Preschoolers spend an afternoon on the farm

PLAINS – Preschoolers from the Plains Head Start Program got a break from their everyday routine and got to spend an afternoon handling and observing animals out on the farm earlier this week. 

Dave Williams welcomed the students to his ranch off of lynch creek road, on Tuesday, May 6, to show them young animals and give the kids a hands-on learning experience. 

William’s facility encompasses over two acres of land and is made up of pigs, cows, chickens and a bull named Ferdinand.

After their arrival, Williams led the preschoolers from the field trip on a short tour of the farm, pointing out the various animals kept at his property.

The students were then directed to a small pen, containing two piglets, belonging to friends of Williams from Trout Creek. The piglets were about a week old so only four children were allowed in the pen with them at a time, an attempt to keep the baby pigs calm.

However, the piglets had other ideas and after tolerating being held for a moment, began squealing for assistance. This process was repeated several times as the young pigs would let the preschool kids hold them for a moment before beginning their wiggly attempts at escape. 

Just like the piglets, the children showed very little desire to stay still, spending the majority of the afternoon running from one side of the farm to the other and interacting with the various animals quartered in different areas of the farm.

The baby chickens were much more tolerant of the children, seeming much less fazed with the prospect of being handled by the members of the class. 

Williams noted the preschoolers come out to his place in early May, though there is no set date for the annual field trip. 

“It varies from year to year but the preschoolers usually come out when there are baby animals for them to see,” Williams said.

Years ago Williams brought young animals, predominantly baby chickens into the classroom of the Head Start Program, where the kids could observe and handle the animals.

“It has been developing every year since,” Williams said. 

Eventually the in class experience transitioned into a field trip, where the kids not only got to handle the animals, but also had an opportunity to feed them and see where the animals actually live. 

This batch of students seemed very glad for this transition and they were all smiles whether they were corralling piglets, handling chickens or attempting to communicate with the cows. 

With Mother’s Day, the kids were given the opportunity to prepare a gift for their moms,  planting flowers. The students who partook in the quick gardening session left with a souvenir of their day out on the farm. 

For the last five years, members of the Head Start Program of Plains have made the short trip from their preschool to lynch creek, where they have spent an afternoon running around outside, and learning a little bit about life cycles. 

“It is always fun and the kids love it,” Jesse Butcher, the teacher of the class, said. 

After holding the pigs and chicks, and calling the cows over to be fed, the kids broke for a snack of crackers and juice, discussing what they had seen during the afternoon and what they had learned from the experience. 

The field trip wrapped up at an opportune moment,  for the large part the afternoon had been warm and mostly sunny but with rain clouds creeping across the valley, the children were ushered back into the class vehicle. The kids were safely ferried away as a light rain began to fall at the ranch.