1:45 PM
October 9, 2007

Mr. Thorne called to report that the fifth grade has arrived at The Farm!  The students were wonderful for the trip, playing magnetic games, doing crossword puzzles, singing songs quietly.  Upon arrival Mr. Thorne reported that he never saw a group move so fast.  They are already unpacked and ready for their tour of The Farm.

When Mr. Thorne went to his bunk he could smell home baked bread and hear warm, welcoming sounds.  It’s going to be the best Farm trip yet!

Dear Friends and Family,

The fifth graders are fantastic bus travelers.  They entertained themselves with magnetic travel games, read quietly or slept on the ride to Massachusetts.  When they arrived, they unloaded their bags, picked bunks for themselves and were outside taking a farm tour while their teachers divided them into groups for farm work, activities and kitchen duty.

After the tour the work started right away!  The whole class donned gloves and clippers and began clearing a hedgerow separating two cow pastures.  It felt good to stretch our muscles and breathe in that farm-fresh air after the long bus ride!  After cleaning our hands (we were kept company by some cows who were getting a lot of attention) we ate oatmeal-raisin cookies and pears.  Then we began... farm chores!

Accompanied by a farmer and a ‘to-do’ list each group ventured off to a part of the farm to collect eggs, or feed calves.  Some were in charge of watering animals, and some were in charge of watering the young fruit trees.  Salad was gathered from the garden and milk was taken from some cows in the barn.  Everyone stopped to play with the new barn kittens that live in the tool section!

After a fantastic meal of roast chicken (or tofu alternative), salad greens and potatoes with cheese, the children gathered together at the ‘horse barn’ where Sarah the Farmer introduced them to old and authentic farm tools.  The students had to guess what the tools were used for. 

After that activity it was time for journal writing and bed….

Lights out.

But not for long; some of the students didn’t hear the instructions that they were supposed to stay quietly in the bunk until 6:15 because a group of girls decided to gather in the common room at 5:30 this morning to ‘read’ which they did rather noisily.  This woke up the teachers and farm staff…. who reminded them to go back to bed so that everyone else who needs that extra few minutes could have that opportunity to catch some extra ‘zzzzzzs’.

On the Farm we feed the animals before we feed ourselves… and that’s exactly what we did.  Again, eggs were collected and feed spread out.  Cows were milked and hay fluffed up for their breakfast.  Pigs were fed…,  well, let’s just say they were fed.  It sure is fun feeding pigs!

After all the animals were fed, we washed our hands and ate our own breakfast of eggs with kale and cheese and garlic.  Oatmeal was an option and we could dress it up with maple syrup, strawberries, raisins, cinnamon, milk, or yogurt. 

ON the farm, we clean up after ourselves, so all parents should expect their children to know how to handle a broom and dustpan properly, how to squeeze all that extra water out of the sponge and wipe the food OFF the table instead of swirling it around for awhile.  Some are learning to wipe dishes ‘thoroughly’ and others are learning that things have a proper place to be put away.  It’s great fun to see the children learn to appreciate taking care of themselves and how important that is; to see them move into the rhythm of the farm routine, which they do so fast. 

Let’s start with how the day ended.  It’s 9 o’clock and all’s quiet; the fifth grade are sleeping in their bunkrooms.  They arrived from the evening’s activity; a Roald Dahl story read by wood light: The Hitchhiker.  The wood-burning stove was stoked and students were roasting marshmallows.  Several were so tired they fell asleep during the reading. 

For dinner we had ribs or the vegetarian alternative (tempeh) with side dishes of roasted and spiced parsnips and beets, and cauliflower with cheese sauce.  Of course, a rich ‘local’ garden salad was available, too.  Students helped in the preparation and clean up of all meals. 

Free options were available today.  Mr. Thorne was busy helping the blacksmithing group make hooks for the tool shed.  A coal-burning forge was started and five students heated and hammered their iron rods into… something that resembles a hook.  Well, they’ll have a second chance tomorrow.   The wood-splitting party had a grand time sawing and splitting wood for this fall’s maple sugar burning.  Because they finished early, the maple syrup burner was filled with wood and they sat in chairs around it in the sugar shack and listened to poetry being read to them.  

