Day 1: Classroom Visit
(Approximate visit time per classroom 45 minutes -1 Hour)
Two Dalby Farm based educators will visit your school. When they arrive, they will visit each classroom where, ideally, there will be an area for the students to sit together for story time. One of the educators will read a book about the embryology of a chicken to the children. This book has a very nice way of introducing the concept to the children and is in a narrative format. The educator will introduce the stages of the chicken’s life cycle through conversation and comments as she reads the story.
Once the story is finished, in an effort to reinforce what the children have learned, the educator will ask the students a series of questions that pertain to the story, which are designed to encourage discussion and reiterate important points in the story.
Meanwhile, the second educator is preparing for and setting up materials for the ‘Hatching Chick Necklace’ craft that the children will create after the learning part of the program has been completed.
Once the story is finished and the educators feel confident that the children have a good working knowledge of the material, they will begin creating their necklaces. The project is themed with the lesson and is a nice way for the children to not only have fun while creating their own chick necklace, but also is a good exercise on following verbal instruction through listening and seeing a ‘demo’ necklace. In addition, the use of fine motor skills is needed in order to complete this craft.
Day 2: Field Trip to Dalby Farm
(As described under General Animal Tours. Approximate length of tour 1 hr to 1 hour 20 minutes without picnic, or 1 hour 45 minutes-2 hours with a picnic).
Your group will preschedule a visit to Dalby Farm which should follow our visit to your school. The day of your visit, everyone will go on a guided tour of the farm. Depending on the size of your group, it may be necessary to divide it into smaller groups. (A maximum of approximately 30 children per tour group is desirable; 3 groups can be accommodated per school visit. For schools that have more than 90 children in the grade level, it may be necessary to schedule multiple trips).
On the tour, each group will engage in a ‘hands-on’ presentation where different items, that are either from, or for the animals, are shown. The Educator will review each item and explain what it is and how it pertains to the animal(s). Once the presentation is finished, time will be allotted for the children to go up to the table and have ‘hands on’ time so that they can feel the softness of a feather or compare the difference through touch and sight, between straw and hay, for example.
During the farm tour, everyone will meet all of the different rare farm breed animals living on the farm. As the different animals are introduced, the educator will discuss features that an animal may have and ask questions in an effort to stimulate discussion. In addition, body coverings, living vs. non-living, and names for the different animal’s family members are popular points of discussion. If there is any other material that you would like added, please bring it to our attention.
In addition, each group will visit the rare chicken house where our baby chicks are living in a brooder. Before entering the building, however, a detailed poster depicting real-life pictures of the embryology of a chick is reviewed. As the educator ‘takes the children through the chick’s development’, and as she points out each of the pictures, she will ask questions about the process. It is our goal that they will remember the cycle from our visit to the classroom and that they will be able to answer the different questions as they pertain to the embryology of the chick.
At the end of the tour, each group will meet and feed the goats and the sheep. They will also, have the opportunity to meet either Stella or Honey, our hens. The children will form a line and the educator will introduce the hen to the children and they will have the opportunity to feel the softness of her feathers and pet her.
At this point your group will either retreat to the farm’s entrance to board the school busses or if you prefer, remain at the farm for a picnic and/or ‘Spring Egg Hunt’.
Program Cost: (Based on a maximum classroom size of 30 children)
The program cost is as follows:
The first classroom visit is $250.00*; each additional classroom visit is an additional $150.00. Payment must be received before the start of the first classroom visit, unless prior arrangements are made.
If multiple days are needed to visit all of the classrooms, then the cost breakdown, as listed above, will apply.
In order to maximize learning, we suggest that the classroom visit be scheduled at least 1 week prior to the field trip to the farm. During that time, we encourage teachers to talk about what types of animals the children might expect to see at the farm. Also, in order to reiterate the material that we presented during the classroom visit, we recommend that you engage the children with discussions on these topics, prior to the field trip.
The program cost for the field trip to the farm is $5.00 per person without a picnic, or $6.50 per person with a picnic.
For every 15 children, you receive a FREE chaperone. Payment is expected the day of the visit.
FOR EVEN MORE EGG-CITEMENT….complete your visit by having your group partake in our SPRING EGG HUNT!Children will have fun locating and gathering the numerous plastic eggs, with candy and spring novelties inside that have been distributed in a designated area of the farm. A perfect way to end the day!
Standard Egg Hunt: $45.00 (90 eggs/up to 20 children)
Jumbo Egg Hunt: $60.00 (150 eggs/up to 40 children)
(The children keep the contents of the eggs but not the plastic eggs themselves).
Program feedback from some of our teachers:
Once again, Cheryl, thank you for hosting such a wonderful field trip for the kindergarten students at Jenkins Elementary. The students (and adults) enjoyed learning all about the rare breeds of animals that you have at your farm along with all of the that you provide along the way regarding living/non-living things, recycling to help the earth, and even about the Roxbury puddingstone. Since our return from the field trip, the children have demonstrated an eagerness to learn more about farms and facts about farm animals. They have been reading books and sharing information with their peers, teachers and family members.
Before our field trip to Dalby, it was helpful to have you visit the classroom to explain the life-cycle of a chicken and to do a craft with the students. It was evident on our field trip, how the students had retained the information that you had shared with them.
Jeanne Crehan, M.Ed.
Kindergarten Teacher
Jenkins Elementary School
Scituate, MA