12/10/19

Well, it is definitely a full moon this week... and it's definitely getting close to Christmas break!  The kids were excited and all smiles and giggles!

After feeding all of the many animals, the class finished up their Christmas tree projects.  It was an explosion of glitter, sequins, construction paper, and glitter... topped off with Christmas music and friends to laugh with!  The class also began their ornaments that they will be taking home next week.

Our lesson today was on donkeys and horses.  I love teaching about donkeys in December!  Last week we talked about donkeys as protectors.  Today we focused on the genetics behind donkeys and horses.  The kids learned the difference between a mule and a hinny.  (Hint- a mule is the offspring of a male donkey, or jack, and a female horse, or mare.  A hinny is the opposite- the offspring of a female donkey, or jenny, and a male horse, or stallion.)  They also learned that this is a type of hybrid animal which is always sterile and cannot reproduce at all.  

I really enjoyed the class's stories about the flock of bandit chickens that raided our garden!  Ms. Miranda has been working SO hard on our winter garden, and those darn escapees pecked the broccoli, kale, and brussel sprouts down to almost nothing!  At least we were able to get a great writing prompt out of it!  Some of the kids chose to write stories about the feathered robbers, while some chose to design a new fall/winter garden layout.  They did a wonderful job with these!

12/3/19

Last week, we added a new miniature horse on the farm!  The kids learned how tricky socializing a new animal to the farm can be.  In this case, we have one other miniature horse, Miss Kitty.  Miss Kitty is best friends with Delilah, the miniature donkey.  When we first brought Belle to the farm, Miss Kitty was very interested... but Delilah was furious!  Of course, we are keeping Belle separated from all of the animals for now.  The kids wrote about being the "new kid", meeting a new friend, or Delilah's jealousy for their at home writing assignment.  They did such an amazing job with these!  

We continued our lesson on socialization with a book on a team of guardian donkeys and dogs.  Through the book and our discussion of my experiences, the class learned that these things take time!  Livestock guardians must learn to respect new livestock in their keep.  You have to be careful when introducing new animals to the pasture!

The class began a new set of farm chores, which they will keep until Christmas break.  It was super cold today, but the animals must eat!

For art, the students finished up their fall trees and begin a Christmas craft.  They painted the base this week and will decorate their Christmas trees next week.