Day 1

I am going to copy Middle Name Marie from Always a Reason to Run.  In her own words:
Last year, during the month of November, I completed 30 days of Thanks on my blog.  I am going to start it up again today.  Everyday during November, I am going to post about one thing I am thankful for: it can be serious, silly or simple.  I have so many reasons to be grateful; I want to share the gratitude.  I invite you to try it on your blog, too. Visit her blog to see how she began her thankful journey. I don't typically post every day so I may have to combine some days but here is my beginning. 


I am thankful for school field trips that go well.  Today we took our kiddos to visit  a museum which is an olden days working farm.  This may seem like an odd thing to do in Vermont but it is no longer the state with more cows than people and many kids never get to a farm.  The day was great from a peaceful bus ride (words I did not know could go together) to well behaved and interested kids at the farm.  


They learned about chickens and eggs.  Why are eggs a certain size and color? How many yolks does an chicken have at one time?  How long does it take to grow the shell?


They watched a cow being milked and learned the typical number of gallons of milk a cow produces in a day. Before we went into the barn the guide told them they would be seeing cows pee and poop so they could all go "Ewwww" and get it over with.  Of course some still had to exclaim inside or they wouldn't be 8 year olds.  The milk from these cows is mostly used to make Cabot cheese which hopefully some of you have had the pleasure to have.

They learned about ewes and rams and had the chance to pet a sheep.

At another station they watched a woman use a spinning wheel and they had the chance to practice carding wool.

We had one station inside on this very cold day where they used a churn to turn milk into butter. Later the butter was sampled on crackers.


And last but believe me not least they took a wagon ride behind two draft horses.  All thoughts of being cold vanished in the pleasure of this ride.


Then the bus ride home where I actually - GASP - fell asleep for a bit in the warmth and "quiet" of the bus!