Week #2 - You Reap What You Sow!

October 9, 2020. We had 7 kids today! The kids couldn't wait to play with Choco & Latte (Our goats). We saved that fun for the last part of the day. We went to work with the kids today! They clocked IN!

First, we used recycled pallets and made a small raised bed gardens for the kids. Each kid received 2 mystery seed packets. We taught them how to prepare the garden beds, and then we sowed seeds! Each kid picked their own plot, and sowed seeds anyway they wanted to. Straight lines, diagonally, squares, circles... Next, they learned how to line out and connect irrigation tubing. Of course, we used the old 1/2 inch irrigation tubing that we had laying around from other plots. Nothing is wasted on our farm. Recycle, reduce, re-use!

Each kid started their first "Farm Log". They chose their favorite winter crops from the Kid's Garden, and drew a picture of what each plant looked like for this week. Each week, they will update their log, so they can track the progress of their favorite veggies. They are responsible for their own row(s) now!  

Next, we did some exercise to mix it up! Kids nowadays like to stay home, play video games, and stay indoors. That's not how it works around here! We did a harvest relay! Kids are screaming and cheering for their own teams! Parents were so supportive, and one of the parents actually joined in on the fun! Rules were simple. Each kid will receive a piece of paper right before their turn to run. On the paper, it will say which veggie and how many to harvest. We have 5 main plots that are currently active. The kids need to know which plot they need to run to harvest the specific type of veggie. They were so hyped up to go to the "corner store" to get the right kind of peppers. Then, a curve ball! They have to run to "Juicy Fruit Land" to get cherry tomatoes! They were running as fast as they could for their teams! Our objective for this game was to build teamwork and communication skills, as well as a crop identification drill with the class. They did very well!

Finally, the kids learned about weeds. We spend A LOT of time weeding our garden. During that time, we learn what kind of weeds are noxious weeds, which ones we can compost, and what types of weeds goats and chickens like to eat. Since they love to feed our goats, we did another game. "Tug of War" pulling weeds and separating them into 3 types. One for the goats, one for the chickens, and one to the dumpster. Usually, nobody likes pulling weeds. We don't! However, turning that into a game, they were all about it! They were so interested in pulling weeds for Choco/Latte, so at the end, they were able to feed them! Fun and exciting moments!