Farm Field Trip 2014 - Link to Educational Worksheets for Kids

     This past weekend we were able to visit a local farm to go along with our Farm Animals theme for September.  So I had to dress my sweet Dyl in her spiffy little overalls! Haha.  She got to sit on a real tractor and feel awfully special for a few minutes.                               

     The highlight for me, as the educator, was the cow milking demonstration.  The girls saw them wash down the udder and hook the cow up to the milking machine.  We saw the milk get transported through clear piping to a refrigerated system.  And Marley pointed out a poster nearby indicating with a flow chart how the milk gets to the grocery store.  It made me so happy to see her focusing on the educational aspect of the farm.  I think it helps that we watch a lot of "How It's Made" on Netflix.  Haha.

     The girls interacted closely with the calves, because the cows walked over to us quickly and began mooing loudly.  The girls really liked this part and were convinced those baby cows wanted to be our friends.  

     I think the most surprising sight at the farm was the peacock and the peahen.  I did not expect to see peafowl there, but it was cool and we sat down and watched them for a while.  We learned that the male peacock is the one with the colorful feathers, where the female peahen does not have them. Apparently that is so the male can attract the female with it's more beautiful feathers.  Interesting!    

     

     The farm had all kinds of animals: Geese, Chickens, Chicks, Roosters, Pigs, Cows, Goats, and Sheep.  There were many others, I just don't remember all of them.  The farm also had so many fields of different crops. 

     It was a very fun morning and we experienced the farm with much interest.  Since we had already covered sheep and pigs this month, I was able to review some facts with Marley and she impressed daddy with her knowledge.  I guess you could say it was a fun way to do a pop quiz without any pressure or intimidation. ;)

     On the farm's website I found several printable educational worksheets to go along with the farm experience.  It was a perfect way to go home and review what we had seen and to continue the educational value of the trip.  Click here to view the farm worksheet options.