New England Farmer: Farm Tour/Maple Sugaring (2 hours)

Available March Only. 

Spring is not only the re-awakening of farm life, it is also a time for harvesting an important forest product.  Sugar Maple sap has been collecting since late February and is now ready for processing into syrup.  During this comprehensive 40-minute addition to the basic farm visit, students will learn how and when to tap for the sugary sap that produces maple syrup, as well as be able to sample raw sap and refined syrup.  Cows, sheep, pigs and chickens are visited during the farm tour.  Groups will rotate through stations at each animal and the maple sugaring.  The maximum number of classes scheduled for a New England Farmer program is five. 

Maple Sugaring (40-minutes)

Students will enter a classroom and be seated on benches in order to learn about maple sugaring.  Students will learn how to identify a sugar maple tree and when the tree should be tapped for maple sap.  The students will also be introduced to the tools used to tap a maple tree and the processes for boiling and refining the sap into maple products such as maple syrup, cream, or sugar.  Students will be able to observe maple sap boiling on a wood-fired stove and relate the temperature of the boiling sap to making the various maple products.  Students will have the opportunity to taste the raw maple sap, as well as the refined maple syrup.  Students will walk to a nearby sugar maple tree in order learn the proper procedure for tapping the tree.  Students can then assist in measuring the tree and in tapping the tree to collect the maple sap.

Farm Visit (20-minutes/animal)

Chickens

Students will visit inside the chicken coop in order to see the live chickens and their home, including the food, water, and nest boxes provided as proper care for the chickens.  During the visit with the chickens, students will be seated on the benches around the chicken coop.  A hen will be taken out of the chicken coop, so the students may see the comb, wattle, scales and feathers.  The various parts of the chicken will be identified and related to their function.  Students will have the opportunity to touch the hen in order to feel the feathers and the scales on the feet.  A rooster will then be taken out of the chicken coop in order to compare and contrast the differences between the rooster and the hen.  Different types of feathers, including the down feathers and the rooster’s hackle feathers, will be described.  Students will be able to touch the rooster in order to feel the feathers, scales, fighting spur, and comb.  Students will also be introduced to the products that the chickens provide for people, such as eggs and meat.  While some students go inside the coop to look at the chickens, other students will be able to check for eggs in the nest boxes and count the number of eggs laid by the hens!

*In the event of rain, the chickens will be moved to an indoor classroom.  Students will sit on benches as they learn about the chickens.  A hen and a rooster will be brought into the classroom to allow students to see and touch the birds.  While moving to the next station, the students will have an opportunity to see the inside of the chicken coop.

Cow

Students will enter the milking room of the cow barn and sit on the hay bales in order to visit the cow.  While visiting the cow, the students will learn about the inside of the cow barn, including the stanchion that helps restrain the cow while she is milked.  Students will discover what the cow eats and how the cow gets water to drink.  Students will also learn how the cow digests its food through its four-part stomach!  Students will learn where milk is produced and be able to see the cow’s udder.  Students will find out the many products that are made from milk.  They will also be able to see and feel the working milking machine in order to experience how it works.  Before leaving the cow barn, students will have the opportunity to touch the cow to feel the cow’s fur.

Sheep

Students will enter the sheep barn and sit on benches in order to learn about the sheep.  Students will be able to see the hay that feeds the resident sheep, including ewes, ram, and possibly lambs.  After an introduction to sheep, students will be given the option to help out on the farm by hand-feeding the sheep some sweet grain.  Students can also feel the wool on the sheep.  Students will learn that wool can be obtained from sheep through shearing – or giving the sheep a “haircut.”  Students will leave the sheep barn and walk to the wool room to see a demonstration of how wool is processed from carding through spinning.  Students will learn what products can be obtained from sheep, including wool and lanolin!

Pig

Students will sit on the benches arranged in a semi-circle around the pigpen in order to visit the smartest animal on the farm – the pig!  While visiting the pig, students will learn how caring for the pig is different than caring for some of the other animals on the farm.  Students will be able to see how the pig can learn to open its covered food bin and operate its own water fountain.  Students will be able to enter the pigpen in small groups in order to touch the pig and feel the pigskin and course hairs on the pig’s back and to see how the waterer and feeder work.  Students will be aided in visualizing the fast growth rate of this omnivorous animal by looking at a wooden cutout of a full-grown hog.  The students will conclude their visit with the pig by learning about the products from the pig that people use, including meat (pork, bacon, ham), the hairs as bristles for brushes, and pigskin for leather. 

*In the event of rain, the students will enter a classroom and be seated on benches in order to learn about the pig.  Students will then leave the classroom in small groups in order to enter the pigpen to touch the pig and to see how the feeder and waterer work.

Farm Vocabulary