Fourth graders had a blast celebrating Farm Day at the Elementary. From making slow cooker applesauce and homemade butter to loving on all of the animals at the petting zoo, the fourth graders were all smiles all day.
Making slow cooker applesauce is slow work, especially when you're using plastic knives to cut up the apples. Heard often were the words, "Are these the right size yet?" with the response, "Not yet." Students were excited when their apple was finally chopped into bite-size pieces and could be dumped into the crock, but they may have been even more excited when it was their turn to mash the apples. After a long day of cooking, the apples smelled delicious and were devoured by hungry fourth graders.
Homemade butter was another hit. Heavy whipping cream was poured into glass jars which students took turns shaking for a while and passing on to their neighbor for a turn. After several trips around the room, butter began to form and salt was added. Everyone agreed that, though the butter needed more salt, it tasted really good on saltines. Some students even tried experimented with adding a little cinnamon-SUCCESS!
The Honey Hill Farm petting zoo added another layer of fun to the day! Even though many of our students have experience with animals of all sorts, rarely do they get to pet goats, alpacas, ducks, chickens, a miniature pony, a donkey, bunnies, and a cow all within a few minutes. Doug from Honey Hill patiently explained the difference between alpacas and llamas, gave the students food for the larger animals, allowed the students to brush the pony and donkey, and repeatedly shared the animals' names. Chewie and Elsa, the alpacas were big favorites and very sweet. Shout out to Faith Merrill, our very own fairy godmother and benefactress who made the petting zoo possible.
Overall, everyone at the elementary had a great day on the farm!