Fall makes a wonderful time to learn about farms because it's harvest time (Spring is great for seeing baby animals, though). Check out what's available in your area for berry picking or apple picking for a fun field trip. Admittedly, we put all of our energy into farm visits this week so I'll share some highlights from our adventures.
Our first field trip was to Berry Patch Farms in Brighton. They are open several days a week for U-pick berries, basil, flowers, and pickling cucumbers. They also have a great farm store. Check their website for specific operating hours and berry picking status. Strawberries are not available for picking this year because of the rough spring weather, but we were able to pick raspberries. Mia & I picked a couple of pints together. I'm pretty sure Millie ate a third pint during this whole process. Hey, whatever keeps her happy! Then we picked several cucumbers for pickling and perhaps the best part, Mia was able to pick some flowers. In the farm store, we purchased some zucchini bread (picking berries is hard work and requires snacks!), tomatoes, garlic, basil, kale, and okra.
The second farm we visited is Ya Ya Farm & Orchard in Longmont. Unfortunately, the wacky spring weather and late snow storm did damage here too so apple picking is not available this fall, but the farm is still very beautiful and worth a visit just to explore. Plus, they sell the best apple cider donuts at the farm stand which is the ENTIRE reason I go anyways. Ha! I have so many great childhood memories of apple picking in the fall with my family and it's made me continue the tradition with my kids. Those sensory memories tied to the taste of apple cider donuts & fresh apple pie and that crisp autumn morning smell on a farm really leave an imprint. So even though we couldn't pick the apples ourselves, we had a good time making our own new memories at the orchard and we snagged a bushel of apples from the farm stand and the girls were none the wiser. Plus, local farmers need our support even more during the bad seasons.
We've visited both of these farms numerous times but this was the first time I felt Mia really made the connection with food and where it comes from. To further this understanding, we made some of her favorite foods with our farm goodies. Her current favorite meal is spaghetti and meatballs so we took all of our tomatoes and made a roasted tomato sauce. To do this, I cut all the tomatoes in half and put them cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet coated with olive oil. While I was doing that, Mia separated out the cloves of a whole head of garlic and we added those to the pan. All of it roasted at 450 degrees for about 35 minutes (right before the skins blacken). Once everything was cool enough to touch, we squeezed the tomato pulps into a saucepan, discarding the skins. Then I fork mashed the garlic and added that to the pan. You could blend the sauce at this point if you like it smoother. Lastly, we added a quick pour of olive oil (around 1 tablespoon) and salt to taste and brought the heat up for simmering meatballs. We also made pickles with her cucumbers using this recipe. And all those raspberries? ...We turned them into a simple jam with this recipe from Martha Stewart. Towards the end of the week, we made an apple pie with our orchard haul and surprised daddy returning home from business travel.
I've mentioned Sunflower Farm in a few other posts but all for good reason -- this place is pure magic. From 9:00-1:00 Monday - Friday, they open up their farm to children & their parents to play and explore as they wish. All seasons, all types of weather. There are rope swings & ziplines, hammocks & porch swings, treehouses & rope bridges, and hay bale mazes & sand pits. Horses, goats, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, cows, llamas, sheep, and many more animals. Even old tractors and a bulldozer and an airplane to climb all over. Every time we go there, we discover more things to love about this place. And we always come home exhausted and dirty and happy. This time around, Mia rode a horse, explored a teepee, played house with a few friends, and climbed in the treehouse. We also got to see a baby calf born just this week. A little tip if you plan on visiting: you need to purchase tickets ahead of time on their website (the day of is okay as long as it's not already sold out).
Some other central Colorado farms that we didn't visit this week but we love are Four Mile Historic Park, Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, and Littleton Museum.
A summary of all Farms week activities with links:
ACTIVITIES: Played farm with plastic animals and farm set
OUTINGS: Visited 3 local farms: Berry Patch Farms to pick raspberries & veggies, Ya Ya Orchard to pick apples, and Sunflower Farm to see the animals
SNACK: Made apple pie, raspberry jam, roasted tomato sauce, and refrigerator pickles
BOOKS: Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
BIBLE STORY: The Parable of the Sower
If you'd like to share a photo of your kid doing theme week activities, you can email it to me (email button in the left menu) or tag me on your Facebook photo or use the hashtag #weeklytoddlerthemes on Instagram (if you are private, just make sure I'm following you or tag me in the photo).
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