The excitement has been building for the last few weeks, but today was the first trip out on a coach for the children. Even the very heavy rain today could not spoil their fun at the farm!

Once we arrived at the farm we had our safety talk and the importance of regular hand washing to prevent poorly tummies.

The children split into two smaller groups so that they could take part in a lambing experience and visit the other animals on the farm.

 

Lambing experience

The children were able to get up close to some very young lambs and kids. They watched as they were bottle fed. Once the bottles had been emptied (which didn't take very long at all!) the children were able to stroke them. We talked about how the wool and fur felt and compared the two. Both were lovely and soft and warm to the touch. The lambs we saw today were around 11 days old, so have lots of growing to do yet!

Around the farm

When we were not enjoying the lambs, we had a chance to look around the farm. The rain seemed to force many of the animals into their shelters, but some animals did venture out to say hello when they saw us at the fence! The children were fascinated by the piglets. We saw them feeding from their mummy and later saw them snuggled up together having a snooze.

We ventured into the recently restored mill and were lucky to have a little tour by one of the farm staff. He was able to answer lots of questions generated by what the children were noticing in the mill. They were fascinated by the sack hoist and were intrigued as to where the sack had got to once it had gone through the hatch! The children had a go at grinding wheat into flour on a small quern stone. All of the rotations on the stone helped them to build up an appetite for lunch!

After lunch we stayed in the warm and dry, putting our physical skills to the test. The children showed us their ability to climb and negotiate obstacles on the soft play frame. For many children they demonstrated great resilience, perseverance and bravery.

The children's behaviour throughout the day was impeccable and it was lovely to have this recognised and commented upon by members of the public. The children were a credit to BCA. Once back at school the children all agreed that even though it rained all day, they would still award this trip 5 out of 5!

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