10/22/18

Today began with a set of chilly October chores.  This age group is working on taking turns, sharing the scoops, and communicating with their groups.  It's not as easy as it sounds!

Once inside and hands were washed, the class listened to the rest of the James Herriot story, "Moses the Kitten".  Our farm has had an increase in mice over the last few weeks so we may be adding extra barn cat rescues, and this story was a perfect fit!  In the story, the kitten is adopted by a momma sow.  I told stories of how different animals here on the farm have adopted other baby animals over the years.  The kids love hearing all of those crazy stories!  At home, they will have a creative writing prompt that deals with animals adopting other animals.

Last week, the class learned about how technology has made things like trimming cows' hooves easier and less stressful.  At home, they imagined what new technology would be like in the future!  They had some pretty awesome inventions, and there were some pretty spoiled cattle!



Next, I used pasture fencing to teach the concept of perimeter and area.  At first, we discussed how to measure perimeter using simple numbers.  Once they all grasped the idea, we talked about calculating area.  Because many of the students were not yet multiplying, I gave them 1"x1" squares of paper to use.  They created little "pastures" on their paper.  Then, they each worked on calculating their own perimeter and area.  My goal here was to help them understand the difference between length and area.  Hopefully, they will remember this lesson once they reach these type lessons in their individual math curricula!


The class continued to work on their fall art projects.  Today, they learned that they would be adding yarn to these backgrounds!  They used brown yarn to create the trunk and limbs of their trees.  The trees will be in the foreground, and we will be adding colorful fall foliage next week!

10/15/18

Today began with a new set of animal care jobs.  The groups did a great job learning the ropes to taking care of a new set of animals.  More importantly, they did an excellent job of working together!  I've discussed how people all have different personalities and that some personalities have to be extra careful not to become "bossy pants" and shut people out.  The kids are learning actual strategies on how to make a point to discuss, cooperate, and enact a plan.  There are always natural leaders among people, and learning how to effectively work in a group is a life skill that is invaluable!


Next, the group came in to talk about some farm news.  Our angora rabbit did not have babies, so we will rebreed and try again.  The class also was able to hear an actual story of why we should all remember to keep the tops on the feed containers. During the break, a top was left off of the layer pellets.  The next morning, my daughters headed out to do their chores... and found a very fat, sleeping opossum curled up right in the bottom!   Finally, we talked about the importance of cats here on the farm.  The cats have been working hard lately!  As the weather gets cooler, the mice have been out in full force.  I may need to get another barn cat to handle them!  This lead us right into our story by James Herriot about the little kitten named Moses.  The class listened as I read the first few pages of the story today.  I paused every so often to explain tough words and to give examples here on our farm of things that were mentioned.  In the story, the vet comes to the farm to trim the hooves of a cow.  He talked about how difficult this job is, and how the cows kick.  I explained to the class that there is a cool invention that makes the job less stressful on the cattle and safer for the farmer!  There is actually a contraption that holds the cattle in a safe position and then just tips them over!  The kids found this totally fascinating... which means it would make for a great topic for our farm fusion writing assignment!





We integrated a little math into our day today!  The class cut out different coins to paste around their "piggy bank".  We talked about the pictures on the coins.  (For example, they learned what the torch, olive branch, and oak branch on the dime stand for.)  They learned/reviewed the names and values of each type of coin, labeling them on their page.  Then, we did a few adding exercises.  Keep practicing adding money at home!

The class then got to work painting the borders on their plate projects, as well as the details on their pasture scenes.  Next week, they will be completing these (hopefully), as we add a final element that they aren't going to expect!

10/1 - Monday Class

This sunny day began with some time outdoors.  The class has really gotten into the groove feeding and caring for their different animal groups.  We are trying to use this time to learn not only about animals and responsibility, but on working as a team, compromising, and sharing.  Each day they get better and better at these important skills!  Once inside, we talked about different things going on right now on the farm.  We talked about the new feathers that are coming in on the chickens.  I showed them one of the blue copper maran hens, and they were able to see the difference between the older feathers and the brighter new ones!  The class is anxiously waiting to find out if Annabelle, the angora (rabbit) doe is pregnant or not!  If she begins to pull fur in the next few days, then she should kindle (give birth) in the next few days.  We talked about how the does' fur loosens due to hormones in late pregnancy.  They are then able to pull the fur to build a warm, fluffy nest!  We are all crossing our fingers that there will be little kits here after fall break, but I did make sure the class understands that a doe's first kindling may not always go smoothly, and not to get their hopes up too high!  Life on a farm: hope for the best but expect the worst! 

The class had a quick snack and then shared their Farm Fusion stories.  I stopped them every so often to point out wonderful things that I was hearing in their writing.  I pointed out descriptive words and phrases that were used to help their reader get a clear picture of the things in their stories.  I also pointed out ways to transition from sentence to sentence to make things flow more smoothly.  Of course, I also had to brag on beautiful handwriting, hard work, and rough/final drafts.  These kids are doing a great job, and it is my hope that I will take them forward in their writing throughout the year!

Next, we put on our paint shirts and started a new art project!  The class worked with acrylic paints to create backgrounds today.  Next class, we will add details to these... and then the next part is a surprise!