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PITTSBURG —
For seven years, the farm owned by Laura and Rich Wood has doubled as a fun and educational experience for students from the Four State area.
The Woods raise cattle for a living on their farm near Chicopee, but they open up a section of their land to offset farming. Rich estimated that the farm, which is open from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, would see about 3,500 kids from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma this year, up from about 2,800 kids last year.
“It’s something we just started and it got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Wood said. “We try to do something a little different each year.”
At the farm Wednesday afternoon, nearly 80 kindergarten students from Frank Layden Elementary School in Frontenac got to pick pumpkins from the Wood’s patch — they plant 12 acres of pumpkins every year — bury themselves in dried corn in the Corn Crib, jump around inside inflatables, get lost in the corn maze, gawk at exotic farm animals such as a Spanish steer and alpacas, and go on hay rides through the Wood’s “haunted” woods, which was festooned with spider webs, hanging bats and partially-buried skeletons.
For the students, the trip is exciting as well as educational.
“It gives them an experience on where pumpkins come from and how they grow,” said Debra Riede, a teacher’s aide in Angela Espinoza’s class. “They have fun picking a pumpkin out for themselves.
For the teachers, Riede said, it’s an experience outside the classroom and away from the books.
“It’s more hands-on,” she said.
Espinoza said she integrated the field trip into her class’s current study section.
“We just wrapped up a unit on fall foods and the nut harvest, so it’s fun for us to come learn about it as a class,” Espinoza said as her students lined up to check out the farm animals. “Also, we’ve been learning about the seasons. The kids love it.”
For seven years, the farm owned by Laura and Rich Wood has doubled as a fun and educational experience for students from the Four State area.
The Woods raise cattle for a living on their farm near Chicopee, but they open up a section of their land to offset farming. Rich estimated that the farm, which is open from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, would see about 3,500 kids from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma this year, up from about 2,800 kids last year.
“It’s something we just started and it got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Wood said. “We try to do something a little different each year.”
At the farm Wednesday afternoon, nearly 80 kindergarten students from Frank Layden Elementary School in Frontenac got to pick pumpkins from the Wood’s patch — they plant 12 acres of pumpkins every year — bury themselves in dried corn in the Corn Crib, jump around inside inflatables, get lost in the corn maze, gawk at exotic farm animals such as a Spanish steer and alpacas, and go on hay rides through the Wood’s “haunted” woods, which was festooned with spider webs, hanging bats and partially-buried skeletons.
For the students, the trip is exciting as well as educational.
“It gives them an experience on where pumpkins come from and how they grow,” said Debra Riede, a teacher’s aide in Angela Espinoza’s class. “They have fun picking a pumpkin out for themselves.
For the teachers, Riede said, it’s an experience outside the classroom and away from the books.
“It’s more hands-on,” she said.
Espinoza said she integrated the field trip into her class’s current study section.
“We just wrapped up a unit on fall foods and the nut harvest, so it’s fun for us to come learn about it as a class,” Espinoza said as her students lined up to check out the farm animals. “Also, we’ve been learning about the seasons. The kids love it.”
