ESAA’s kindergartners spent today learning at Higher Ground Farm in Plymouth. Using thinking routines, See – Think – Wonder in the Coop and Colors – Lines – Shapes in the barn; students learned about how a farm works, challenges that farmers may face, and how a family works together running the farm. This year farmers Christal and Mike Mulder challenged students to come up with ways to make their children’s farm chores easier.
After seeing the farm and thinking about what they saw, it was time for some doing. Students tried out some of the chores to gain their own experience of farm chores and the challenges of the chores. What needs might exist in sweeping the barn, putting bedding in the chicken coop, checking for eggs, providing water, feeding horses, feeding steers, raking, etc.
After a home cooked farm lunch in the barn and a hayride students sat down with the farmers to talk about project ideas they had. The farmers provided warm and cool feedback. Students will take this information back to ESAA and begin working on their farm solution proposals. In the weeks ahead students will design and build their ideas and then present them to the farmers when the farmers return to ESAA.
Check out some of the highlights of the day in this photo album.