The weather was drizzly but that didn’t stop the fifth graders from gardening where they harvested beets and squashes.  Others harvested herbs for the salads and soups.  They made Butternut squash soup fresh for themselves this afternoon.  Pancake batter was prepared for Thursday’s breakfast, as well.  The Barn’s tool room is a popular location for our fifth graders; a cat had her litter of a dozen kittens which are now 8 weeks old and live there.  For many fifth graders, this is not only the first time they have experienced cows and goats and pulling carrots out of the ground, but also the first time they held an 8-week kitten in their arms.

Day three started quietly.  In fact… this was one of those rare morning where I find myself waking up to …   quiet.  The fifth graders were so wiped out from yesterday’s farming that they slept all night.  The farmers had to rouse them out of bed.

Very quickly they were divided into groups for morning chores and went to it!  After the animals were fed they sat down to a breakfast of quiche and pancakes (plain or strawberry).  There was so much for everyone that there were leftovers.

After our filling meal we went out for yoga to stretch our bodies.  Even though the grass was wet and it was a little drizzly we had on our rain ponchos and stretched out on the ground. Then we walked over to the meeting-house and discussed how we were working together on the farm and how we were experiencing new things.  This kind of reflection is a great way to prepare the students for the day and all it takes is a reminder from any adult to help them focus on being kind to one another, helping out when they see someone needing help, or trying something new that might be intimidating at first.  The teachers are proud of these students because they don’t need much encouragement to try something new and that’s a great quality to have in our students.

After this we split up into activity groups: forestry, garlic collection, gardening and goat keeping are a few of the activities.  The cows were already milked but we needed to clean up the barn.  We had a midmorning snack of local grapes and fresh muffins.  Again, leftovers… so much food!

In place of ‘farm options’ today we are going to hike over the field to Maggie’s Farm and help the farmers there to gather their beans.  Because of the weather being so drizzly the beans are starting to go bad and they need our help.  There is a tradition in farming communities of helping out the neighbors!

It seems like a full day already and yet, it isn’t even noon!

More later!

The cloudy skies and drizzly weather hasn’t dampened our spirits.  In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you would assume the sun was shining if you saw the fifth grade embracing everything the Farm has to offer.  After helping our neighbor pick beans we hiked home along the gravel road, past the spot where a sign describes how Ezekial Wordsworth was shot and scalped dead in his cornfield when he wandered away from the English fort one night.  We shed our jackets and boots and sat down with paints, games, and books then helped ourselves to mugs of hot chocolate. 
            
Before we ate dinner, we took care of the chores.  We sure were tired, so the farm staff set up a movie for us to watch by wood-light in the ‘horse barn’.  Those who were falling asleep came back to the bunk room and passed out.  Several students found their second wind... and stayed up awhile, but by 10 o’clock all were asleep. 

A thunder and lightning storm passed over the ridge, and some of the thunder was loud.  Because the Farm sits upon a high ridge we were closer to the clouds and the storm than the town in the valley.  A couple of students woke up and were reminded by the teachers that as long as they stayed in bed and under their blankets they were safe!

The night passed without any other events and we awoke to … packing and getting ready for our ride home!  The bunk rooms were tidied and swept; Packed bags are stacked; Sandwiches for our lunch are being put together into paper bags.  The last of the Farm chores are being taken care of. 

If we pull out of here at 11 o’clock we will be arriving back to Rutgers Preparatory School at 4 o’clock.  If the bus arrives here later, then we will be getting home accordingly.  We will call the Middle School office to let them know when we are leaving.  If we get stuck in any traffic we will call then as well.  Wish us luck. 

Overall we’ll be a little smellier than when we started this trip, but will be better able to take care of ourselves in many situations that will arise in the future.  No matter what, someone will be able to say, “Yeah, that’s hard, but, hey, I pushed a cow uphill into the pasture.”