Greening Sam and Avery

fall fun - corn maze

A walk through a field of corn can be quite the experience!

You never know what you might find!

 
There is plenty of room to run!

 

And some of them, like the one we went to, have questions as you make your way through. Our questions were all nature related! Woohoo!! Most of them were a bit advanced for the girls but the adults had fun trying to guess and figure them out.
 
And it is very fun to find an ear of corn and try to pick all the kernels off.

 
And the corn is just SO tall!! HA! (can you tell how annoyed my husband is at being forced to do this?!)

A corn maze can be a great little adventure while you are out finding that perfect pumpkin!

 
Hope you all had a great weekend!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Want to find a corn maze in Wisconsin?  Check it out a list of them here.

And at the same site you can find mazes all over the country!

Don't forget to the get the pumpkin too.

 

fall fun - apple orchard

We love homemade apple sauce and this past year we ran out early in the spring which meant that clearly we had not made enough! So we were very excited for apple picking season to get here so we could really pick a lot and get us stocked up.

 
The girls were very excited about apple picking too.

 
Avery did way more eating than picking but Sam got involved with the picking and was a big help in reaching the best ones that are always way up at the top.

 
There was plenty to see out in the orchard and even some sheep to pet!

 
 
We ended the day with 50 lbs of apples! Now, who wants to come over and help with the peeling and cutting?

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The Nitty Gritty!

It if a given that when you go to a pick-your-own farm your kids will sample whatever they are picking. Even most adults do that, it is just part of the fun! Avery had FOUR apples today while we were picking. She just kept eating them and I didn't think it could do any harm. But apparently you can over-indulge in apples just like anything else. She is suffering miserably of a horrible diaper rash tonight. Poor kiddo.

BUT the funniest part about today happened as we were driving home.

Avery still had a apple that she was snacking on when we got in the car and she didn't want to give it up so she kept snacking on it while we drove. I looked back at her a couple of times and asked if she was all done and she just kept telling me no. Then all of a sudden she says "apple done". And hands me this!

 
Talk about not being wasteful!! And we didn't find any pieces, seeds or core in her lap or on the seat. We were all laughing so hard.

What is your favorite fall apple treat?

 

Day 345: breakfast on the farm

This morning we went to our first county breakfast on the farm. This one happened to be at a dairy farm just a few miles from our house. I sort of thought it would  be a small event with the farm family cooking some locals a breafast of food from their farm. HA! I was misinformed!

 
Have you ever seen a pancake griddle that big before?

 
And this is about HALF of the parking lot!

 
We started out eating breakfast, which is great, and then headed out to see the farm.

 
 
And my understanding that it was just about a meal was also VERY wrong! There was a live band that was really good, a whole exhibit booth hall with games and stuff for the kids, tours, hay rides and face painting!

 
All that while also getting a behind the scenes look at a dairy farm.

 
We got to get an upclose look at where the cows live, where "mommy" cows (the pregnant cows) live while they are waiting to give birth, where baby cow lives, what all goes into their food and just about everything else that has to do with raising dairy cattle!

And probably the girl'a favorite part was eating ice cream early in the morning!

 
We had a great time! I am not sure if Avery will ever stop saying MOO!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Live in WI and want to check one out for yourself? It is not too late there may still be one coming up in your area. Take a look at the WI Dairy Farm Bureau website to see dates and locations.

I found them in Michigan too!

And in Minnesota!

Those were the only states I could find but there may be many more out there! You should look into it.

Day 296: market day

Does going to the farmer's market make anyone else to want to jump for joy? I don't know what it is but all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the market just make me SO happy. I LOVE MARKET DAY!

Today was our first time to go since it opened for the season. Sam was very excited about the donuts. Chris and I knew it wouldn't be the very busy market that will appear in about a month but that there would still be yummy baked goods, some veggies and lots of flowers.

The sights did not disappoint.

 
 
 
I just love knowing where my food came from and who the farmers are! Makes my heat happy!!!!

 
One reason that I love the market is that it is the perfect atmosphere for learning and listening. When you stop in at a farmer's booth you can ask questions, to the person that actually GREW your food. Today I overheard lots of different people asking about when certain things would be in season, what part of the state farmers were from, how they got this or that to look this way or that way, and much more! And the smells....OH the smells! Hot bread, fresh cheese, beautiful fresh cut flowers and all the produce.

Farmer's markets are good for all the senses!  Next time you go think about how you can encourage your kiddos to use all their sense while they are there. Ask them questions about how things smell, what they see, what they hear and how things taste. Embrace the experience in as many ways as possible.

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The Nitty Gritty!

If you want to extend the market learning experience be sure to check out these market day books!

And if you have older kids you could think about having them draw or write about their experience when they get home. If you are like us and plan on going to the market A LOT throughout the season then you could have them keep a little book of all their drawings and/or writings about the market. Might be a neat project for the whole summer!

Happy Market Day!

 

Day 275: moo!

What an adventure we had today! It was the UW Science Fair and while most of it I was pretty sure would be too old for Sam and Avery the Cattle Milking Demonstration did catch my eye.

Wasn't I just asking on Facebook about finding a working farm with big animals in our area that we could visit? Love the timing!

OH! Before I move on to pictures from today I know you are all anxiously awaiting the results of the PlayOutdoors Deuter Backpack Giveaway.  The winner has 24 hours to email me with an address so that I can send the information on to PlayOutdoors to get your backpack to you.

And the winner is.....comment number 123......TAMI S.!  Yay! 

Okay, now back to today's adventure.

Not the most pleasant picture but I wanted to show what we were really there to see!

After the cows we walked to the UW greenhouse and had a good time walking through their conservatory and student greenhouses.

The BIG hit from the greenhouses were the plants we were allowed to eat off of! Sam hunted and hunted with one of the workers for the last of the beans for her to pick and enjoy. She did share ONE with her daddy.


This made Chris and I even more excited to see how she will react when we are picking and eating food from our own yard!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Both girls were very captivated by the cows. I think they could have stood there watching them walk in, get milked and walk out for hours. It was really a neat process. By very limited farming experience means I have no idea of machines like these and set ups like there are commonly used but the cows were pushing there way to get into line to get milked and didn't seem to mind the process at all (both of which surprised me having been through nursing and not been a huge fan!).

But this experience did get me thinking... When do children learn where there food comes from? Do schools still do field trips to farms to see how beef, pork and chicken are raised? How grain is processed and mass amounts of vegeatables are grown? But, what they would see at a local family farm would not be the REAL situation for probably a majority of the food they would actually eat. With my environmental studies degree I have read and research the food industries; I KNOW where my food comes from, what has been done to it and what it really looks like (most of which is why I choose to eat the way I do!). But I learned all that in college and because I chose to. How do other people learn this stuff? And is it okay that there are some people that don't know?

I truly feel that more people really knew, I mean really knew, what happened to their food before it hit their table they might choose different options. And how do we reach those people that are okay with the "ignorance is bliss" mentality?