2/25/19

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Farm News has definitely been hopping lately!  I filled the kids in on all of the new babies that have been born, and we have been tallying up the buckling/doeling ratio.  So far, it's the pits!  It's the year of the bucks!  We talked about Sammy Joe and her inability to stand.  She is due any minute, and she is struggling to even rotate herself around to reach feed, hay, and water.  I showed the class how I have to put molasses in her water and give her vitamins to try to prevent ketosis while she is immobile.  The kids worked to design mobility devices and pulley systems that could work in her rehabilitation!  Maybe next week we can put one of them into practice!

The group read their Farm Fusion stories while enjoying their snacks.  Then, we spent time enjoying the sun!  The kids collected eggs, discussed the effect that the rain has had on animal maintenance, and discussed the incubator schedules.  Finally, we spent time working on the next part of the pysanky projects.  These should be wrapping up soon!

 

2/11/19

What a great day!  The kids were all excited to celebrate Valentine's Day together.  We somehow managed to get our animal care jobs and agriculture lessons in before exploding into cards, boxes, and treats!  

After the kids read their Farm Fusion stories, we talked a little more about pysanka (Ukrainian dyed eggs).  Then, I read the book, P. Zonka Lays an Egg.  This was an absolutely perfect book for our lesson!  At home, the kids will have an option of writing about the book from P. Zonka's point of view, which I think would be interesting to hear!

The class was able to practice using the kistkas and beeswax on paper before trying to draw their beeswax designs on their eggs.  I also showed them my trick of using rubber bands to help create the pencil guide lines.  I know that this can be a very frustrating art form, even for adults, but I really like teaching it to children.  I explain to them that their attempt will NOT be perfect, they will work incredibly hard, and it might break!  It's a lesson in patience and self control.  The act of heating the kistkas and beeswax over the candle uses fine motor skills and time. I love teaching pysanky!  

Two of our goats have now kidded, and we have 4 bucklings and 1 doeling!  The class is very excited to see who comes next!  We'll be taking a little break next week.  I'll see everyone again on the 25th!