Little Town Field Trips

Washington Tractor showed the class how to use a swather and tractor. 

Last week all of the third grade classes in our area were invited to participate in a field trip to learn about agriculture in the Ellensburg valley. In the letter home it said parents were welcome to meet up and participate too so I took the opportunity to ask if the boys (almost 2 and 3) could come along as well. Since it was sponsored by local businesses and community groups, such as Washington Cattlewomen's Association and 4H, it was a little more relaxed and they were welcome to come along. The material was aimed at third graders so parts were a little over the boys' heads but they had a great time. 

Lincoln riding a pig statue, yeehaw.

We got there a little before the bus of students (yes one bus fit both third grade classes of about 20 some odd students and two teachers) so the boys had fun checking out the bronze pig statue at the fairgrounds.  

Huge Farm Equipment

 Warner didn't want to stand still for Q & A time so we wandered around a little and soaked up the perfect weather. 

Lincoln and Dylan listening intently during a demonstration, center of the picture.

Lincoln has grown up with all of Dylan's classmates so he just jumped right in with the group. I love watching my boys learn and show genuine interest even though I heard some other girls talking about the field trip claiming, "My sister said this is the boring field trip." Luckily only a few parts seemed to be boring to the younger boys (although I learned a lot about soil erosion and the use of PAM and the use of irrigation. They also didn't seem to care that hay is a million dollar business but 90% of hay grown in Ellensburg is shipped to Asia. 

Warner can't believe all the pokey things coming off.
Machines make the hay business much more successful. 

The boys did not want to pose with the animals but I did get an action shot. 

 I tried to get the boys and the cute baby lamb in the same picture but they kept moving around and Warner would rather dig in the dirt. The boys got to see dairy and meat cows and goats, chickens and chicks, sheep, and piglets up close and personal. 

Dylan and friend helped Lincoln (the short one in the middle) in line with the rest of the class. 

I love Dylan's small class size and amount of parent involvement. 

 The boys really take to anything outdoors involving dirt or animals so it was really exciting for them to see things, feel freshly ground wheat (and sneak a bite of it), to run their hands over the giant tread of a tractor tire, to hear the moo of a cow in "real life." Living in a small town these things are much more common but we still didn't personally have access to most of the things we learned about. Tagging along on this field trip gave the boys much more information than they needed on the subject but a nice jump start on the community and its resources. Don't worry, they will get to do it all over again in third grade too. 

Mrs. Ravet making sure Lincoln can see the demonstration on hay production
by standing him up on a hay bale. 

We all piled onto a covered wagon pulled by draft horses. 

 One of the sweetest parts of the trip was that Dylan's teacher, Mrs. Ravet, really cared about the kids learning. Not just her students but my little guys too. She would more Lincoln to the front of the crowd to see or pick him up to get a better view (Warner was in the Ergo a lot because he still isn't great at sitting or standing still). She always made sure the kids were being respectful to the speakers and even shared a bag of grapes from her own lunch with the boys sitting at her table. *Dylan did not sit with us at lunch, but he still held Lincoln's hand and hugged us goodbye so he's not completely grown up yet. She also pulled both of the boys up on her lap for the covered wagon ride. What kind of teacher does that? One that I would hope to teach my son if I am not doing it myself. Yay. I love the flexibility of homeschool preschool and the fact that we can call this a good day of learning while hanging out with brother and enjoying the weather.

Space was tight on the wagon so Mandy held both of my boys on her lap until things went south
and Warner realized I wasn't the one holding him.