2009 FALL FARM ANIMAL TOUR

 

Hello! It’s hard to believe it is that time of year again!

Here on the farm, summer sure seems to have flown by!

Fall will soon be here! Our Animal Tour is a wonderful way to celebrate it. 

Tours begin on September 8, 2010 and run through November 12, 2010. 

Important information to take note on the info/directions page.

Pumpkin Patch Tour:

Did you experience our farm tour in the Spring?  Are you a half day school?  Do you just want students to experience Fall at the Pumpkin Patch?  Come to the farm this Fall for the Pumpkin Patch Tour!  Each class will take a Hayride out to the patch where we will talk about growing pumpkins and why bees are necessary for them to grow (one of our observation bee hives will be in the field).  In the patch, everyone will pick their own small pumpkin to take home with them.  At the picnic area near the patch, cider and donuts will be waiting for your group.  After your snack, the farm visit will be completed by a trip through a small CORN maze.( Fenced off for safety.) Approximate tour time 1-1.5 hours.  Cost is $5.00 per child.  (this includes the cider and donuts)  As always, each teacher and 2 free chaperones per teacher are free.  **Please note:  no animal interaction is on this tour.

 

Tour Option One:            

 **Recommended for Pre-K through 3^rd graders.  Students interact with the full grown animals in their natural settings. The highlight of this tour is MILKING OUR DAIRY COW!!! (Yes, she is a LIVE COW, not a replica!!!) Students feed and pet our animals including:  Our goat families, our sheep families, our farm pig babies and “Violet”, our pot-bellied pig. They will feed the many chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and peacocks that roam freely here on the farm.  Our Reindeer & Fallow Deer families look forward to meeting the children.  The children will also be able to hold bunnies, and hold ducklings or chicks. “Jasper”, our donkey looks forward to greeting the students with a big “EeeeAwwww!” (He believes he IS the star of the farm!)  Our Observation Bee Hive awaits the students as well!   Even a surprise animal or two will be waiting! Our ever popular Straw Maze is included also. All along the tour the children will be taught educational and interesting facts about the animals, their habitats, and eating habits.  We have also added the “Discovery Barn”. This area allows the children to touch and feel feathers, various animal wools, fur & antlers; see & touch the crops native to Ohio and Michigan and use sequencing cards on pumpkins, apple trees, and farm animals.   The children also receive a Barrel Train ride through the Christmas Trees! For any “extra” time, our playground area awaits the children.  Each child will be allowed to choose a pie pumpkin or gourd or an ear of popcorn to take home with them at the end of their tour.

 

TOUR OPTION TWO: **Recommended for  4^th through 6^th graders.

This tour begins with Milking our Real Dairy Cow!!  In addition to the milking, the children will then try their hand at butter making! They will get to sample the butter they have made on saltine crackers with honey at lunch time, along with a glass of apple cider! The tour includes meeting and greeting our grown up farm animals and learning about their natural habitats and eating habits. At the Observation Bee Hive Station the students will also get to spin honey out of a honeycomb in a hand crank honey extractor (Where the use of centrifugal force is explained). Then the students will try their hand at pressing apples into apple cider using an 1890’s press (as in the olden days, before automated equipment!). The tour then heads out to the field for an age appropriate explanation of the life cycle of a Christmas Tree and the life cycle of the Pumpkin plant.  Students will learn all that is involved in the farming operation concerning the growing and selling of these 2 crops.  They will then head back to the “Discovery Barn” to view and identify the major crops of Ohio and Michigan. Hands on animal items are in the barn as well. Finally, each student will take a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick their own pie pumpkin, gourd to take home with them.  Then it’s time for them to become the farmers:  We will all work together to see just how big an acre of land really is.  If time allows, they will try to use logic to complete our string Crazy Maze!  Finally. 

 

LUNCH AREA:

We have a lovely area inside the barn for snacks or lunch. It is decorated for the season. We can heat this room if the weather is chilly.  A new expanded lunch area is also available upstairs in the barn this year!  The Craft Barn and Souvenir & Candy Shops are open all day for your convenience. (We recommend shopping during lunch time or just before you leave the farm!).  The Souvenir & Candy Shop offers for sale:  Bottled Water, Pop, Juices, Wrapped Ice Cream, Snacks, Disposable Cameras & Farm related souvenirs. Prices range from 1 cent candy to $10.00 items.

 

COST OF TOURS:

The rates for both tours are the same.  Each child is $7.00.  Each teacher and two chaperones per classroom are free.  Any adults after that are charged at the same rate as the children: $7.00.

We schedule the tour in 2 1/2 hour increments. This includes ½ hr. for lunch.  This does NOT mean that you cannot stay any longer to revisit an activity.  WE WANT THIS TOUR TO BE A FUN,  LEISURELY LEARNING EXPERIENCE! BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF TOURS, WE DO ASK THAT YOU BE PUNCTUAL ON YOUR ARRIVAL TIME! Tours run rain or shine!  We are able to bring our animals into buildings for the tours!

Booking dates & times are filled on a first come, first serve basis, so book early!!!

Please call (419)461-1298 for more info & to make reservations.

*** We have a website:  www.countrylanetreefarm.com for additional info and directions to our farm.

 

We look forward to sharing our farm with you!

3525 N. Bolander Road

Genoa, Ohio 43430