As each yellow school bus arrived at Hunt Club Farm, curious eyes peered through windowpanes to see what awaited outside.
Horses and hay bales. Pigs and pumpkins. Goats and geese.
Oh my!
It was the first field trip of the school year for pre-kindergarten students as part of their classroom studies on the changing seasons, living animals and life processes.
“This was chosen as part of the seasonal change but also because it gives them opportunities to use their five senses to investigate and explore things that they can relate to and that they enjoy learning about,” said Korrina Duprey, Title I/pre-kindergarten instructional specialist. “They’re just in awe and asking questions.”
The day of awe and wonder began with hayride through the farm’s grounds.
“Oh my gosh! That’s the biggest wheel!” remarked one pre-kindergartener passing the tractor that would lead them through the farm.
“Can I get everybody to get really squishy?” encouraged one of the farm’s guides. “Get real cozy. It’s a little cool today.”
“Let’s have your bottoms on the bales,” said another guide preparing riders for the tour.
“Have fun, everybody! Enjoy the sights, sounds and smells Hunt Club Farm has to offer. Tractor driver, they’re all yours.”
With their bottoms on the bales, the pre-kindergarteners sat wide-eyed as the tractor pulled two carts of riders down a dirt road.
It did not take long to reach the first highlight.
“Horsies!” the 4 year olds exclaimed and pointed.
“Hi, horsies!” they waved and shouted.
The unbridled enthusiasm did not surprise Michelle Schoemaker, Parkway Elementary School prekindergarten teacher. They had been preparing students for weeks for this day.
“This is their first field trip. It’s big time!” she said.
“The art teacher did a lesson with pumpkins,” continued Shoemaker. “We did work with the alphabet letters and what kinds of things we might see on the farm. The music teacher has been doing farm animals with them since the beginning of school. We read the story Too Many Tamales and talked about corn and did a popping corn experiment.”
Corn and pumpkins were discussed at the next stop on the tractor-led tour. A Hunt Club Farm employee at a station not far from the horses showed and talked about hay, straw, gourds, corn and popcorn before revealing one final item.
“What is the most popular thing we’re here to talk about today?” asked the guide.
“Pumpkins!” shouted the pre-kindergarteners.
“Pumpkins! Yes!” exclaimed the guide. “I’m getting ready to hold up a great big pumpkin so hold on.”
“Pumpkins can be little, little and pumpkins can be ginormous, mighty large,” said the guide. “And pumpkins come in different colors, too. Look at this one!”
“Whoa!!” said the 4 year olds.
“That’s not a pumpkin!” shouted one student.
The guide talked about peanut pumpkins, heirloom pumpkins and more pumpkins than anyone on the tour knew existed.
“Are you ready to go see our animals and get your pumpkins?” asked the guide after telling students their next stop was the petting zoo and pumpkin patch.
“Yes!” was the unanimous response.
The mention of animals sparked spontaneous singing inspired by music lessons from the past month.
“Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O,” sang pre-kindergarteners as the tractor pulled them back to the front of the farm.
Being within arm’s reach of animals requires some ground rules, which a Hunt Club Farm employee shared with students with help from her pet dogs.
No running, pushing or shoving.
When we go to pet the animals today, please don’t put your hands in their faces.
When we feed animals, feed with an open palm – that minimizes your risk of being nibbled on.
“Do not feed the ponies, pigs, zebras or donkeys,” said the guide. “Yes, we do have a zebra. Her name is Zoe. We also have a brand new baby donkey named Charlie.”
“The best way to see the farm today,” she added, “is to start at the goat walk and go clockwise. Next are baby goats, exotic birds, llamas, zebras, donkeys and pigs. You’ll see the aviary from the outside, then Charlie the baby donkey, chickens, goats and then off to the pumpkin patch.”
With a reminder to “always be kind,” the guide released the pre-kindergarteners and field trip chaperones to explore on their own.
They poked their heads through fences and peered into smaller cages to get a closer look.
“There are eggs!” announced one student observing chickens.
“They’re going to crack soon!” remarked the classmate by her side.
Another animal was spotted nearby
“Let’s go see the camel!” called out a student.
“It’s a llama,” corrected her mom. “Like in the llama books.”
Llamas were among the animals that could be fed, and pre-kindergarteners cautiously held out open palms of food and were tickled with delight when a llama selected their hand for food.
At each new location, students “talked” with the animals. They crowed like roosters, snorted like pigs and quacked like ducks.
They also mimicked the animals’ movements.
“Look, it’s eating its lunch on one foot,” said Schoemaker of a long-legged bird. “Do you guys eat your lunch like that? Maybe we should try it today.”
Why wait until lunch?
Shoemaker’s students tried balancing on one leg while watching the birds eat and bursting into a fit of giggles as they wobbled and lost their balance.
The pumpkin patch was the last stop before lunch. Students were allowed to choose any pumpkin they wanted to take home.
Some squatted to get a better look at a pumpkin’s stem. Some lifted one pumpkin after another to find the heaviest one. Others preferred pumpkins that were light and more like them – small.
“We got pumpkins!” remarked one student proudly holding her prize from the day.
There was no doubt pre-kindergarteners left their first field trip with more than just pumpkins. Wait until their music teacher hears all about the farm. E-I-E-I-O.
Check out more sights and sounds from the pre-kindergarten field trip to Hunt Club Farm in the video below.