Chicken Chore Crew

Fall Chicken Chore Crew Completed!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

This year for the first time, we offered a “Chicken Chore Crew” farm camp – one in spring, another in summer, and again in fall.  Our fall camp just ended this week.

“Chicken Chore Crew” is different from our other farm camps.  We don’t do arts and crafts, we don’t harvest and cook from the garden – we just hang out with our chickens, and do some of the “chores” necessary to keep them healthy and happy.  For the summer and fall crews, that included working with our new chicks (now pullets).

I’ve been a bit protective of the new flock – and while we allowed the campers to feed and pet the young birds, I was a bit hesitant to let the kids pick them up and hold them.  But on the last day of fall Chicken Chore Crew, we decided to make a compromise.  After giving the kids some instruction, Anya and I caught some of the more cooperative pullets and placed them into the arms of some very excited campers.

 

 

 

This was undoubtedly the highlight of this particular camp – for the kids, and for me and Anya.  And, who knows?  Maybe even for the pullets themselves!

 

 

Fall After-School Farm Camps

Spend Time With Our Chickens --
in Our Fall After-School Farm Camps!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

 

Summer 2013 is already coming to a close, and Fall is just around the corner! 

This post is just a quick reminder about our two fall after-school camps.  There are still spots available in each of these camps – so please visit our website soon to register!
 

Great Garden Gang: Exploring Fall!

Help us harvest from our farm fields and children’s garden, and our chicken flock – and then use our harvest for cooking and crafts!
Ages:  6-10 years
Days:  Thursdays
Dates:  September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 10, 17
Time:  4:00-5:30 p.m.
Cost:  $95

 
Be Part of the Chicken Chore Crew!
If you’ve been a Hen House Helper volunteer with your parents, or if you’ve been part of our farm camps or other farm programs, then you’ve already had the incredible experience of collecting eggs from our chickens.  But there’s much more involved in caring for our flock than collecting eggs.  Come join our Learning Farm chicken farmers to learn about and participate in some of these important tasks!
Ages:  8-12 years old
Days:  Mondays
Fall Session Dates:  Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30
Time for Fall Session:  4:00-5:30 p.m.
Cost:  $25/child/session

Spring Great Garden Gang Concludes

Learning About Chickens (and more!)
during Spring Great Garden Gang Farm Camp
by Anya O’Halloran, PCLF Farm Camp Assistant

The Great Garden Gang Farm Camp participants have been busy working and learning at the Children’s Garden.  They have learned much about soil components – how, why, and what we compost, the journey of a seed from seed to plant, and some chicken chores required to care for a flock of chickens.

During each session of camp, participants receive a demonstration relevant to that day’s topic.  For seed day, Farmer Sharon did a skit with the campers on how a seed grows into a plant.  The kids were the seeds (in the process of turning into plants), while Farmer Sharon was the farmer as she explained the nutrients, sun, and rain needed for the seeds to grow!  This simulation was a big hit! 

Campers also do hands-on farm and garden tasks.  This Great Garden Gang broke up the soil in the Children’s Garden beds in preparation for planting, added ingredients to the compost bins, planted calendula seeds in pots, and collected eggs and held the chickens (always a farm camp favorite!).
 

Throughout the camp, participants work in their camp journals.  The journal included a scavenger hunt for things found around the farm, a worm worksheet for our worm observing activity, crossword puzzle, word search, supplemental diagrams, coloring pages, and more. 

Great Garden Gang was educational, active and fun!  Each camper came away with something new that they learned or did during camp!

Thank you, campers, for being a part of the Spring 2013 Great Garden Gang Farm Camp!

Visit our website (http://www.prairiecrossing.com/farm/learning.php)
for information about our summer camp offerings and to register. 

 

 

 

Some Summer Chicken Camps Already Full!

Chicken Camps at the Learning Farm
by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

We offer many different farm camps at the Learning Farm. Every one of our farm camps include time with the Learning Farm chickens, and the chickens have always been a farm-camp favorite.  

So, two summers ago we decided to offer our first two chicken-focused summer farm camps -- "Don't Be Chicken to Learn About Chickens" for ages 5-7 and "Don't Be Chicken to Learn Even MORE About Chickens" for ages 7-10.  No surprise, they have become our most popular camps since then! In fact, both of those camps are already full for summer 2013!

But now in our third year of chicken camps, we've added a few more options!  For the first time we're offering a summer chicken camp for older kids -- ages 10-12. 

Also for the first time, kids ages 8-12 will have the opportunity to work with our chicken farmers as part of our "Chicken Chore Crew."  We've just completed our spring "Chicken Chore Crew" camp.  You can scroll down to the previous April 17th and May 3rd blog posts to check out some of what we did.  If it sounds like fun to you, summer and fall sessions still have openings!

Below is the information for the 2013 chicken camps that currently still have openings.  To register and/or for information on our other farm camp offerings, please visit our webiste, Prairie Crossing Learning Farm. 

Chickens: There’s Always More to Learn!

Let’s explore the “chicken-ness” of the chicken!  How do they produce these amazing things called “eggs” – and lay one nearly every day?  What do chicken-keepers need to know, to help chickens “express their chicken-ness”?  Come find out, while spending time with our Learning Farm chickens!

Ages:  10-12 years old

Days:  half days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for 1 week)
Dates:  August 6, 7, 8, 9
Time:  9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Cost:  $95

Be Part of the Chicken Chore Crew!

