1. Baby Farm Animals
2. Seeding
3. Gardening
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Spring seems to have finally come to Saskatchewan! With the warmer weather comes all sorts of wonderful learning opportunities and teachable moments that we don't get at other times of the year. Continue reading to see three reasons why I love homeschooling on the farm in spring. 1. Baby Farm Animals Unfortunately, I have given up trying to have my own chickens for now. The last two times I tried to raise chickens I lost them all to the wild animals :( First time a raccoon cleaned me out and the last time I tried two foxes ate them all. One of the wonderful things about being on the farm is the abundance of wild life, but that can also be a negative when the wild life makes a nuisance of themselves. My husband's family, who live right beside us, do get chicks every year. It is always a highlight in the spring to go over and see the fuzzy baby chicks! The kids love to go over and "help" Grandma take care of them. Princess took this picture of her favourite chick. She calls it Pecky. We also have neighbours and friends who have other farm babies at this time of year, including calves and lambs. Going to see all the new life on the farms around us makes for great field trips :) As the kids get older I am beginning to think more and more about getting more of our own animals. For now we will wait and see how things go with the bunnies before we add anymore animals to our farm. Then there are the cute surprises we find at this time of year, like these kittens the kids found in the barn. (Princess wrote a guest post for me about the last batch of kittens we had. You can see that post here.) The kids also found this duck nest just a few feet away from where they are building a fort in the trees. We will have to keep an eye on the nest and maybe we will get a chance to see the ducklings when they hatch! 2. Seeding My husband works for a farmer and at this time of year they work long hours in the field. He is gone early in the morning and does not get home until after the kids and I are in bed. My husband gets Sundays off, but the only way see him the rest of the week is if we go out to the field. The kids LOVE riding on the tractor with their dad! We try to make sure the kids each get to ride with him at least once a week. The kids learn so much when they go to work with their dad! They are seeing the agricultural industry in action, learning about plant growth and seeds, learning about big machines and how to handle themselves safely around machinery and so much more! 3. Gardening This is a busy time of year for us on the farm, but it also my favourite! One of my favourite parts of spring is being able to finally get back in my garden after a long, cold winter! I love playing in the dirt! :) I also love working in my garden with my children! I love seeing them working hard to raise their own food. I love seeing their excitement when the first seedlings begin to show above ground. I love the talks we have while we work side-by-side. The conversation might be about why there are weeds, plant growth, the bugs we find in the garden, the bird singing in the bushes or about something completely unrelated to gardening. I love that my children are beside me so that when they do have questions, I am the one they ask their questions of. Spring on the farm is a demanding time and I have to admit that by the time my husband is done seeding I am very, very ready to be done being a "single" parent! At the same time, I always enter into this time of year full of excitement and ready for all the work that comes with it. I am thankful for the great hands-on learning experiences that I can share with my children in spring on the farm! If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others so they can enjoy it too! This post is linked up at:
6 Comments
6/3/2014 02:24:47 am
This is so great! I love how the littlest one is even out there working. They all have that concentration face on..lol 6/3/2014 11:48:41 pm
They are very good helpers! Maybe because it's an excuse to play in the dirt? ;) 6/3/2014 02:38:26 am
You make me want to live on a farm! (I'm sure my kids would love it, especially holding the baby animals in the spring!)
Missy @ Dot-to-Dot Connections
6/3/2014 11:49:59 pm
Lol! Thanks, Susan :) We love being on a farm!
Missy @ Dot-to-Dot Connections
6/3/2014 11:51:55 pm
We do have a lot of fun! That's another one of those great things about homeschooling - we get to work together as a family :) Leave a Reply. |