First Field Trip

Jeffrey had his first field trip this morning. His class went to an apple farm where they had a ton of things to do. Jeffrey has been pretty excited about the trip for a week or so as he LOVES apples.

The first thing they got to do was have a short lesson about the farm and the types of apples and animals they had there. They then talked about seeds and different varieties of seeds. They were given a bowl of seeds to sort according to color, shape, size. I was impressed to see Jeffrey paying attention to what was going on.

Next came the hay ride to the orchard. Given that there was a tractor involved, Jeff decided that this was the best part of the trip. We got a 5 minute ride into the orchard. It was a gorgeous morning up in the mountains. Almost all the varieties of apples were fruiting so we had lots of options for picking. Each person was given a bag and shown how to pick 5 apples each. Jeffrey wanted sweet ones so we picked red delicious. I wanted more tart ones and I think I ended up with Stayman (which he helped me pick too).

Then we got another hayride back down the hill to the apple shed. The kids got to see where the apples are stored (A GIANT refrigerator) and how they are sorted and stored and shipped. Again I was impressed at watching Jeffrey pay attention and really listen to what the guide was teaching about.

Finally we rode back to the shelter where we ate out picnic lunch. After that we got a chance to explore the animals and the hay activities (A hay mountain and maze). Jeffrey was really interested in the chickens for some reason so we went to the chicken house and saw a whole bunch of roosters. He also thought the bee house was cool. There were also some sheep, goats, cows, pigs and even peacocks. He got to pet a few of the goats...something I snickered at since I have this "goat issue."

Jeffrey had the most fun playing on the hay mountain and in the hay maze though. He climbed around. Got lost in the maze. Chased his friends. Jumped off the mountain. All the kind of things a hyper little boy loves.

So his first field trip was a super experience. I'm really glad that I got to go along and share his special morning.