A school outing...

OK, so I know I'm severely behind in my blogging.  I'm trying to catch up and work is a little quiet today, so just bear with me.  I'm going to start with the oldest news and work my way forward.  Life hasn't been that busy and we just seem to be plodding along from day to day.  Jake's on holiday at the moment, so these pictures are about 2 weeks old already, but still...

Just before schools closed, I was lucky enough to be asked to help lift for a school outing.  I always say how I'd love to be a fly on the wall, especially now that Jake's in formal education, so it was the perfect way to do just that.  It was lovely to see Jake playing with his friends, listening to his teacher (why doesn't he listen to me like that??) and it was really good to see that he's actually a pretty well behaved kid.  I know he's not perfect, but his behaviour was good enough for me ;o).

The outing was to de Grendel Farm, which is literally just up the road from home and we were blessed to have one of the most gorgeous winter days for it.  They had been learning about farm animals in class and Jake had just done an oral on cows, so it was great to go and see everything for themselves.  I think I probably enjoyed it as much as the kids did...

The view from de Grendel...

 Kids all lining up in their class groups (2 classes did the outing together).  Jake in his competitiveness always wants to be first in line.  The class captains are though, so he was happy to be second...

 The farmer arrived to discuss the cow's anatomy with the kids.  They were all horrified by the smell of the farm and even more disgusted when the cow lifted her tail and made a wee in front of them.  Manners dear Daisy...

 Mom's and kids listening...

 And learning...

 Question time...

 After the cow discussion, we headed off to see the milking shed.  My punk is near the back there pulling a silly face...

 The cows were brought in - the kids were warned to stand back from the front facing rear ends of the cows, but fortunately the cows managed to control their stomachs until after the show...

 They were hooked up and milking began.  This ol' girl looks a little dried up...

 The milk is pumped into a tank and chilled until the big dairy comes and fetches it.  The kids were allowed to check inside the tank to see how much milk had been collected that morning...

Monkeys on the fence...

Next up, we went to see the newborn calves...

Getting a cuddle (I think Jake has cowboy potential)...

And a nuzzle...

And then it was off to go and bottle feed the lambs...

And last, but not least, the kids were invited into the farmer's garden to enjoy their packed lunches and have a bit of a run around.  Note Jake's flask.  He got it from a friend for his birthday.  It's filled with hot chocolate and he didn't share.  Thankfully the farmer's wife made all the mom's tea and took us to see how she makes her own yoghurt...

All in all, it was a super fun day out and we all learnt so much.  It was fabulous to be the "little" fly on the wall and I'm so glad that I remembered to take my camera - happy memories!

Sue X