If you’ve been a Hen House Helper volunteer with your parents, or if you’ve been part of our farm camps or other farm programs, then you’ve already had the incredible experience of collecting eggs from our chickens.  But there’s much more involved in caring for our flock than collecting eggs.  Come join our Learning Farm chicken farmers to learn about and participate in some of these important tasks!

Ages:  8-12 years old

Days:  Mondays

Summer Session Dates:  July 8, 15, 22, 29

Time for Summer Session:  10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Fall Session Dates:  Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30

Time for Fall Session:  4:00-5:30 p.m.

Cost:  $25/child/session

"Chicken Chore Crew" Farm Camp

New at the Learning Farm –

Our Chicken Chore Crew!

by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

Our spring “Chicken Chore Crew” Farm Camp had begun!  We have ten chicken enthusiasts – ages 8-12 – that have signed up to be a part of our first-ever Chicken Chore Crew.

 

 

 

We’ve met on two Monday afternoon’s so far, and we have two more Monday’s to go for this spring session.  Fortunately, this unusually cold and wet spring weather has been fairly nice to us – and we’ve been able to do most of the outdoor chores that we were hoping to do.

Here are some of the chicken chores that we’ve accomplished so far (some of these chores we did on both days, some only on one day so far):

·         Harvested mealworms and fed them to the chickens.

·         Fed greens and “chicken candy” (scratch grain) to the chickens.

·         Collected leftover chicken feed from feeders; made “chicken gruel” and fed it to the chickens.

·         Raked straw off the Children’s Garden beds; brought the straw to the chicken yard and spread it around.

·         Cleaned the ledges and roosts in the winter chicken coop by scraping chicken poop into our infamous “poop bucket.”

·         Learned how to pick up a chicken, then picked up and held lots of chickens!

 

 

 

 

 

If you think that you might like to spend some time hanging out with our chickens, our chicken farmers, and some other kids that like chickens – then you’re in luck!  We have both summer and fall Chicken Chore Crews on our camp schedule!

Summer Session Dates:  July 8, 15, 22, 29
Time for Summer Session:  10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Fall Session Dates:  Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30
Time for Fall Session:  4:00-5:30 p.m.

Cost:  $25/child/session

For more information and to register, visit the Learning Farm website!

 

 

Farm Camp Registration Now Open

Chicken Camps at the Learning Farm!
by Sharon Gaughan, PCLF Education Program Director

Every one of our farm camps include time with the Learning Farm chickens, and the chickens have always been a farm-camp favorite.  So, two summers ago we decided to offer our first two chicken-focused summer farm camps -- "Don't Be Chicken to Learn About Chickens" for ages 5-7 and "Don't Be Chicken to Learn Even MORE About Chickens" for ages 7-10.  No surprise, they have become our most popular camps since then! 

Now in our third year of chicken camps, we will continue to offer those two original chicken camps, plus we're adding a few more!  For the first time we're offering a summer chicken camp for older kids -- ages 10-12. 

Also for the first time, kids ages 8-12 will have the opportunity to work with one of our chicken farmers as part of our "Chicken Chore Crew."  This kid-crew will meet once each week to learn about how we take care of our chicken flock, while participating in a variety of important chicken chores.  This is a unique opportunity for kids to be involved in real farm work, while hanging out with real farm animals!

I've posted the information for all of our 2013 chicken camps below.  To register and/or for information on our other farm camp offerings, please visit our webiste, Prairie Crossing Learning Farm. 

Don’t Be Chicken to Learn About Chickens!
Learn about our Learning Farm chickens – help take care of them, collect their eggs, and participate in a variety of chicken and egg activities. 

Ages:  5-7 years old

Days:  half days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for 1 week)
Dates:  July 9, 10, 11, 12
Time:  12:30-3:30 p.m.
Cost:  $95

Don’t Be Chicken to Learn Even MORE
About Chickens!

Learn even MORE about our Learning Farm chickens – an expanded version of the previous camp (full days), for slightly older campers.

Ages:  7-10 years old

Days:  full days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for 1 week)
Dates:  July 23, 24, 25, 26
Time:  9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Cost:  $195

 

Chickens: There’s Always More to Learn!

Let’s explore the “chicken-ness” of the chicken!  How do they produce these amazing things called “eggs” – and lay one nearly every day?  What do chicken-keepers need to know, to help chickens “express their chicken-ness”?  Come find out, while spending time with our Learning Farm chickens!

Ages:  10-12 years old

Days:  half days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for 1 week)
Dates:  August 6, 7, 8, 9
Time:  9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Cost:  $95

 

Be Part of the Chicken Chore Crew!

If you’ve been a Hen House Helper volunteer with your parents, or if you’ve been part of our farm camps or other farm programs, then you’ve already had the incredible experience of collecting eggs from our chickens.  But there’s much more involved in caring for our flock than collecting eggs.  Come join our Learning Farm chicken farmers to learn about and participate in some of these important tasks!

Ages:  8-12 years old

Days:  Mondays

Spring Session Dates:  April 8, 15, 22, 29

Time for Spring Session:  4:00-5:30 p.m.

Summer Session Dates:  July 8, 15, 22, 29

Time for Summer Session:  10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Fall Session Dates:  Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30

Time for Fall Session:  4:00-5:30 p.m.

Cost:  $25/child/session