FARM ANIMAL PROGRAM
The Farm Animal Program is a half day experience which is part of the
district's elementary social studies curriculum. This program was developed over 30 years ago to allow young children from an urban environment to have "hands-on" experiences that will enable them to become acquainted with a variety of domestic farm animals. Each morning and afternoon during May and early June one of the district's first grade classes comes to the farm site which consists of a large authentic barn, several smaller barns, and adjoining pastures. There the students have an opportunity to see, touch, smell, hear, and feed a variety of typical farm animals including pigs, goats, cows, calves, sheep, horses, lambs, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and rabbits. In addition to becoming acquainted with the animals, the students observe how the animals live on a farm and learn why the animals are important to us as a source of food and other useful products. The students also have the chance to see the rest of camp when they take a ride on a hay wagon. At the conclusion of this experience, the students should have a better understanding of the workings of traditional farms.
FARM GARDEN PROGRAM
The Farm Garden Program is the oldest continually operating school program of its kind in the nation. The program was o riginally developed in 1942 at a farm site on Riverside Drive south of Battle Creek . The program was moved to its present location at t he Outdoor Education Center in 1967. It is a 26 week program which begins in the classroom early in March and spans the last porti on of the third grade year through the first portion of the fourth grade year ending in October. It is an established part of the district's elementary science curriculum. The program centers on a ten acre gardening site adjacent to a pond, rolling grassy fields, and several wooded areas. Although most of the instructional activities occur outdoors, the program site also includes a modern, three classroom building which provides an ideal location for some of the learning activities. Once each week during the last eight weeks of the school year in the spring each of the district's third grade classes comes to the Center where they spend a half day participating in environmental education activities and working in the school gardens. During the summer months the program continues on both a volunteer basis and as an important component of the summer school program. Students are afforded the opportunity to participate in the program one full day each week. During the first seven weeks of the school year in the fall the same students (who are now fourth grade students) continue to journey to the garden site for a half day visit and a bountiful harvest.
The program has four main purposes. First, the students learn how the earth provides us with food to eat and what plants need to help them grow. Second, the students learn about the systems of life that support all living things on earth. Third, the students learn that we must live harmoniously with the natural world and learn how to take care of the earth and its living things. Last, the students learn that they must share everything they have learned with others.
During the program the students also learn about seeds, how to plant them, and how they grow into plants. They learn how to plant young seedlings that have grown in the Center's greenhouse. They learn how to take care of plants while they are growing in the gardens. They learn four parts of a plant and which parts of a plant we might eat. They also learn how to harvest plants from the garden. They learn how plants depend on sunlight, water, air, and soil in order to live and grow. And they learn how plants depend upon other living things to help them grow.
The students plant a large variety of vegetables during the spring and summer months. During the fall months the students harvest all of the crops and take them home to share with their families.
At the conclusion of the program in October each class takes a horse or mule-drawn hayride through all of the areas where the students have had so many "first hand" experiences since the previous spring. This particular experience is designed to help the students remember all of the things they have learned and done at the garden site. It is hoped that the students will show an interest in continuing to learn and care about the earth and its living things.
What gardening does for kids!
