Another First....Field Trip!

Alex got to go on his very first field trip in nursery school today!  They lumped the two classes together to go all as one so he got an extra special day out of this week (he usually only goes to school M/W/F) and was able to see the friends he made on Open House night before we switched classes on him.

We met at Partyka Farms at 9:45 and got our apple picking adventure off to a quick start!

The whole class (and parents) took a tractor drawn wagon ride out to the orchards.  Mrs. Grimm led us in a spirited rendition of "The Wheels on the Tractor" while we bounced our way to the apples.

 

 

 Once in the orchards we learned all about what the apples are used for (the Jonagolds they were picking today would be sent to Motts to be made into applesauce, sold at Wegmans' Food Marts locally, and hauled off by Peterson Farms to be cut up into apple slices used in McDonald's Happy Meals!). 

We learned where the Jonagold variety came from (it's a mix between the Jonathan and a Golden Delicious).  And we learned the proper way to pick an apple (Everywhere your finger touches on an apple leaves a bruise so you want to twist it at the stem). 

We got to meet and talk to an experienced apple picker, Louis who has been traveling the harvest circuit for years perfecting his apple picking speed, skill, and finesse!  He was impressive!

Then we got to get into the action with our own picking! 

 The best part, though, was yet to come!

The EATING!

A quick wagon ride back to the store and then we got to feed our apple cores to the goats!

 

Just when you thought the fun was over, we got to play on the playground!  What a fun day at the farm!  I'm so glad the rain held out for us and I'm even more grateful for having the flexibility at my job that allows me to participate on these fun excursions!  I wouldn't want to miss these moments for the world!