be at the very end as we were at our last stop.  

Here they are:

• After the discussion about the cows begin branded and the reason for it, James raised his hand and when called on say.  "This reminds me about a Bible story I know about a time when one sheep got lost and the shephard went out to find that sheep because it was very important to him.  You must brand your cows beacause they are very important to you and if just one got lost, you would know which one it was by the branding number." Yes, I admit it, I was smiling from ear to ear!

• The dairy lady ask this question to the kids. "Does anyone know the phrase when a cow chews his food many times over?" James says, "Yes, that's called, chewing your cuddlies (suppose to be cud)."  We all laughed. 

How in a matter of moments, James has my heart warmed by his NO FEAR personality to share the Good News and then have the whole group rolling in laughter by a mistaken statement.  I just love him to pieces!

I'm extremely impressed with James' school and the way in which classroom teaching corresponds to hands-on activities that reinforce the education and learning that is taking place.  Thank you Clear Sky Elementary!