As we leap into summer camps, our educators Courtney Mulcahy and Lindsay Whitaker took a moment to reflect back on a full season of school programs, in words and pictures. Our School Programs served more than 3,000 students this academic year.
"My best moments are when I see students make connections to their own knowledge or experience. Like recently we were checking out some interesting fungus that we’d found and a student said 'it reminds me of anemones in the ocean!' And he was totally right!"
"Holding salamanders for the first time, sipping sap right from the tap, coming across some straight walker trails in a fresh snow, rolling down the hill on Sheep's Knoll, running on the path leaving Lone Tree where I can only see their heads bobbing over the tall grass, making pizza sauce and eating veggies from the garden that they'd never eat if they didn't pick it -- These are all my favorite moments!"
— courtney
Fall Field Trips
In addition to trips to the Farm, we also travel to schools to capitalize on their community resources, as we did with this group in Stowe, VT
"Fall field trips bring veggie harvesting, pizza making, and forest exploring! Sometimes there's a hint of disappointment when a student asks to visit chicks, and we have to remind them that the chicks are actually chickens now, not babies. Everything is a learning opportunity!"
— lindsay
Winter Field Trips
Students create their own tracking stories in the McClure Education Center and share those stories with each other. Then they head outside to find real stories in the snow.
Who lives here? There are a lot of animal clues to discover when you're reading the winter landscape.
"With winter comes candle making, working with wool, and animal tracking. Students are sometimes confused that the Farmyard looks so empty, and there aren't any cows or sheep in the pastures. It doesn't look much like 'the farm' to them (even though we know it still is)."
— lindsay
Our sugaring field trips straddle winter and spring season. Whenever the sap runs, though, we are there to share the magic with students.
Spring Field Trips
"After a long winter's nap, lambs and calves are born at the dairy, and students squeal and coo at the cuteness as we learn about animal life cycles. These animal-based field trips are my favorite, which makes sense, because my first job at Shelburne Farms was in the Children's Farmyard. I love all the excited squeals!
"At the dairy, the smiles don't stop as they see day-old calves, and tiny lambs. We milk a mama cow, talk to Sam, and explore the joy and wonder of Spring on the Farm."
— Lindsay
Pond visits always offer the chance to meet a frog!
