Down on the Farm

We went on a field trip to Howell Living Farm.  A farm that lives in the past.  Turn of the century type stuff.  Some of the things date to 1800's and some 1900's.  We went for the maple sugaring.  And yes we did get to taste some.  It was syrup though on our pancake.  But all in all a fun day.

It was a long one.  We spent over 2 hours going to different stations in the process.  We began at the wood cutting.  As the wood is needed for the fire in the evaporator and in the house for heat and cooking.

 Next stop the house.

 Where we got to see and taste the pancakes.   No making though.   It was a tiny kitchen.  But big in those times.  The ladies were very good about asking questions but I feel one did not allow the children enough time to formulate answers.  Our ages ranged from k-7.  Then it was off to the sugar maple trees where we got to see the tapping process and see the results inside the pails.   Finally off to the evaporator house.  This was were they turn the drippings into the syrup.   Now a real farm would not have had the evaporator house, they would have done it all over the fire.

We are all glad we went.  I especially like it when we walk away and my children say they learned something new!!!   An A+ day when that occurs!   I love love love field trips and even more so when the learning occurs sandwiched with interest and fun.