Dean of Lower Elementary Cassie Hunter said she was looking for opportunities for students to get exposed to things they might not normally see, and these fall destinations matched up with current curriculum. Kindergarteners went to Parky’s Farm, while first- and second-graders visited Blooms & Berries.
Both venues hosted a variety of activities for students. Parky’s Farm gave kindergarteners demonstrations about how they take care of their animals. Students saw ponies, chickens, goats, cows, and many more animals up close and personal. When students weren’t learning in the barn, they were in the pumpkin patch picking out their own gourds or playing in a bounce house on site.
Blooms & Berries provided a private hayride through an “I Spy” forest and pumpkin patch, learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Scholars also had access to the farm’s 40-animal petting farm, tricycle track, sound garden, and storyboard trail.
Students got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch as a part of a field trip to Blooms & Berries.
Hunter said she felt it was a great opportunity to pair the content from the classroom with a field trip that gave students a real-time look at what they learned.
“We’re teaching a lot of what happens on a farm,” Hunter said. “If we teach it, we should expose them to the reality of these animals, their characteristics, and traits.”
Students earned their spot on these field trips based on their behavior record and how they followed the class’s social contract. Hunter said she wanted to make it clear to students that they were earning the trip through their actions.
The reaction from scholars was one filled with overwhelming joy. Hunter added that she was excited to offer an avenue to create happy memories.
Scholars were given demonstrations on different farm animals at Parky’s Farm, learning about each animal and how to take care of each of them.
“For that moment, they got to laugh,” Hunter said. “They got to have fun. They got to experience nature and roll around in the grass. They got to pick a pumpkin and had the opportunity to pet these animals. It took their minds away from the things they’re used to.”
The most important benefit of these trips was that students were exposed to an environment they might not have experienced otherwise. Hunter said she felt like these field trips provided scholars with valuable exposure.
“I think it’s important for our young kids to be exposed to the outdoors and this farm environment,” Hunter said. “It’s just refreshing to see the green grass and the various colors of the trees. It shows them that outside of their world, there is another world that is going on they’re not exposed to.”
Way to expose our scholars to new things, Dean Hunter!
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About Orion Academy
Orion Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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