What is Farm School?
organic Gardening
Students will learn to test soil quality and temperatures, plan garden space, plant and harvest fruit, vegetables, flowers, and other plants, and use compost. We will compare store-bought vs farm fresh produce. From potatoes to strawberries and many things in between, this can be a tasty adventure!
farm Animal Care
Who doesn't want to cuddle lambs, goats, pigs, and maybe even bottle feed baby animals? Students will learn how and what to feed farm animals. They will love learning to clean, care for, and groom them.
farm Life
How do roots get nutrients to a plant? How do you know if a fruit or vegetable is ripe? Are pigs smart? How is a pony different than a horse? What does a donkey feel like? How are store-bought chicken eggs different from free range chicken eggs? How do you make butter? Which tastes better, store bought orange juice or juicing your own? You will find the answers to all of these questions at Farm School!
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Session Programs
Our programs are a semester long. We are offer semester sessions in Jan-May, a summer camp, and Sept-Dec. Each semester concludes with a Farmers Market activity day. Class time is usually broken up into three activities: animal time, garden time, and a homestead/farm activity. Some homestead activities you might do are beeswax candles, goat-milk soap, spinning yarn fiber from alpaca and sheep wool, and many more. Students will become comfortable with our routine of arriving, greeting and playing with the animals, and cleaning and doing chores in the barn yard. We look forward to the end of each winter and summer semester for our Whitebrook Farm Farmer's Market where kids can display, sell (using "Farm Bucks" ), or trade the wares they have created or grown during the semester.
What age is farm school appropriate for?
Farm School is for K-8 students. We do our best to tailor our program age appropriately. When it is an option, we will group sessions by similar ages. But whether you are 5, 15, or 40, the activities are the same. We still plant, weed, rake, feed, dip candles, groom mini donkeys and horses, gather eggs, or whatever other farm chores and activities need doing.
Class size
Our classes are 10-12 students on average.
What do students wear
Your student should wear closed toe shoes with socks, long pants, a hat, and any sun screen. No sandals.
What is the cost?
Farm school tuition can be paid monthly at the first class of the month. $40 per class, paid by the month. We do not do "drop in" classes. We require an 8 week minimum commitment. You can pay cash or check, Venmo Christina-Ranes Paypal ninaranes@msn.com or Zelle 9515156039 We do take charter school funds. ** There are no make ups or refunds for missed classes**
Materials needed
Students should bring their own gardening gloves
How long and what times are classes?
Classes are once a week and 1.5 hours in length and are currently held from 9:00-10:30 am one day per week. We currently have classes Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
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