Fun for all

Today we had a group of home schooled kids come out to the farm. The kids were going to pick some strawberries and we were going to talk about the plants. Then the rains came! So, I opted for Plan B. We have a greenhouse full of tomato plants that are planted in 5-gallon buckets. They are almost head high and have green tomatoes on them. I decided to talk to them about photosynthesis and pollination. So, I called the mom that was organizing the whole thing and asked her the age ranges of the group. She told me they ranged from 5 to 13. Well, when they showed up, they actually ranged from 2 to 13. I was a little nervous, since I am not a teacher or professional tour guide! We walked through the barnyard, as I pointed out objects to quiz them on. We looked at the strawberry plants, the plastic mulch and drip tape below the strawberries, and the blooms themselves. I think even the moms were impressed! Then we went onto the greenhouse. I think they were amazed as they walked in, because you cannot see from one end of the greenhouse to the other. I mean, Jason and I were tying up tomatoes yesterday and I couldn't see him. It is like a jungle in there! So I talked about photosynthesis and pollination. There was a set of cute little twin girls squatting down beside me in the gravel. One of them opened her had and showed me a prize, a rotten apple. I asked if that was here souvenir and she just grinned. Lily carries those things around all of the time! You know it is amazing how you think kids need all of this stuff, when all it might take is a rotten apple or a cardboard box. Well, I didn't send them home empty handed! Our grand tour ended with a planting session, where they got to transplant cantaloupe plants into 4" pots. All in all I think they had a good time! I really enjoyed the experience also. Sometimes farming is so difficult that you feel like you don't know anything. It is nice to feel like you do!