Ag in the Classroom - Metro Visit

    Last week our family had to wonderful opportunity of visiting a school near Minneapolis and share our farm with the children and families there. Our visit was part of a year long connection that we have had with this school. Throughout the year they are integrating agricultural concepts and education into their everyday courses and we have the honor of being their Ag family. This has all been made possible by the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom program. They have produced wonderful videos of our farm for the school kids to watch, we have held a Skype field trip, and now we were invited to come visit them in person and bring some of the farm with us.

      We decided to bring along my daughter Mary's bunny Beverly, a few chickens, and our farm dog Holly. We had only just started calving and the 3 hour trip we had to take each way was not conducive to taking along a calf. We did however some them the cow TV we have on our phone so they could see the cattle in the barn in real time.

        The animals were a big hit and many of the kids enjoyed holding a chicken and learning some about them. We brought along a carton of the eggs that we collect from the chickens and many were surprised to see that not all eggs are white. The chickens behaved themselves well for never being held in their adults lives.

 

 

        Here Paul is showing Cow TV to a parent. Many were interested to learn that we watch and take such close care of the cows. Some were surprised to learn that we calve all 150 of our cows in the same 1-1.5 month time period.

         The bunny Beverly behaved herself very well letting young and old pet and hold her. Many remarked on how soft she is.

         Another visitor who got lots of pets and love was Holly our Border Collie/Australian Shepherd puppy we got for Christmas. She behaved herself very well and obeyed the leash which she has very worn before. The kids were surprised to hear that she lives outside in the winter and found it interesting to learn that as she gets older we will train her to work with the cattle and help us in many different ways. She is going to have a very important job on the farm.

    Here are a few of the videos that were made by the Minnesota Department of Ag for the students to watch at our host school. They are done very well and super cute.
    Thank you to our host school Cedar Park STEM Elementary and all the staff there who have helped this grate experience take place. Also thank you to all the wonderful people who work with Minnesota Ag in the Classroom for facilitating this great experience for our kids and those at the participating schools.